Mitch Marner

Mitchell Marner (born May 5, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Marner was the second player (after Brad Richards in 2000) ever to win a Memorial Cup, a Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy, CHL Player of the Year, a league MVP trophy (Red Tilson Trophy) and a league playoff MVP trophy (Wayne Gretzky 99 Award) in the same season.

He played in the 2011–12 season with the Vaughan Kings and went on to win a GTHL title.

For the 2012–13 season, Marner transitioned to the Don Mills Flyers of the GTHL, where he played his minor midget year, registering 86 points in 55 games.

He finished second in scoring in the GTHL behind Dylan Strome (who was then playing with the Toronto Marlboros).

At the end of his season with the Flyers, Marner was immediately invited to join the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League, where he went on to win a championship.

During his minor midget season, Marner was initially unsure of his plans for the following season.

He received a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan to play for the Wolverines ice hockey team, while also being drafted by the London Knights in the first round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, 19th overall.

Despite receiving a scholarship offer from the University of Michigan, Marner elected to sign with the London Knights, who selected him with their first round pick in the 2013 Priority Selection.

Marner had a strong rookie season with the Knights, registering 59 points in 64 games and was the runner-up for the OHL rookie of the year, behind Travis Konecny.

During the 2014–15 season, Marner played superbly alongside linemate Max Domi.

He was selected fourth overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

While Marner was growing up, he began developing his on ice skills with 3 Zones Hockey School.

He attended The Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ontario, and then Blyth Academy.

Marner played his minor career in the Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL).

As the season progressed, Marner was consistently included as one of the top prospects in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, being listed as a definite top ten pick, if not top five.

He would lead the league in scoring for most of the season until Dylan Strome of the Erie Otters recorded six points in the final game of the season, bumping Marner to second.

As reward for his outstanding sophomore season, Marner was named to the OHL First All-Star team and awarded the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy as the OHL's highest scoring right wing player.

Marner was selected fourth overall by the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2015 Draft.

On July 28, 2015, the Leafs signed Marner to a three-year, entry-level contract.

On October 1, 2015, Marner was named as co-captain of the Knights along with teammate Christian Dvorak.

Marner played most of the season at right wing on a line with Dvorak and Matthew Tkachuk.

The trio was a dominant force and the Knights ended the regular season as the highest scoring team in the OHL.

Marner himself finished the regular season second in OHL scoring with 116 points in 57 games and was awarded the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL's most outstanding player of the year.

Marner played an important role during the Knights' 2016 playoff run, resulting in the team winning the OHL Championship.

He led the playoffs in scoring and with 44 points in 18 games and was awarded the Wayne Gretzky 99 Award as playoff MVP.

Marner helped lead the Knights in winning the 2016 Memorial Cup.

He won both the Stafford Smythe Memorial Trophy and the Ed Chynoweth Trophy as tournament MVP and leading scorer.

After an impressive training camp and pre-season (in which he led the team with four assists), it was announced that Marner would remain on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster for the upcoming 2016–17 season.

He made his NHL debut in the team's season opener on October 12.

Despite an effective first game with six shots on goal, he was overshadowed by a historic four-goal debut from teammate Auston Matthews.

The next game on his first night playing in Hockey Night in Canada, Marner would score his first NHL goal after receiving a pass between his legs.

He would record his first career assist four days later.

On October 27, 2016, in a game against the Florida Panthers, Marner had his first multi-point game, accumulating three assists to lead the Leafs to a 4–2 win.

Marner would then have his first multi-goal game against the Buffalo Sabres on November 3, 2016, as the Leafs won 2–1.

On November 15, 2016, Marner had three points in a 6–2 win over the Nashville Predators, which at the time tied him in the lead for Leafs' leading scorer (with James van Riemsdyk) for the first time of his career.

Marner was the third Leaf to be named Rookie of the Month during the 2016–17 season, making the Maple Leafs the first NHL team with three different Rookie of the Month honorees in one campaign.

Marner also set the Maple Leafs record for most assists in a season by a rookie with 42 on the year.

Marner was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for January 2017 after leading all rookies with 11 assists and 15 points in 13 games.

He also led all rookies with eight power-play points and matched a career-high three point game.