The Toronto Maple Leafs kicked off the new year with a call up.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this morning that they recalled forward Mason Marchment from the Toronto Marlies. Marchment, 24, spent most of this season out with an injury but recently came back and has four points in 11 games thus far.
There’s been a little bit of a trend recently between Toronto Maple Leafs management and players where opportunities are being presented for reasons that go beyond hockey.
Justin Holl inking a contract extension in Minnesota, where he played college hockey is one example. And while he didn’t dress, the Maple Leafs calling up Teemu Kivihalme while in his home state of Minnesota is another example.
And they appeared to do the same thing with Marchment here, seeing that his father and former Leaf Bryan Marchment began his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets, who the Leafs are set to play tomorrow.
Making a Case for Mason Marchment
Marchment is a guy who I’ve wanted the Leafs to recall for quite some time now. The undrafted winger has paid his dues in just about every league he’s played in, spending time in the ECHL before getting two full AHL seasons under his belt and putting up a combined total of 51 points in 88 games.
The Leafs have been making a number of temporary callups lately with guys like Timothy Liljegren yo-yoing between the NHL and AHL, but I’m hoping there’s actually some life to the Marchment call up.
He’s a big power forward at 6’4 and 201lbs and he plays a physical game which many would argue is an element the Leafs lack.
While I’m not and never have been a firm believer that grit is a dire need that requires addressing, having somebody who will stick up for his teammates and throw the body is something the Toronto Maple Leafs could definitely use, especially with the amount of players who had stingers during yesterday’s game against Minnesota (Engvall, Dermott etc).
The beauty with calling somebody like Marchment up to the big leagues is that he’s the type of player who you can get away with sticking on the fourth line. Many people wonder why the Leafs haven’t called up Jeremy Bracco despite the fact that he’s been an offensive force at every level he’s played at.
The reasoning behind this is that Bracco doesn’t have any sort of defensive game and he’s a right-winger, so he’s not going to leapfrog the likes of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, or Kasperi Kapanen.
Meanwhile Marchment plays a physical game and has a little bit of a defensive side to his credit as well, so he could thrive in a limited role.
The other beauty of having a guy like Marchment up on the team is the fact that he isn’t just a set of fists. He has the ability to drive the net and score goals, so it’s not like you’re bringing someone in who can hit but can’t help anywhere else.
Think of guys like Josh Anderson and Tom Wilson. Marchment plays a similar, not identical, but similar game to these guys.
It’s unknown whether or not Marchment is going to see a game during this callup, but I think at the very least he should be given a look, especially down the road towards the playoffs when emotions are high and a physical presence like him could be useful.