When meeting with the Seattle media Tuesday morning, the Kraken’s recent trade acquisition, Mason Marchment, called himself a “late bloomer.” Every NHL prospect should be so lucky.
The undrafted 6-foot-5, 212-pound forward has played 302 regular-season NHL games and another 59 postseason contests over the past five seasons, two with the Florida Panthers and three more with Dallas after signing a four-year contract with the Stars valued at $4.5 million average annual value in the summer of 2022. His late-bloomer reference is in part due to not playing major junior hockey until age 19, when most NHL prospects begin by 16 or 17 years old.
Another part of his late-bloomer identity is as an “over-age” player in the Ontario Hockey League, where he showed promise of being a physical forward, but by his own realization, was not the type of elite skater that NHL teams seek in their draft choices. When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Marchment to a free-agent contract, the plan was to worry less about playing in games for the American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies. Instead, Marchment focused on training in the gym and, as good fortune would have it, worked with the organization’s skating consultant, Barb Underhill, a world-champion pairs figure skater representing Canada and then a long-time broadcaster who found a third career as a skating coach for NHL teams.
“I honestly don't think I would be here without her,” said Marchment during Tuesday’s Zoom call. “I did one-on-one sessions with her for probably 50 to 60 of them for three years straight. Just a lot of time and a lot of effort from her to help me get here. I still skate with her every now and then in the summers, and we keep in touch.”
Underhill told the Toronto Sun that Marchment “came into the organization [in 2015] and no one thought he’d make it.” But Marchment showed Underhill he was determined to get better – 50 to 60 individual sessions presented a formidable proof case – prompting Underhill to declare to her student, “As long as you’re working hard out here, I’ll never give up on you.”
For his part, Marchment has charted it at nearly two years of one-on-one sessions to start noticing he was pulling away from opponents via his skating and being “stronger on my feet, better at protecting the puck, backchecking and all of the stuff you need to do to play in the NHL.”
Crashing the Net, Aligning with GM’s Master Plan
The most recent result of such hard work is back-to-back 22-goal regular seasons with Dallas, with the requisite skills and analytics to be a defensive force and significant power play contributor as well. Plus/minus is not a perfect statistic by any hockey expert’s measure, but Marchment does have some impressive numbers with plus-15 last regular season and plus-22 in 2023-24 (his last year in Florida was plus-29).
When asked about how Marchment aligns with new general manager Jason Botterill’s vision to have more Kraken forwards net-front and bring physicality in all zones. “That is my game,” said Marchment. ”I like to get on the forecheck and get inside, get pucks, strip guys on the backcheck. That’s stuff I take pride in and like to do well. If I can help out that way, it's going to be great. Getting to the net front and getting in the goalie’s eyes, that's huge. Small things like that help win games and help you get into the playoffs.”
Marchment and his then-Dallas teammates endured and survived a rugged seven-game second-round series against the Kraken in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The new Seattle power forward remembers the battles on the ice and the fever-pitch, high-decibel road crowds at Climate Pledge Arena.
“I think Seattle is a contender,” said Marchment, who is close friends with Kraken defenseman and former Florida teammate Brandon Montour (same for their wives). “We have a lot of good pieces. There are a lot of good players ... I don't think we're far off at all. I’m on the outside looking in right now, but it's all about buying into the system, everyone being on the same page. And everyone doing their doing their part, playing their role. I can come in and help be a part of that.”
Some Familiar Faces and Skaters
Along with Montour, Marchment said on Monday’s “The Sheet with Jeff Marek” podcast that he knows some Toronto-based Kraken players from summer skates, including Shane Wright, Jared McCann, Vince Dunn and Jamie Oleksiak. He’s even been a linemate with Wright during one summer camp, telling Marek the young center is “very smart, good on draws [faceoffs], growing quicker than some people thought” and “developing into what he believes he can be.”
As the undrafted and perhaps even unlikely prospect to make such an NHL splash, Marchment acknowledged that, along with Underhill boosting his skating prowess and agility, then-Florida coach Joel Quenneville provided a key break by giving him regular ice time from season one (2020-21) with the Panthers. Marchment averaged just over 14 minutes of time-on-ice that season. His career average is just under 15 minutes per game after five seasons, and there is certainly potential with the Kraken to boost that TOI stat. That’s to be determined as the new coaching staff configures the lineup. Marchment pledged to do his part to earn more time and duties.
“I have a high compete level,” said Marchment. “I'm a really competitive person. I like to win and compete, and play that kind of game. I think that aspect helps, but my break probably started in Florida. Coach Q gave me a really good opportunity, and it kind of blossomed from there.”
