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Notebook: Todd Marchant’s Hockey Legacy Lives on Through Daughters

By Greg Bates - Special to USAHockey.com, 03/30/15, 3:30PM MDT

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The former NHL center’s daughters player in the Tier I girls’ national championships.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- It’s all about hockey at the Marchant household.

After playing 18 years in the NHL, Todd Marchant’s ability on the ice was passed to his daughters and wife.

Both Marchant’s spouse, Caroline, and girls, Lillian and Ashley, were able to experience the Toyota-Hockey National Championships this season.

Caroline competed for the Anaheim Lady Ducks Women’s Senior B Division, with Lillian playing in Tier I 19U for the Lady Ducks and Ashley with the Lady Ducks in Tier I 14U. All the games were held around the Green Bay area.

Todd is an assistant coach for both the 14U and 19U teams. However, he was in the stands watching his girls compete in the national tournament.

“I’m very proud of both of them that they’ve been able to play the game at the highest level and that they love the game as much as I do,” Todd said. “We’re a hockey family through and through.”

Caroline, who helped her team capture the Senior B national title, is the general manager of the Lady Ducks youth program. Todd, who is the director of player development for the Anaheim Ducks NHL team, used to coach at a couple levels in the program, but now he’s taking on a different roll.

“With my job with the Anaheim Ducks, I don’t get a chance to see them play very much, and when I do it’s always nice to see them competing at the highest level,” Todd said.

Ashley, 13, loves to have her dad in attendance for games.

“It’s very special,” she said. “It’s a little freaky sometimes if you don’t have your mom or dad as your coach, but they’re up there watching me, so I know that they’re always with me.”

Todd enjoys being a dad from the stands and offering advice if her girls ask for it.

“If they don’t want it, I don’t,” Todd said. “Sometimes it’s positive and sometimes it’s not, but it’s always constructive. When they take it that way, it’s beneficial.”

Todd, who finished up with 1,195 career games and 498 points in the NHL, was a solid center in the league.

Do his girls take after his skill set?

“My oldest daughter’s a centerman and she plays a lot like I did, more of a defensive player — a  player that’s always on the right side of the puck,” Todd said. “My other daughter is a defenseman. She’s always wanted to be a defenseman, so it’s kind of different from what dad did for a living.”

Putting Up Impressive Numbers

Anne Bloomer was a scoring machine the opening two days of the girls’ Tier I 14U tournament.

The 14-year-old for the Chicago Young Americans tallied seven points (three goals, four assists) in two victories. Bloomer, who plays forward, had a goal and three assists in a 9-1 win over Washington Pride and two goals and helper in a 5-1 triumph over the Lady Ducks. She also had two big goals in her team’s 10-2 quarterfinal victory over the Mid-Fairfield Connecticut Stars.

“I’ve always been a scorer, but always a better passer,” said Bloomer, who is a freshman at Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.).

“I just try to create offensive opportunities. It always helps that my teammates are always there open and looking for a pass. It always helps with flow and rhythm, and I wouldn’t be able to do it without them.”

Chicago Young Americans coach Ted Devine has a plethora of scorers on his team.

“One of the attributes that differentiates the kids from the forward position is, can they score?” Devine said. “There’s a lot of kids that can go up and down the ice and work very hard, but it’s a different player to be able to score the puck.”

When Bloomer gets the opportunity to light the lamp, she usually makes no mistake about it.

“If 22 gets the puck on her backhand, the goalie better look out because the water bottle’s coming off,” Devine said. “It’s going in the back of the net, and it’s going up high.”

Leading Scorer

Boston Jr. Eagles forward Kaleigh Donnelly led the 14U tournament in scoring with 13 points (six goals, seven assists). She scored half her tallies on the power play.

Two other girls, Chicago Young Americans’ Cecilie Ehrhard and Boston Jr. Eagles’ Kelly Browne, each scored 10 points in the tournament.

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.


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