Canadian pride or hometown star? Local fans split on rooting for Brad Marchand

Hockey fans in Brad Marchand’s hometown of Hammonds Plains, N.S. are split on whether to root for his Florida Panthers or the Canadian team — the Edmonton Oilers — during this Stanley Cup final.

The Oilers beat the Panthers 4-3 in Game 1 in overtime Wednesday night. Marchand scored in the second period for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

At Marchand’s old stomping grounds, the St. Margaret’s Centre arena in Upper Tantallon, fans are torn between supporting the local guy or the Canadian team.

“I’m still rooting for the Oilers, basically because they are Canadian,” said hockey fan Danny McPhee outside the sports centre located about 20 minutes from Halifax.

Others, like former area MLA Ben Jessome, are proud to declare they are “a Brad Marchand guy.”

“As much as I’d love to see the Oilers win a cup, I’ve been friends with Brad since we were kids. I’ve played with him over the years and I’m really excited to see him in another cup final and hopefully he brings it home,” said Jessome.

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Marchand has a long hockey history in the Halifax-area and the Maritimes. Growing up, he played for the TASA Ducks in minor hockey, then eventually joined the QMJHL where he had stints with the Moncton Wildcats and Halifax Mooseheads.

He enjoys the fanfare he receives wherever he goes and even laughs off the nicknames he’s received over the years — most notably, “rat.”

“I didn’t think that one would stick. But, yeah, it’s one that obviously hung around for a while,” he said during a media availability Wednesday.

“Things like that, I kind of take them more as a compliment.”

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