Brad Marchand delivers a message to Mark Scheifele after tragedy.

There's no question that over the years National Hockey League star Brad Marchand has matured considerably. From being regarded as one of the dirtiest players in the entire league to becoming a father and the captain of the Boston Bruins, there's no disputing the fact that this man has grown up before our very eyes.

On Sunday, Marchand showed yet another sign of his ever growing maturity when he took a moment to send a message to Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets. Marchand has a ton on his plate today with a series-defining Game 7 against long time rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs on the schedule for later tonight but, in spite of all that, he still took the time to offer some words of support for Scheifele.

Speaking with the media ahead of tonight's Game 7, Marchand had nothing but praise for his fellow Team Canada teammate and stressed that he knows Schiele's father, who tragically passed away before Game 6 between the Jets and Dallas Stars on Saturday, would have been proud of the effort he put forward that game.

"There's very few people that could have found the strength to play through something like that," said Marchand on Sunday. "And to go out and to play the way that he did and step up for his team, his family must be extremely proud of him. And his dad would be."

It was a great display of class from Marchand and one that I suspect Mark Scheifele and the rest of the Scheifele family won't soon forget.