The following column appears in this week's edition of Connect Weekly:
By Tyler King
There’s something about the new letter on Mike Marianchuk’s jersey that has completely transformed his game.
The lone remaining 1992-born player on the Oil Barons roster after the trade deadline, Marianchuk has quickly become a major offensive catalyst for a team that has surged in the AJHL North standings despite the jettisoning of its top offensive talent.
The numbers alone bear it out. In the 35 games he played before the trade deadline, Marianchuk registered 4 goals and 9 assists. In merely 9 games played since, he has more than doubled his goal total, adding 5 more, and 3 more assists.
In the simple measure of points-per-game, the new captain has improved 139% since the roster shake-up.