The Talents Behind the Trophies: the Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy

[Doomsday 4,033]

@Motzaburger is a star that shines ever bright. 

 

Hello and welcome to Season Five of The Talents Behind the Trophies! In this series, we delve deep into the history of the Victory Hockey League to learn more about the players that the various awards of the VHL and VHLM are named after. Many times, people covet a trophy, yet they don't know the story behind the player the award is named for. Personally, I feel that the stories of these players should be told. You see, these awards were initially named after NHL players, eventually taking the name of VHL players who personified the spirit of that award. Naturally, these are some of the best to ever grace the league, and The Talents Behind the Trophies will ensure their stories are known. 

 

But before we get started, let's take a look at the VSN content that's out this week! Quite a lot of great content this week, for both your eyes and ears! Learn about the storied history of the greatest VHLM franchise to ever grace the league in Minor Adjustments, and find out which current VHLM teams are heating up in the VHLM Power Rankings! As the off-season nears, Hall of Fame talks are heating up in the Board of Governors, and it's the big topic in this edition of BoG Update. Speaking of the VHL off-season, learn about the supposed wisdom of safe/risky picks with @Patrik Tallinder , and find out what's going on in the league in Around the VHL. Finally, our beloved Aussie podcasters have more great content for you this week, and @Berocka is particularly proud of their work this week, so give it a listen!

 

Minor Adjustments | VHLM Power Rankings | BoG Update | Around the VHL | Hindsight | The Bootcast | VSN Australia

 

When a team in the VHL begins a new season, they all have the same goal: winning the Continental Cup. Setting your sights on the top prize of the VHL is hardly a surprise, it is the ultimate goal that everyone who laces up in the VHL plays for. However, there is another trophy that teams must win in order to earn the right to play for the Continental Cup, the award for winning their respective conference. For players in the North American Conference, that was the Punch Imlach Trophy, until Season 28, when it changed to the Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy. From Season 58 to 65, during the dark ages of contraction, the VHL operated under a single conference, and as a result, there were no conference championships to be awarded, but thankfully today the league remains stronger than ever, and the Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy will be awarded for the tenth time since it's reinstatement in Season 66 in Season 75.

 

After a short hiatus, the Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy returns, although it remains a rather unheralded award. 

 

It is fitting, naturally, for an award as overlooked as it is to be named after a player that additionally flew under the radar. Devon Marlow-Marta was a four-time All-Star who spent his entire six season career with the Calgary Wranglers. While he was a excellent player that would be considered a vital component of any winning team, even his Hall of Fame article seems incredulous that Marlow-Marta made the Hall of Fame. He certainly did not put up the kind of numbers that Scotty Campbell, Brett Slobodzian, or Scott Boulet did. Yet, after a six year career played exclusively with Calgary, Marlow-Marta carved out a career where he became known as a player who did all the little things in a big way, culminating with immortality in the VHL Hall of Fame and on the trophy awarded to the champions of the North American Conference. 

 

His VHL career began in Season Five, joining one of the early VHL's most powerful teams in the Calgary Wranglers. Featuring legendary names such as Brett Slobodzian, Scott Boulet, Sterling Labatte, and Joey Kendrick, it was very easy for a young rookie like Marlow-Marta to get lost in the shuffle, and he did to an extent. With 21 goals and 30 assists, his 51 points were good for 11th on the Wranglers, but his responsible +28, one of the few positive ratings on the team, combined with just 22 penalty minutes, quietly established him as a valued member of Calgary, and after being dispatched by the Seattle Bears with relative ease in the playoffs, Marlow-Marta took on a bigger role with the team in Season Six. He more than doubled his offensive production, with 45 goals and 63 assists for 108 points, and a +57 rating, earning his first All-Star nomination. Season Six also marked the first, and only, individual award that Devon Marlow-Marta would ever win, the Francis Trophy, awarded to the player deemed to be the most sportsmanlike in the VHL. Although the Wranglers were able to get past Seattle in seven games during the first round, Scotty Campbell and the Helsinki Titans undid the Wranglers' stellar season in just five games to win their first-ever Continental Cup.

 

Despite joining a strong Calgary team, they did not return to their previous glory until Devon Marlow-Marta emerged as their prominent offensive threat.

 

With Brett Slobodzian and now Scott Boulet both lost to retirement now, it was now up to Marlow-Marta the new face of the Calgary offense, and he did not disappoint. He eclipsed 50 goals for the first time, finishing with 115 points and a +47, earning a second straight All-Star nod. The Season Seven Wranglers got revenge on Campbell by bouncing the Toronto Legion, his latest team, in the first round. However, the Continental Cup continued to elude the new-look Wranglers, as the Avangard Havoc went on to defeat Calgary in six games. However, the third time would prove to be the charm in Season Eight, as the Wranglers were bolstered by a career season from Marlow-Marta, his 132 points and +62 leading the way. After placing 11th in scoring on his team as a rookie, he was now fourth in the VHL in scoring. On their way to the Continental Cup, Scotty Campbell and his Toronto Legion were dispatched one final time, and Calgary defeated the Riga Reign to finally hoist the Continental Cup once again after years of frustration. 

 

Season Eight ultimately proved to be the zenith for this Calgary squad, as the Wranglers' power began to diminish. Marlow-Marta failed to reach 100 points and be nominated as an All-Star for the first time since his rookie season. Matt Bentz had begun to emerge as the top threat for Calgary, although he didn't seem to be particularly ready for it, as the Wranglers' title defense was unceremoniously cut short by a sweep from the Toronto Legion, gaining revenge for first round exits on behalf of Calgary the past two seasons. Perhaps unwilling to continue on if these were to be his new standards, Devon Marlow-Marta decided Season Ten would be his last, and it proved to be the toughest season of all. Many of the Wranglers' biggest names were now gone, and Calgary had entered a rebuild. Marlow-Marta, however, refused to leave his home, and in spite of a dreadful year, he turned in another stellar season, earning a fourth and final All-Star nod. Despite a career-high 55 goals, the depleted Calgary team could only manage 13 wins, and Marlow-Marta rode off into the sunset without one last chase at the Continental Cup, as Bentz was left to pick up the pieces of a shattered dynasty that not even Scott Boulet himself could save. 

 

The light in the darkness, the determined of Matt Bentz on and off the ice proved to be the flame that kept the passion for Calgary Wranglers' hockey alive in the aftermath of their early success.

 

Although he put up big numbers and was an integral piece of several great Calgary Wranglers teams, debate raged as to whether or not he was a Hall of Fame player. He never finished higher than fourth in league scoring, never leading the league in goals, assists, or points, and only played in six seasons. However, his consistent, efficient play, both in the regular season and in the playoffs, ultimately proved to be too much to ignore for voters, and Devon Marlow-Marta entered the VHL Hall of Fame with David Night in the Class of Season 17. As a reliable, yet constantly overlooked player in VHL history, he was the perfect embodiment for the North American Conference Championship trophy. Just like how you can't make it to the championship without hard-working players like Devon Marlow-Marta, players in the North American Conference cannot compete for the Continental Cup without first winning the trophy that bears his name, a fitting legacy for a player that seemingly never stopped working. 

 

Editor's Note: Thanks are in order to @Victor for helping to fill in the missing information on the history of the Devon Marlow-Marta Trophy, which is conspicuously absent from the Portal. Take a look at that, won't you, @Will?

 

Player Mentions: @Devon, @scotty, @rybak_49, @djscooter, @sterling, @Kendrick, @Matt, @Knight

Edited December 14, 2020 by Doomsday

[Doomsday 4,033]

Claim 2/2

[BOOM 8,401]

These deserve some replies. Great work @Doomsday

 

I think this series is great and a nice way to either remember or learn about the history of the league.