Captain and Former Scoring Champion Brandon Marino Returns to Beast
BRAMPTON, ONTARIO – The Brampton Beast, ECHL affiliate of the St. John’s IceCaps and Montreal Canadiens, announce today that the club has re-signed 2015-16 leading scorer Brandon Marino for the 2016-17 season.
Marino, 30, is a native of Riverside, California and was a tour-de-force with the Beast throughout his 40 games played with the club last season.
In 2015-16, Marino was a point-per-game player, recording 13 goals and 28 assists while chipping in with 22 penalty minutes. His 41 points led the club, despite playing in 16 fewer games than the next highest-scoring teammate.
Marino, who took over as the captain of the Beast when Cal Wild retired early in the season, has been an explosive, high-scoring forward throughout his ECHL career and is looking to continue that trend with the Beast this season. His ECHL numbers speak for themselves. In 183 career ECHL contests, the sniper has recorded a combined 63 goals and 140 assists shared between the Beast and the Fort Wayne Komets.
His goal-scoring prowess was on full display during the 2013-14 season, when he registered 30 goals and 58 assists for 88 points, enough points to earn him an ECHL scoring title during his tenure with the Komets.
Marino believes his best days are ahead of him with the Beast this season and he is excited to get back to the Powerade Centre in front of the hometown fans in Brampton.
“This organization treats you well,” Marino said. “They do things the right way and I can see that the fan base is growing and we’re starting to get more support.”
Marino shared the 2015-16 season between the Beast and the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets, spending a career-high 34 regular season games in the AHL, during which he recorded four goals and 16 penalty minutes.
While Marino certainly admits he learned a lot during the 2015-16 campaign, he believes he is an improved version of the same player.
“Honestly, I don’t think I am a different player,” Marino said. “I have been lucky enough to produce in terms of points, but I consider myself a hard worker and I’m looking forward to being a part of a playoff team this season in Brampton.”
Beast Head Coach Colin Chaulk is no stranger to Brandon Marino. The pair suited up together as teammates on the Fort Wayne Komets and got to know each other a step further last season with Chaulk acting as Marino’s Head Coach. Chaulk is excited to have a player of Marino’s calibre back in the mix for this upcoming season.
“Brandon has led the ECHL in scoring,” Chaulk said. “From the outside looking in, you know he has talent. What people don’t know is that Brandon is also one of our hardest working players. He says and does the right things and not just on the ice. It’s definitely a big step in the right direction for our organization to get a player like Brandon back.”
[…] continue to fall as the Beast continue their push to a North Division crown. Brampton captain Brandon Marino became the all-time points leader assisting on a goal by Connor Crisp on Thursday […]