Bruins superstar shreds teams for giving young players like Montreal's Nick Suzuki early captaincy

A few days after the Montreal Canadians awarded young star Nick Suzuki the captaincy, Boston Bruins superstar Brad Marchand spoke out about teams giving young players the "C". Marchand pointed out what that type of responsibility can do to a young player just trying to find his footing in the NHL.

"It's almost unfair to being given these young kids the captaincy at 20, 21, 22. You're setting up a kid for failure by doing that," Marchand said of handing that sort of responsibility to a player who may not yet be ready.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers, Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators, Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche, Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins are some other players who were awarded the "C" early in their careers. Obviously, these teams have all had mixed results, with Crosby and Toews excelling in those roles early, but there is an argument to be made that the rest were not ready for the task at the time it was assigned.

People normally don't agree with Marchand, although I think this is one time where some might agree. Springing that responsibility on a young player isn't always a great idea. Some younger players might be ready for that privilege but not everybody is, even if they are the most skilled player on the team. On ice skill does not always equate to good leadership skills.