Martin Marincin's hot WHL Start

Martin Marincin sends Kadri flying at the 2010 Juniors

One of the picks I was most unfamiliar with at the draft was Slovakian product Martin Marincin, who came to the Oilers 46th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.  Judging by his size and the commentary at the draft, I figured he was brought aboard to plug a defensive need and provide some grit on the back end.  A vision of someone along the lines of Matt Greene came to mind.  With hockey season a quarter of the way over, a different aspect of Martin is starting to get attention.

Remember the first Oil Change, where a certain prospect was highly coveted and we hoped to trade up to get him in the first round?  Ryan Johansen has been all but confirmed as that prospect, and he sits in a 4-way tie for 29th in WHL scoring - with Oilers prospect defenceman Marincin being one of the other three players there. Among defencemen, Marincin is second overall in league scoring, and is also second overall in scoring among rookies.

The jump from junior to the NHL may not be a chasm like the Grand Canyon, but far more players fall into the pit than make the transition.  That said, Marincin's combination of size - he's 6'4 and almost 190lbs - and scoring (8G, 17A in 23GP) - is impressive.  He's also adapted well to the North American game, a key challenge for many European players.  Marincin's desire to come over and play our rougher style, even though it meant being out on the far end of the earth in Prince George is a statement of character.  He's ambitious, he's smart enough to understand the transition, he knows he's going to play more games in the Dub than he will at home, and he's willing to suffer that brutal travel schedule to do it.  It's 7 hours from Prince George to Kamloops, kids.  That's the shortest bus ride they get.

As for the Cougars, they are a decent team but Marincin is clearly not riding on the backs of any great talent.  The up-and-down season is a product of being stuck in the tough western conference of the WHL, where they reside in 8th place despite being over .500.  Marincin's 33 PIMs suggest that he's no shrinking violet, and his +2 is second-best among defencemen on a team that is facing the best the WHL has to offer more often than not.  He's second in scoring, behind the much-vaunted Brett Connolly, trailing him by only three points.

Here are some comparisons of final junior seasons for current top NHL defencemen of comparable size:

• Dustin Byfuglien (6'4): 64GP, 22G, 36A.
• Brent Seabrook (6'3): 63GP, 12G, 42A.
• Jay Bouwmeester (6'4): 61GP, 11G, 50A.
• Shea Weber (6'4): 55GP, 12G, 29A.
• Alexander Edler (6'3): 62GP, 13G, 40A.
• Marc Staal (6'3): 53GP, 5G, 29A. (in his draft year, Staal went 57GP, 11G, 38A)
• Dion Phaneuf (6'3): 55GP, 24G, 32A.
• Keith Yandle (6'2): 66GP, 25G, 59A.

That's some pretty impressive company, isn't it?  What does it mean?

Not much, really.  Jeff Woywitka, a 6'3 journeyman of median abilities, had 16G and 36A in 57GP for Red Deer, a year after he was drafted 27th overall by Philly in 2001.  Comparable stats can be found to show just about anything someone likes.

I am excited by Marincin, however.  I doubt he'll be an explosive offensive force in the NHL, but his maturity and attitude in coming over shows me that he's dedicated to his craft.  With his size and ability, he could make a top pairing defenceman eventually.