Long Term Planning: Ben Marshall Willing to Wait
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Ben Marshall isn’t in any hurry to play for the Detroit Red Wings. The 19 year-old is at least three years away from playing professional hockey and he’s more than willing to take the long road.
“That’s the big thing the Red Wings focus on is taking a slower road,” Marshall said. “They wait a long time for their players. I still have some development to do so I am just focusing on working hard and getting better.”
The St. Paul, Minnesota native just finished his rookie season at the University of Minnesota where he contributed 4 goals 13 points in 41 games. Marshall spent the previous season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL and finishing sixth among all USHL defensemen in scoring with 11 goals and 32 points.
“It was a bigger jump then I thought going from the USHL to college,” he said. “In college the guys are not only bigger and faster, but they are also smart too. I think that was the biggest transition.”
Size has always been a concern for the 5-foot-9, 175 pound defenseman, but he’s hoping his other skills offset his small stature. Marshall is a dynamic skater with a top flight speed and outstanding offensive instincts.
“Obviously I don’t have the size that a lot of these other guys have,” he said. “My biggest attributes are my speed and my skating, but I know I need to work on my strength. I took about two weeks off after the season but have been lifting weights all summer.”
Marshall has spent the last week at the Red Wings development camp in Traverse City, MI. This is his third camp since being drafted by the Wings 201st overall in the 2010 NHL entry draft.
“I was still in high school during my first camp,” he said. “Now I have a year of junior and college under my belt and I am a little more confident. It also helps that my roommate this week is Brenden Smith and he’s giving me a lot of insight about the Red Wings and what his journey was like.”
While Marshall’s offensive game is his strong suit, he is working to improve defensively. Finishing his rookie campaign with a plus-13 was a solid step in the right direction but he’ll need to show he can be even better while taking on a larger role next season.
“My defensive game has come a long way,” he said. “My coach at Minnesota, Mike Guentzel, taught me a lot of details that help defensively especially at the college pace. It’s really helped me to adjust positionally. I still have a lot of work to do, but the good thing is I have plenty of time to improve.”
brad said:
Jul 13, 12 at 1:43 amMy nephew played on that Omaha Lancers team when Marshall joined the USHL and, being a Wings fan, I was anxious to see him play. Yes, he’s small, and yes, he can skate and has fine puck skills. But what really blew me away was his hockey smarts and creativity. He makes outlet passes other guys don’t even think to make, and defensively makes up for his lack of size by correct positioning and uncanny anticipation.
Malik’s comparisons to a Rafalski in the making are not far off.
Dan said:
Jul 13, 12 at 2:17 pmI went to high school with Benny and aside from the fact that he is a gifted hockey player, he was always a stand up, nice kid to everyone. I wish him the best of luck!
Josh said:
Jul 13, 12 at 4:32 pmHey Lindy, will the older prospects like Andersson, Nyquist, Coetzee, Raedeke, etc. play in the 2012 Prospects Tournament?
Sarah Lindenau said:
Jul 13, 12 at 4:48 pmRaedeke and Andersson aren’t eligible. Nyquist is but my guess is he will not. Each team is limited to 4 players with 1 year of pro experience. My guess is the 4 spots will go to Parkes, Nestrasil, Callahan, and Aubry. They do this to level the playing field.
Josh said:
Jul 13, 12 at 5:34 pmThanks Lindy!
I did not know about the 4 players with 1 year rule. I wonder because I can see the Wings perhaps ask Nyquist to go there to provide some leadership. They did so with Brendan Smith for his 6th prospect camp.
What do you think of these lines? Good enough picture of what they might look like for the prospect camp? (FA = Free agent tryout)
Nyquist*-Jarnkrok-Jurco
Tvrdon-Sheahan-Pulkkinen
Nestrasil*-Aubry*-Ferraro*
Athanasiou-Quine-Frk
Cayer-FA-Hudon
Almqvist-Nicastro
Ouellet-Sproul
De Haas-Nedomlel
FA-FA
Mrazek
Paterson
FA
Sarah Lindenau said:
Jul 13, 12 at 5:47 pmI think Callahan will be there for sure. He is essentially the tough guy… And I forgot about Ferraro. That means one of those guys will be left off similar to raedeke last year. I think they will want to look at Parkes over Nyquist. They know what Nyquist brings to the table for sure. Also at that point Cayer is a FA and will need to tryout unless Detroit signs him. DeHaas likely won’t be there either since he will be going the college road so I would guess Fournier will be there instead.
Josh said:
Jul 13, 12 at 6:42 pmWell according to RWC, DeHaas will play next year in the BCHL and then he’ll play at Clarkson so that’s how I figure he’ll be there for the tournament.
And I guess it’ll be tough to decide on which “pro” players will play at the tournament because Fournier will also count against the 4 pro player limit. I can understand why they think they’ve seen enough of Nyquist against prospects but I’m sure they want to get a good look at all of Callahan, Ferraro, Aubry, Parkes, Nestrasil and Fournier. If I were to guess from my perception of which four of the six the Red Wings have the most faith in then I’d guess they would cut Nestrasil and Fournier out of the tournament.
Sarah Lindenau said:
Jul 13, 12 at 8:43 pmWell Marshall was playing in the USHL before going to Minny and he did not come. They have to pay their own way so my guess is he won’t be there. last year the Wings did not bring raedeke because they had too many guys with experience. They also knew what his game was and wanted a longer look at other guys. I think that same logic could apply to whoever they don’t bring. I think they would probably want to bring fournier and Nestrasil to get them going early. But we shall see. It will be a tough decision for sure!