Saturday, June 26, 2010

Oilers at 46: Martin Marincin










ISS: 40
Redline: 50
Bob McKenzie: 71

Made some headway for himself after a good showing at the Under 18’s this year, and has put himself back on the prospect radar. He also appeared in the World Juniors as a 17 year old for Slovakia. Marincin is a big defender who can play with a physical edge and could even hear his name in round two if a team really likes the package he brings to the table.

Courtesy Bruins 2010 Draft Watch:
Martin Marincin, D, 6-4, 170, Slovakia (18 Feb 1992)
Size and skating ability is first-round material, and he showed it off at the WJC. However, as other scouts had intimated to me earlier this season, he also demonstrated his maddening inconsistency. Looked like a stud against Team USA in the tourney's first game, skating extremely well and moving the puck with authority while playing a solid positional game. Against Canada, he was ghastly, looking tentative, getting caught out of position and making numerous turnovers in the face of an aggressive forecheck. Tall, but slight- must add bulk to his frame. Exhibited good gap control and used his condor-like reach to keep opponents at bay and defend effectively against the rush.

Overview: Defines what scouts are talking about when they say, "Good upside, but..." Has a lot of kinks to work out in his game yet. Marincin is the kind of player who polarizes opinions on him because he tends to perform in extremes. His size and mobility are what every NHL team looks for, but he's not likely to be a player who puts up a lot of points at that level if he ever reaches it.
When on top of his game, he's involved, making the right decisions and getting the puck up the ice quickly. Given that he's playing against men in his native Slovakia (on HC Kosice), he'll get that chance to develop as a gangly teen. Don't know if he did enough to crack the top-30, but will have other opportunities to sell NHL clubs on his worth.

Redline Rank 50
Tall Lanky D with a huge frame to fill out. Good skating ability for his size; Pivots well and shows good agility, though he lacks balance and acceleration. Skates with head up and looking for plays - smooth puck handler with good passing touch. Reads play quickly and makes good decisions. Doesn't force things that aren't there. However, once he makes his outlet pass, his arms sag to his side and he's not interested in trying anything else offensively. Lacks an aggressive mindset and rarely ventures off the blue line at offensive end. Inconsistent defensively - positioning in own zone needs improvement. Tough to beat 1-on-1 off the rush because of his mobility and long reach, but can be beaten in tight by quick, shifty forwards. Counts mostly on the pokecheck and skating ability rather than using his big body, but is improving in the physical aspect and does a good job pinning men against the wall.
Projection: Big, shutdown #4-5 dman
Style compares to: Lavislav Smid (with a better shot)

Steve Tambellini: "He's a big man, tall and lanky. I guess the poise he showed at the WJ tournament, I thought he was better there than what he was showing at the U-18. His ability to match up against skill players in the tournament, he's got a good stick. His mobility is good. He's a big man who can think the game."

Stu MacGregor: "We may end up putting him in the American League. We're happy to have him he's a big kid, he skates well. A big strong guy, he has a lot of physical development to go yet. He makes a good pass, we're excited about him."

12 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. dantencer:

    Being told that Marincin is almost a sure-shot to go to Prince George #1 in the CHL import draft...

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  3. Don't know much about the player but the assets swapped (21 for 46) make me sad. His measurements are appealing though.

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  4. With this pick, and their pick at 48, it's official: the Coke Machines are back. Hopefully, Coke Machine 2 is more successful than its predecessor. At least the scouting reports make it sound like these are players picked as much for their talents as for their size.

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  5. Could we have taken Toffoli here and got Marincin with the Hamilton pick?

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  6. Guy's a project, but should be a good player 3-4 years down the road. We needed a guy like this in the system. Way more than the less physical guys on the board.

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  7. Oilers need a huge bottom 6, to balance out the currently projected smaller than desireable top 6.

    Hockey team building 101.

    It's defence looks really pathetic right now also, viz winning any kind of cup in a hurry.

    Then there's the goaltending.

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  8. I'm with jon k on this one, this is a sad return for the two picks used to get Nash.

    Here's hoping Marincin is the real deal and blows us away in 4-5 years. I was hoping for some time that they'd reconcile with Nash.

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  9. Wow, did the Oil ever make a lot of mistakes with Nash.

    Overpaying to draft him
    Poor due diligence
    Media leaks
    Soured relationships
    Selling low
    Trading him for a project pick
    Overpaying for that project pick

    I guess there's a reason they finished dead last?

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  10. People that are crapping on the oilers for trading Nash....what exactly is going to offered to the oilers for Nash when every gm in the league knows Nash isn't playing here? Think about before you jump all over them.

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  11. well, they couldn't control that he stayed at Cornell so long.

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  12. tencer tweet:

    Stu MacGregor says the Oilers will try to put Martin Marincin in the AHL next year...

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