Leader-Post article (Marantz debuts with Pats as they improve to 6-2)

Marantz debuts with Pats as they improve to 6-2

By Greg Harder, Leader-Post

October 13, 2011

If the Regina Pats were going to fill their 20-year-old vacancy, it had to be with a player capable of making an impact.

They believe Matt Marantz has that ability.

"We feel he can contribute some offence to our hockey club," GM Chad Lang said Wednesday after acquiring Marantz from the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2013 WHL bantam draft.

"He scored 20 goals last year and none of those goals were on the power play. It proves he's a guy who's capable of scoring. We feel if given the opportunity to play some special teams that hopefully he can enhance those numbers. He's a real responsible player on both ends of the ice yet we think he has offensive upside. With the maturity and experience he brings, we're excited to get him."

Marantz made his Pats debut Wednesday night in a 4-3 shootout win over the host Calgary Hitmen. He joined Regina less than two weeks after Lethbridge had acquired him from the Spokane Chiefs for a fourthround pick. The Hurricanes were carrying an excess of 20-year-olds and faced a deadline of today to declare three overage players.

Marantz has five assists in seven games this season after recording 20 goals and 42 points with a plus-21 rating in 68 games last year. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Calgary product is a former Pats prospect who was listed by the team after he went undrafted. The Pats later dropped him and he was picked up by Spokane.

Lang had previously talked to the Chiefs about Marantz before he was sent to Lethbridge. In Regina, he was immediately slotted alongside Jordan Weal, filling a need for a veteran goal scorer to complement the Pats' No. 1 centre.

"For us that was a big part of it," said Lang. "We wanted another guy who we felt could play with Weal and hopefully create some additional offence for our hockey club."

Meanwhile, the Pats are continuing to keep tabs on former captain Garrett Mitchell, who's with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays - a minor-league affiliate of the Washington Capitals. Mitchell is eligible to return to Regina as a 20-year-old.

"From what I've been told through his agent as well as talking with Garrett, they're trying to juggle things with Washington's roster and see how that affects (the AHL affiliate in) Hershey," said Lang. "There's probably going to be point where he rejoins Hershey. Like I said from Day 1, they're going to give Mitchy every opportunity to stay pro. With the NHL just getting going and the AHL just starting, I still think it's a little premature (to talk about him returning). Do I anticipate him back? Highly unlikely. Yet, if that opportunity does present itself we would have 14 days to make any decisions or adjustments with our 20-year-old situation."

Meanwhile, the Pats were down 3-1 late in the third period on Wednesday when Weal scored with 2: 50 left in regulation and Dyson Stevenson (with his team's net empty) forced overtime with 51 seconds remaining in the third period.

Calgary product Morgan Klimchuk opened the scoring and closed it out with the shootout winner for the Pats (6-2-0), who were outshot 36-24.

Brooks Macek, Cody Sylvester and Trevor Cheek replied for the Hitmen (1-3-0-1). Goalie Matt Hewitt picked up the victory while Chris Driedger took the loss.

EXTRAS: Wednesday's contest was the 1,000th WHL game for Pats trainer Greg Mayer ... Regina slipped from No. 4 to No. 8 in this week's CHL rankings ... The Pats continue their threegame Alberta road swing Friday against the Edmonton Oil Kings.

gharder@leaderpost.com

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