Inside the Fan Banner Captain Tradition, ‘Really Does Make a Difference’

BOSTON –– Patrice Bergeron remembers the deep rumblings of a TD Garden crowd ready to erupt in the postseason.

​He thinks of the anticipation-filled instances standing in the tunnel, waiting to skate out for warmups. The infectious buzz, dimmed lights, and, of course, the fan banner captain.

​“It is the buildup to it. It’s pretty special,” Bergeron said. “That’s that moment where we get on the ice, and they’re on the Jumbotron. It’s a pretty cool experience to be there on the ice. To be honest, it’s that extra motivation, the extra energy – it really does make a difference.”​

Bergeron, who spent 19 years as a Bruin and made the playoffs for 14 of them, is well-versed in spring hockey on Causeway Street. The fan banner captain tradition is one he first watched as a player and then took part in as an alum.

The pre-game playoff routine goes back past the 2011 season. While the crowd passes the 25’x40’ Bruins banner around the loge section, a special guest waves the B’s flag. The captains have spanned from Johnny Bucyk to Bobby Orr, Terry O’Reilly, Rob Gronkowski, Jaylen Brown, Ray Bourque, Zdeno Chara and more.

It is one piece of the postseason show at TD Garden, meticulously built behind the scenes.​

The fan banner captain truly cemented itself in Bruins tradition in 2013, as Andrea Mazzarelli, the B’s vice president of marketing, recalls. The city was still reeling from the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013. The Bruins opened their playoff run just a few weeks later.

“I will never forget being part of that planning. The theme of the fan banner captain that year was all about the power and the strength of our city, and the resilience of our city,” Mazzarelli. “We had our ‘Boston Strong’ mantra, and we centered our fan banner captains around survivors or those affected.”

In many respects, hockey felt small, merely insignificant at a time of such tragedy. But it also offered a break from reality, as sports do. Because miracles can happen inside TD Garden. The heaviness that exists in the outside world disappears for a few hours when fans sit down in their seats — and jump out of them for a goal. You high-five a stranger you might not have ever talked to. You scream at the top of your lungs in a way you cannot on the street. You feel part of something bigger than yourself. The Bruins tried to harness that in 2013.

“People really rallied behind that, and rallied behind sports,” Bergeron said. “It was really special to see the atmosphere, the energy. There was a lot of togetherness at that time.”

​Boston faced off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round that year. The organization honored first responders as the fan banner captains for Game 1, featuring local bomb technicians Todd Brown, Sean Tierney, Eric Gahagan and Ariane Thibodeau.

For Game 2, the sold-out TD Garden sea roared for Jeff Bauman as the fan banner captain. Bauman lost both legs in the Boston Marathon bombing and had been at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital since. At first, the life-long Bruins fan was not sure if he was going to accept the invitation.

“I was really scared about being in a big crowd. The Bruins, they were fantastic about it. What I realized when I got there was that everyone was so supportive,” Bauman said. “Even like going through the halls and going to my seats and stuff, people were just so supportive. So I realized I have a lot of people who have my back, and that made it easier to get through that. People hugging me, it was crazy.”

Bauman was in his wheelchair for Game 2 of the first round in May. He made his second appearance as the fan banner captain over a month later, at the end of June, for Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. This time, Bauman could stand alone.

“I was on my prosthetics, and I went out and stood in front of the Garden, and it was crazy. It was nuts. I was waving the flag. I was just so nervous. It was really amazing to see how many people were there,” Bauman said. “Just to be able to stand up in a couple of months was pretty cool. I was well on my way to progressing back to almost normal life.”

​Beyond the score of any game that year, that moment sticks with Mazzarelli.

“Just to see his transformation was so special,” she said. “It transcends just a fan tradition. That is something that the city latches onto, and the city can connect to. That was really special. I will never forget that. I’ve always said the power of sport is why I love it so much. People come to this arena for three to four hours as an escape from their day-to-day life. They want to feel joy.”

Bauman continues to lean on his hockey community. He has been playing sled hockey for about six years and tries not to miss a single Bruins game. Bauman has participated in the Sled Hockey Classic, presented by the NHL for the B’s club, and won it.

“I love it. I can’t get away from it,” Bauman said. “Every time you’re on the ice, it’s a battle. You've got to battle, and that’s what it’s about. You do – you forget about everything.”

Bergeron was one of the miracle-makers within the four walls of TD Garden in 2013. Down 4-1 with nine minutes to go in the third period of Game 7 against the Maple Leafs, Boston clawed back. Bergeron had the tying goal to force overtime, where he then clinched the series with his second of the night. It is a game that almost doesn’t need retelling with the number of times most have watched it back since.

It was mania. It was euphoria. It was the exact reason we love sports.

Just over 10 years later, Bergeron was on the other side. It was another Game 7 against Toronto at TD Garden. Except this time, he was waving the Bruins flag as the fan banner captain in the first round of the 2024 playoffs.​

“I was honored first and foremost to do it. I was only a year removed, so it was – I don’t know if bittersweet is the right word – but it was definitely different. I wished I was still on the ice in a way,” Bergeron said. “And then on the other end, I wanted to do the best I could to help, even though it’s a really small part. I was like, ‘You know what? I am going to try to get that crowd going as much as I can.’ I was trying to bring the energy.”

It worked, as the B’s went on to beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime, thanks to the game-winning goal from David Pastrnak.

The 2025-26 Bruins, led by Pastrnak, return to TD Garden on Thursday for Game 3 of their first-round series against the Buffalo Sabres. Boston picked up a 4-2 victory in Game 2 on Tuesday, bringing things home tied 1-1. And with that, will come a new wave of fan banner captains.

Boston’s playoff motto this year is, ‘Toughness is Tradition.’ The fan banner captains will embody that theme, Mazzarelli said.

“Toughness is what it means to be a Boston Bruin. It’s how we want to play, it’s our tradition. At the same time, it’s talking about our style of play on the ice, it’s also talking about our attitude and our mindset off the ice, every day, at work, in our daily lives. We definitely feel like, as Bostonians, that’s what sets us apart, is our willingness to work and that overall attitude," Mazzarelli said. “This is truly, not to be cheesy, this is why we do what we do. This is the fun stuff. This is my favorite part of my job. Putting on a playoff show, getting fans excited.”

The team is excited, too. While Marco Sturm has skated as a player during playoffs in Boston, this will be his first time experiencing it behind the bench as an NHL head coach. The Bruins were the second-best team in the league this year on home ice with a 29-11-1 record. They will try to carry that over.

“It’s going to be great. We’ve been such a good home team, and we have the best crowd in the league,” Sturm said. “Can’t wait to share our game and our joy to play this game at home. We want to play with emotions, but also we have to keep it in check and make sure we do the right thing. Can’t wait to go home.”

Mark Kastelic, who made his NHL playoff debut this week in Buffalo, will experience the postseason at TD Garden for the very first time. He and his fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Tanner Jeannot have had a fiery, physical start to the series.

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Garden in the playoffs. I was really excited to see everything turn up a notch and how passionate our fans are, and to get back and have the momentum on our side. I am just really excited to be back home and really happy with bringing the series back 1-1 to Boston,” Kastelic said.​

“This whole stretch has been a blast. Just really grateful for the guys we have and to do it with them. It’s my first taste of playoff hockey; it’s been a little bit different, but all exciting at the same time. It’s just fun to have those nerves and have that energy every game. Everything feels so much more magnified, and there’s no moment too small…I can only imagine what it’s going to be like back in Boston.”

We will see what kind of magic is in store when the doors open to another postseason at the Garden on Thursday night, kicked off by the fan banner captain.