Brendan Marner Hall of Fame Article

[Gustav 6,129]

Position: C

Birthplace: Canada

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 240 lb.

Drafted: S80 - 21st overall (Warsaw Predators)

Username: @MetalToday

 

Awards:

S84 - Continental Cup
S85 - Victory Cup
S87 - Mike Szatkowski Trophy (Most Points)
S87 - Brett Slobodzian Trophy (Most Outstanding)
S88 - Scott Boulet Trophy (Top Two-Way Forward)

 

A member's first-ever Hall of Fame player is always a special accomplishment, and the VHL hopes this holds true for Brendan Marner, a Warsaw lifer who spent most of his career right at the top of the league. Early on, Marner was hardly the league's betting favorite for the Hall of Fame--his agent had briefly appeared in the VHL with a S67 player and retired after S70--but having regained first-gen status ten seasons later, the Predators figured that he was as good a bet as any in the second round and chose to roll the dice on a player with very limited VHLM success. It would come as a surprise to all concerned that a Hall of Fame career was to follow. Though he took some time to make it up and would only play 7 seasons in the VHL, he fit in right away as a top scorer and breaking 100 points in five of those seasons. So, Marner's career can be viewed not only as a successful first for a member looking to make it big, but as a testament to beating the odds despite a long road to success.

 

S79 (San Diego Marlins | VHLM):
62 GP | 1 G | 8 A | 9 P | -33 | 30 PIM | 74 HIT | 6 SB

 

S79's Marlins team wasn't anything to be scared of, and neither was Marner. It's always difficult to make it as a rookie after the draft, and that was a lesson learned the hard way as Marner blocked almost as many shots as he had points (and he didn't block very many shots). One may speculate on a thing or two, but this could have been a reason why he would fall all the way to 51st overall in the S80 VHLE draft. Perhaps Warsaw saw something they liked a bit better, though, as the as-yet unproven prospect became an early second-round pick and a development project for the Predators.

 

S80 (Bratislava Watchmen | VHLE):
2 G | 9 A | 11 P | -4 | 33 HIT | 80 HIT | 5 SB

 

Having been drafted very late into the VHLE, it was clear that Marner wasn't expected to be the most valuable contributor in Bratislava. And whether it was through poor performance or poor line pairings or whatnot, his VHLM performance was largely repeated as he moved up a league. With the right coaching, anything is possible, though, and that's what anyone watching likely had in mind as was traded (for the only time in his career) to Rome for S81.

 

S81 (Rome Gladiators | VHLE):
22 G | 50 A | 72 P | +8 | 64 PIM | 129 HIT | 23 SB

 

Just when a GM might have given up, Marner started to turn things around with a point-per-game showing in his second post-draft season. Still not up to the VHL, Marner found the right time to turn on the jets with his contract year looming. Think about it--over six times the points as in the previous season, along with eleven times the goals, is something that shows up quite well on the scouts' radar. So, on the heels of steady improvement, Marner moved across Europe yet again in S82--but this time on his way to the big show.

 

S82 (Warsaw Predators):
45 G | 55 A | 100 P | -2 | 112 PIM | 310 HIT | 83 SB

 

Marner's rookie season was overshadowed by an unholy 131-point performance from London's Nils Godlander, but it was still one of the best the league has seen. Moving up to a higher level of competition seemed to bother him, well, not at all, and he posted his first 100-point season out of many right out of the gate while also adding a massive physical presence that was unforeseen to this point. It would have been fair before this point to view Marner simply as an unproven prospect who had begun to show signs of improvement, but all doubt would be cast away right from the start.

 

S83 (Warsaw Predators):
35 G | 46 A | 81 P | +17 | 93 PIM | 233 HIT | 26 SB

 

The term "sophomore slump" isn't one that should be dragged out for an 81-point season, so we won't go that way. Rather, this should be viewed as Marner finding his place on a team that was also trying to find its own. Regardless, Marner's solid play led him to only his second-ever net positive rating, and he still put up a strong two-way season with a respectable point total. 

 

S84 (Warsaw Predators):
33 G | 41 A | 74 P | +20 | 93 PIM | 174 HIT | 32 SB

 

Marner's numbers took a slight dip in S84, but this wasn't cause for concern--and I doubt it was the first thing on any fan's mind--as the Predators took home the Cup in S84. Still above the point-per-game mark, Marner worked with top-of-the-league talent across his whole team on their way to first place. Still, the individual performance of his rookie season would not be forgotten, and it would serve as a benchmark for future seasons and the next half of his career that was to come.

 

S85 (Warsaw Predators):
37 G | 63 A | 100 P | +36 | 70 PIM | 189 HIT | 28 SB

 

Marner would come into S85 with a somewhat refined physical game, achieving a higher hit total with fewer penalty minutes than in S84, and if 100 points was a benchmark, he lived right up to it. Equalling his rookie season's point total, Marner would be one of the focal points of a Predators offense that didn't quite manage to pull off the championship repeat but still took home the Victory Cup as the league's best regular-season team.

 

S86 (Warsaw Predators):
47 G | 66 A | 113 P | +33 | 99 PIM | 224 HIT | 60 SB

 

Following a period of team success, Marner began to distinguish himself more from an individual standpoint over his last few seasons. S86 saw his highest point total yet, along with nearly 50 goals and a physical game that continued to redevelop from the slight dip it had experienced earlier. Though S86 saw no awards won from an individual or team standpoint, it was one of Marner's finest, and at this point he could claim to be able to sustain top-of-the-line success.

 

S87 (Warsaw Predators):
47 G | 64 A | 111 P | +16 | 116 PIM | 241 HIT | 39 SB

 

Marner's S86 and S87 were very similar, but it was in S87 when he would finally answer one of the few questions he had left in terms of his Hall of Fame chances: what about individual awards? The Predators were done winning championships, but this didn't mean that Marner was done trying to get them there. With a second season in a row above 110 points, and a still-increasing hit total, Marner led the entire league in points and was voted the league's most outstanding player for excellent performances on both ends of the ice.

 

S88 (Warsaw Predators):
45 G | 61 A | 106 P | +1 | 138 PIM | 251 HIT | 56 SB

 

Though S87 would be Marner's most distinguished season, S88 was not that far behind and saw a Boulet win to cap off a career striving to be the league's top two-way player. Again breaking 100 points, and again increasing his hit total, Marner closed out a career spent entirely with the Warsaw organization in style despite their first playoff miss since his rookie year.

 

 

Career totals:
504 GP | 289 G | 396 A | 685 P | +121 | 721 PIM | 1622 HIT | 324 SB

 

 

It would be remiss to neglect that Marner overcame adversity to reach the Hall of Fame. Three whole seasons spent developing, two in underwhelming fashion, could be enough to make many promising members disappear. Not only that, but with numbers dropping for a couple seasons after making it up, early-career pundits would have been hesitant to suggest that he would make it in even despite a strong rookie campaign. In both of these cases, though, Marner would prove the doubters wrong, first making it up and then stringing together an absolutely Hall of Fame-worthy four seasons to finish up. Despite missing two seasons, Marner retired at #90 on the all-time points list and commanded the second-highest point total out of any player from the S80 class. So, it is with sincerity that the VHL welcomes him to the Hall of Fame and hopes that those who feel stuck in building their player use him as a role model.

[Scurvy 1,115]

Great article!  @MetalToday  was an amazing teammate and a worthy addition to the Hall of Fame. 

[dlamb 1,299]

@Hogan called it on stream when I made the pick - steal of the draft.