LEWISTON – Some Lewiston Maineiacs fans discussing the defensive depth chart at practice over the weekend noted that Kevin Marshall seemed to be fitting in well.
“Where did he come from?” asked one fan. “He’s what? 17? 18?”
When his friend looked it up and calmly said “No, he’s only 16,” the first fan nearly spit out his coffee and made an exaggerated stagger backwards in disbelief.
Marshall, this year’s first pick by the Maineiacs in the QMJHL Entry Draft, didn’t appear to skip a beat during the team’s five-day intensive training camp.
Patrick Cusack, meanwhile, wasn’t noticed all that much. To many observers, though, that is a very good thing. Cusack was also a first-round pick this year after the Maineiacs traded Alex Bourret to Shawinigan.
“They are both very poised on the ice,” said Maineiacs head coach and general manager Clem Jodoin. “The biggest thing for them is that they make good first passes. They have both been competing according to their own style of play.”
Ready, set, go
After his first intrasquad game, steam rose from Cusack’s head. Still huffing and puffing, the quiet defenseman shrugged.
“At first, I was a bit nervous,” Cusack said. “Some of the passes went over the tape, but I was expecting to be nervous at first.”
Cusack was cautious, almost in awe of playing with the likes of Alexandre Picard, Mathieu Aubin and Marc-Andre Cliche.
“I haven’t been out on the ice with the veterans yet,” Cusack said after his first practice. “Those guys will be intense, but I’m ready.”
Marshall, meanwhile, never looked out of place, nor did he let on to being nervous.
“There isn’t really that much pressure, I don’t think,” Marshall said in his native French. “I came in here thinking that I was equal to everyone else, and that I have to make the team just like they do.”
Five days later
Teens have a tendency to grow in spurts, but the likelihood of a physical growth spurt over five days is unfathomable. Mentally, however, things can change in a hurry.
“After seeing them play, they remind me of (defenseman Sebastien) Piche when he first got here last year,” said Jodoin. “They see the ice really well, especially for 16 years old.”
Marshall seemed to settle in well from the beginning.
“I thought I had five good days at camp,” said Marshall. “I thought it was very different than the level I played at last year, but so far things are going well, and hopefully this year will go well if I keep it up.”
Cusack, meanwhile, was not as confident about his five-day stretch in Lewiston.
“I don’t think I was at the top of my game on any of the nights,” said Cusack, who came in with a reputation of being a solid defenseman without being flashy. “The bounces didn’t really seem to go my way, either. I don’t really feel that I had a lot of pressure, other than the pressure I may be put on myself.”
Both agree that the major difference, should they stick with the Maineiacs, will be the speed of the game.
“You have one or two seconds less to react,” said Cusack. “If you have to make a pass, you have less time to look up and make it.”
Both players survived the first big cut of the week and are among the final 36 players. Twenty-five players, including two goaltenders, are allowed to remain on the roster at the beginning of the regular season.
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