Marquardt hoping to take that next step

Matt Marquardt lines up for a face-off in an NHL Prospects game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars. Photo by Chris Dawson.

This is the second of three special features which can be seen here on BayToday.ca as Sports Director Chris Dawson traveled to the NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Michigan.

At first it was tough to find Matt Marquardt on the ice during the Columbus Blue Jackets warm-ups. On the roster he was penciled in on one of the top Blue Jackets lines but there was no one wearing his #58 jersey for the Columbus Blue Jackets prospects team.

That’s because earlier in the week some thieves broke into their hotel in Traverse City, Michigan and took off with a number of Blue Jackets jerseys.

So Marquardt was forced to wear #73 with no name on the back, but thanks to his physical play against the Dallas Stars prospects he was easy to pick out.

In the third period the local product was putting his size to good use causing a screen in front of Swiss Dallas Stars goalie Tobias Stephan while heavyweight Stars defender Matt Nickerson tried to use his 6-4 hulking frame to move Marquardt to no avail. After the puck went into the corner Marquardt followed with a punishing body check against the boards on Nickerson.

That’s what the Blue Jackets management wants to see from Matt Marquardt.

The Columbus Blue Jackets prospect was among dozens of NHL prospects who took part in the 10th annual Traverse City NHL Prospects Tournament hosted by the Detroit Red Wings.

Just like the other players at this camp, Marquardt is hoping his power game make him stand out.

“I’d love to play pro,” said Marquardt, who is without a pro contract offer from the Blue Jackets.

“Its everyone’s dream everybody wants an opportunity to play at the professional level and I’m not too worried about it right now I’m just trying to play my game and wherever I end up I’ll be happy with and Moncton is a great place to play and I wouldn’t mind going back for a 20-year-old season but I’m going to give it everything I got so that I could stick around for a while.”

Marquardt says he’s in the best shape of his life but Blue Jackets director of amateur scouting Paul Castron says Marquardt still has some work to do.

“The main thing is that he’s got to compete on a consistent basis,” said Castron; a Sudbury native who played two seasons for the North Bay Trappers in 1979 and 1980.

“Sometimes Matt tends to take it easy on some shifts and he’s got great size and he’s got to use that to his advantage and just compete hard every shift.”

Marquardt finished the Prospects Tournament with one goal in four games. Now his one goal is to impress the Columbus Blue Jackets management at the main camp which begins on Friday, September 14th.