The Career of Brendan Marner (So Far)

[MetalToday 266]

Intro

 

The career of Brendan Marner is one with many downs, but a few ups, but one thing is for sure, he is here to stay. It does not matter what league he is in in the upcoming years; he is going to be the next star. Brendan Marner is quite an interesting figure as we’ve seen the past few seasons, with much controversy, and much to hate, there is much love for this player. He has an obvious fanbase himself, creating an interesting blend of disapproval, and acceptance around the league, but what are we expecting from him this season?

 

Career

 

Brendan Marner has been seen as a bust the last few seasons, collecting minimal points, before last season saw him collect only 9 points and a single goal in the 62 games played in the minors, and the next season saw him add 2 goals and 11 points for the 72 games he played for his first season in the VHLE, it wasn’t much and nothing was expected, especially considering he only took 1 goal in the 9 VHLM and VHLE playoff games he participated in, unfortunately, he only won 1 game in the playoffs up to that time as well. In the past season, we saw a different side of Marner, looking to be different, looking to change his game, his heart, and his confidence. Marner always seemed to be a talented player that just never really performed too well, trying to be the next franchise player, but obviously, that wasn’t the case. But then the trade was announced, the Watchmen give up and underperformed Marner to Rome, and was this trade ever great for Marner. He persuades the goals he set for himself and went from being a bottom line, untrustworthy player, to being one of the top players on a decent Rome team. With the season end, we saw Marner multiply his goals many times, and take a better and higher step in the point category. Going to 22 goals, and 72 points in the 72 games he played. He mentioned that he thought he wasn’t getting enough minutes, which he believed hurt his point totals, but he said he was not going to complain as he went from 0.15 points per game to 1 point per game average. He even improved his playoff points to a staggering 4 goals and 12 points in just 11 games. That is over a point a game, many people were rejoiced to see the new step this player took. He had also won the first round he ever won in his career, bringing him to the finals, but losing to the better Stockholm team.

 

Draft

 

When Marner was drafted, it saw some teams laughing at Warsaw, thinking they drafted this kid way too high at 21, while other players seemed to have more skills at the time, or more active, but that did not deter Marner, nor Warsaw, both knew they had created the exact definition of a diamond in the rough. 2 seasons later it was obvious that Marner had been behind on progress, but his activity was impeccable, he wants to be the next Franchise player in the league. As some of his mate in his draft class has stopped performing as well, we saw him start to kick up and nearly reach the top 10 in many of the draft reviews we see this season, and he is only continuing his bestial progress. He wants to prove everyone wrong who passed on him and didn’t believe in him. While Warsaw has seen some regression of high-end talent, there have been questions about whether this kid was going to be on a top line, or be on a team that can even produce, and I think what he said, says it all. “With the young core here, you may not see us go too far when it comes to the playoffs, but with a young core brings a new energy, we can rack up the points during the season no problem.” As he points out, the younger generation brings a different energy to the ice and there is a chance that he, along with other prospects can carry this team to the playoffs. He states, “I’m focused on improving my game right now, I want to prove my worth on the ice this season.” The dedication has been crazy for a kid of this caliber, it is a surprise how many teams could pass on someone looking to improve as he has been, but we are now 2 seasons out, so who could have guessed.

 

Rookie Year

 

With the rookie trophy on the table, it is possible that Marner could snag it, but with the rookie players on other better teams, and just very talented rookies in general, it would be a shock to many if Marner gets it. Since this kid is still very underrated and unrecognized around the league, it is not a surprise this kid is unfounded still, but the people who know much about him are his teammate, watching and cheering for him, with many of his teammates believing he will collect that rookie trophy. Marner said, “I have not won any medals in my life, I really would love to win that trophy, or if we win it all, what more could you honestly ask for? I would love to win both, but if I can only have one, it would be winning the championship. I could be happy with my whole team rather them be happy for me.” With a selfless take, it was no surprise that Warsaw fans, players, and management took an even bigger liking to this kid and whether the trophy is in his hands, or some other, they are going to stick with him till the end.

 

Rookie Slump

 

Although Marner is graduating to the big league and there are high expectations from many of his close friends, we regarded his slump of a year in the first year in the VHLM and his first year in the VHLE, there is a good chance he might not improve from last year, but slump again. With more practices that we have seen him do, and the gain in confidence last season, he is a player that may come out of nowhere and surprise some people. If we look at Warsaws players, we can see the lack of depth they currently have, it is believed that Marner might be on a top pair with Zach Kisslinger II and Bogdan Trunov, which can be seen as a good line, but there is an obvious hole if you need to bring the rookie on the top line, however, Marner is not upset by this fact as he said, “Being on the top line is a privilege, and if I am good enough to keep up with those top players, there is a good chance that I can be the franchise player every team needs, but they can't have me for cheap, Dakota Lamb and I both know this. And if we start kicking shit, well then, I will be kicking shit too, like back in my time in Bratislava.” Back when Marner was on the VHLE team Bratislava Watchmen, Marner was seen on the streets, in bars, and strip clubs taking shots, beer, drugs, you name it, he was on it after an intervention is when a lot of the activities stopped, however, some speculated it was due to a new and better performance from the then veteran of the league. If he goes back to his ways when he was in Bratislava then we could be hearing a lot more from people around Warsaw, the hate, and despair, but we need to hope we don’t get that far EVER AGAIN.

 

Family

 

His family will be supporting him through his time, taking a big trip from Ontario to Warsaw, just to see him start in his first professional game. Although they all had trouble finding the time, it would not be a family without their support. This was hard for Marner, to see then struggle to find a way to Warsaw, he felt it was on him, but they said they would be there no matter where he is playing. He said it was hard trying to live in Europe while he was in the VHLE, saying that he wanted to go home, but that eventually changed as he became accustomed to the European ways. He still has trouble living so far from family he mentions and would love to be back with them, but duty calls upon him to be the next all-star.

 

Contract

 

Some fans had already been asking what contract talks even looked like since he is meant to be a free agent at the end of the year, Marner replied, “No talks, it is not expected till the end of the season, so you should try asking then, and don’t forget that I have not played a single game in the VHL so what do they have on me to judge?” Another reporter asked if he would be looking to stay in Warsaw or move out, potentially closer to home, Marner said, “Well that’s the dream, isn’t it? To be able to play at home with my family and friends, but honestly, it depends on this year, if everything goes nicely and the general manager is down to sign me again, I am sure we would both be happy to sign the contract. If things go south, I would be willing to give it another shot with the team, but it would be up to the general manager, if I struggle this season, I know there would be other players the team would prefer signing first.” It seems promising that Marner would likely stick with Warsaw for at least a couple more seasons, and if all goes well Warsaw might be just as happy.

 

Trades

 

 Many, now, seem worried if the team underperforms trades might happen, and trades that can include the likes of Chicken wing, Trunov, even the young ones like Marner, and Kisslinger, but we believe these worries come from a false narrative that Warsaw would completely scrape their team to tank for a first overall pick. This would not be a good strategy as Warsaw has a crazy good young core that is starting to make a way in the VHL, with many more to come. If they wanted to tank there would be no place to trade any of the young pieces like Kisslinger and Marner, but Chicken Wing is a veteran in the league probably looking for his first cup, and Trunov, who is in his prime, might be a good piece for the rebuild. So, looking at this, there is an unlikely chance that the young players get shipped is unlikely, and for the veterans, it would depend on the record of the team at the end of the year obviously, but they are the most likely to be released first, unfortunately.

 

Summary

 

We talked about Brendan Marner's improved performance after being in the VHLE for 2 years, and his draft year. People were down about him both years, but looking at it now, after last season, he has shown his worth, and many agree more is to come. It would be an unexpected victory if Marner could clinch that best rookie title, as we all know he is going to play towards, but even if he doesn’t, we hope he can stay away from the substances and controversies. As for Marner's future, he wants to stay, there is no need to worry if you are looking at him and thinking about not having him in the future. All in all, this player is good, and he wants the cup, we can see he has been working hard to improve and devote himself to the future of this new place he calls him. Good luck to him and good luck to the future of this team. We will keep watch as he become the next star in the league.

 

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