Acolatse and Marincin Make Pro Debuts
The Prince George Cougars top two point producing blue-liners both made their professional debuts this past weekend in the American Hockey League. 19-year old Martin Marincin suited up for the Oklahoma City Barons Sunday in a 6-3 regular season finale loss in Houston against the Aeros. Marincin’s first pro game came a day after Sena Acolatse put on the Worcester Sharks uniform in Charlotte, falling 6-2 to the Checkers.
Marincin, who wore number 5 and is a second round draft pick of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers last June, the parent club of the Barons, had two shots on goal and had a plus/minus rating of +1. He also had four penalty minutes. The Barons had already clinched a playoff berth in the Calder Cup playoffs and will square off with the Hamilton Bulldogs in game 1 of their best of seven first round series Thursday in Hamilton.
Marincin was the first overall pick by the Cougars in the 2010 CHL Import Draft, which took place a week after the NHL draft. Marincin, who stands 6’5″ and weighs 196 pounds, was an excellent offensive threat from the back end all season for the Cougars in his freshman year, collecting 14 goals and 42 assists for 56 points in 67 games. Marincin broke Dustin Byfuglien’s Cougars rookie scoring record in all three categories, which were set in the 2002-03 season when Byfuglien had 10 goals and 29 assists for 39 points. Marincin led the Cougars in power play scoring with 32 points, including a team high 24 assists, which was tied for 14th most in the WHL. Marincin had 15 multi-point games during the season, which included 3-three point games and one-four point game, fourth most on the Cougars roster. Overall, Marincin finished eighth in WHL scoring by defencemen, leading all first year blue-liners. The product of Kosice, Slovakia, also played for Slovakia at the 2011 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Buffalo, New York.
Acolatse signed an entry level contract with the San Jose Sharks on March 3, becoming the first Bay Area born prospect for the Sharks in the team’s history. Acolatse, who calls Edmonton home, was born in Hayward, California. Acolatse wore number 36 and had two shots in his pro debut game for the Worcester Sharks. The game was a tough one for the Sharks to play after being eliminated from playoff contention the night before by the Checkers. The Checkers cruised to a 6-2 victory. The 20-year old Acolatse was acquired by the Cougars in October and made an immediate impact, earning CHL Player of the Year honors for the week of October 11-17, when he collected three goals and 11 points in three games. That effort was highlighted by a five point night against the Kamloops Blazers on October 16 in an 8-1 Cougars victory. Acolatse finished fourth in WHL defense scoring with 15 goals and 48 assists for 63 points, becoming just the fourth Cougars defenceman, and first since Dan Hamhuis in 2002, to reach 60 points in a season.
