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Mason Marchment needs to chill on the penalties he’s committing

By Brian Sweet

Oct 30, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) stops a shot by Dallas Stars left wing Mason Marchment (27) during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 30, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) stops a shot by Dallas Stars left wing Mason Marchment (27) during the second period at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mason Marchment has really turned himself around this year compared to last season. Marchment is much more aggressive in front of the net trying to get the puck to his teammates or score. However, I do have an issue with how aggressive he’s been playing lately.

He has racked up 17 PIM in the first nine games of the season so far. He’s sort of helping the other team in a way with his improved aggressiveness. Let’s take a look at how the season has gone so far for him and how can he improve his aggressiveness in a way that won’t hurt the Stars during the game.

Mason Marchment Aggressiveness: How he’s hurting the team

Right now, Marchment being in the penalty box is somewhat hurting the Stars. The Stars’ penalty kill has been good so far this season that it hasn’t hurt the Stars just yet. What concerns me is if the penalty kill unit has a bad skid sometime later in the year, Marchment’s penalties could come back and hurt the Stars in some games.

Luckily, the Stars killed off both of his penalties Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers. With the way the Oilers were surging in the third period, it could have led to the game being tied if they converted on Marchment’s hooking call on Vincent Desharnais.

Mason Marchment Aggressiveness: How he can improve?

Marchment can improve on his aggressive play by being aware of where his stick is on the ice. While some of his penalty minutes have come from aggressive checking, the other half have come from a lack of stick awareness. Marchment just needs to be aware of where his stick is if he’s defending someone and make a clean play to get the puck. If he can improve on that, then the Stars are going to benefit from his defensive play on the ice throughout this season.

Mason Marchment Aggressiveness: Conclusion

Mason Marchment has really improved from how he played last season. He seems so much more aggressive with the puck driving it into the opponent’s zone and making plays with it. He’s also improved on his defense with his ability to pick the puck away from players. I’m not trying to sound like a negative person writing this article. If he can learn to know where his stick is while making defensive plays, he can cut down on the penalty minutes and be a big contributor on the ice.

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