The NHL Hasn’t Seen This Since Wayne Gretzky... 

Marchessault is part of the heart and soul of this team. Happy he (an original Golden Knight) won the Conn Smythe. He certainly scored some timely goals during the Knights cup run.

Marchy and Tuch were my favourites in the Knights' first year. Their speed, skill, and just overall effort was above anything i'd seen in a long time. Amazing underrated players.

One of the best talent undrafted was Martin St-Louis with the Lightning. He never wins the Conn Smyth, but man he impressed me in 2004 when he wins the Stanley Cup. Great career with big stats!

As a Sharks fan, I always saw a lot of parallels between him and Pavelski. Both came into the league with low expectations you could say, earned their careers, high compete, and the heart and soul of their teams. Always respected him when he arrived in Vegas.

One of the original misfits of the VGK. He was a big part of our teams' start and glad he got his flowers as MVP this year.

As a knight fan since day one I lost it and cried when Marshy won the Conn Smythe… he deserved it more than anyone and he is a testament to future nhl prospects that your strength of heart is what matters. What an absolute beast #81forever

I hope he stays with us until the end. He carved in his name into history!!! I just got my Stanley Cup Marchy jersey because he is one of my favorites to ever grace the ice. Marchy, Mark Stone, and Wild Bill are the heart of this team. Hill and Eichel were the perfect additions. I hope we can keep this nucleus together for awhile.

He checked so well in the playoffs and then his scoring came to life and from there jack just kept feeding him. Well earned

Marchy is so competitive, that's the intangible he has that makes him so good. He just wants to win. The dude literally celebrates beating his own goalie during warmups.

Marchessault remjnds me of the Kraken’s Yanni Gourde. Another short guy who was overlooked because of his size. Like Marchessault, he has a high hockey IQ. He’s also very physical and in the playoffs his line was matched up against the opposing teams’ top lines because of their defensive play.

That's why I laugh when people say Vegas was gifted a team. Many of the players in the expansion draft were selected in side deals with teams for future draft picks or additional players. Marchessault and Smith were cap dumps. Theodore was given to us in an agreement to select Clayton Stoner. Not to mention how badly Vegas fleeced Ottawa with a trade for Stone (Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 2nd round pick). If you didn't want an expansion team to win a cup in 6 years don't have shitty GMs and ass pro scouts.

Marchy, like much of the Knights, is a 100 per.cent team first player. That's why they are successful. This isnt hard to figure out

Can't wait for someone to do an analyst video on William Karllson, who up until this season, has pretty much been a pacifist and staying away from fighting. This season though, he finally snapped and so far he's been seen borderline putting his opponents to sleep. The best example is at the end of Game 4 when both the Panthers, and their embarrassment of a fanbase, decided to go after Bennett. Karllson delivered 3-4 hard punches to Bennett's jaw, and then he decided to put Bennett into the Guillotine Choke to take him down. Then Karllson got side control and put a Darce Choke on him. Was crazy enough to make my friend think Karllson delivered a hammer fist prior to going side control. Karllson was part of 2 more skirmishes along the boards earlier this year.

I can’t tell you how many times in these playoffs I found myself asking, “Who was that? What a great heads up play!” only to discover the answer was Marchessault. I might start following the Golden Knights just because of him. He’s quite entertaining to watch.

I’m so happy for marchessault to be recognized like this. He’s been my favorite since the start and he will always be

I was instantly enamored by his play style and his competitive nature when he was drafted by VGK. I wore the Marchy jersey I bought in that inaugural season to game 5 and it felt good to see him recognized.

I was surprised that Tampa let him gp to the Panthers, then i was surprised the Panthers let him go to Vegas.

I still dont get it ... When you see guys like Marchy ... Marchand (pretty sure he isnt 6feet either) When you have the HEART to play BIG that what matther ... and I am Happy for this story! ... Marchy Deserve it !

Perfect passes from Eichel gave Marchessault the scoring opportunities.

Honestly the only position where it GENUINELY stops someone from being great is goalie size. If you aren’t at least 6’ as a goalie, you aren’t going anywhere.

Martin St. Louis is the best undrafted player. Another guy who was “too small” but actually was a huge impact player

Size absolutely still matters, but not everybody on the roster needs to be big. If Vegas had a whole team of little skilled guys, they would get bullied in the playoffs, but having one highly skilled small guy amongst the trees is not a bad thing.

This is a lesson the Bruins will never learn. Case in point, Sitting Matt Gryzlic for Forbert simply for his size. Yeah , just toss out the fact that Matt G had the best plus/minus on the team.

He is just a natural goal scorer. Finds a space, gets into high amount of quality chances and combined with great finishing he ends up with great amount of goals. You dont need size for that, i would even argue that him being shorter benefits him a bit in this type of play

Remember, Florida touched the Prince of Wales trophy

Peter Forsberg said that in his comeback try in 2011 Skaters were MUCH faster than when he decided to leave hockey only a few years earlier. So 2011 was FAST by old standard. He said every player on the team could skate very fast in 2011. So by 2011 speed was preferred over size and strength of the dead puck era. Go and look up average size of players per year by yourself. Ever since the lockout the game has moved to SPEED every year. And is the fastest ever right now.

I think Vegas might have the best scouting group in the nhl. Example the misfit line. I like how you pointed out Marchessault's timing around the net. He was relentless.

Reminded of the Story of Martin St.Louis he got Drafted by Calgary they gave up on him because of size and playing him on the 4th line traded him to Tampa and the rest is history fast forward to 2004 and he was a Stanley Cup Champion

Marchie is simply the best, so deserving of these great honors he earned with such tenacity. #Cupin6

I think Marchessault deserves every bit of praise he’s getting. It’s human nature to overlook the smaller than average athletes in contact sports, otherwise it wouldn’t be so common. Vegas had the magic sauce this year. Looking forward to the next.

He's my Favorite player on the Knights

When I went to the first VGK pre-season game on Sept 27, 2017 I noticed Marchessault. He was definitely the hardest-working player the Knights had. Each game his feet continued to move, and I could see that he wanted to be there, and deserved to be there. He was also my size which reminded me of watching Theo Fleury back in the day. I got his jersey for Christmas that year and was proud to be wearing that sweater outside T-Mobile when he was named MVP! #marchessgoat

Nobody ever said that zero small players can succeed in the NHL. That's just a straw man. But yes, guys like Marchessault are the exception, not the rule. So only the best, sturdiest small players get the job done.

The first Knights game I attended was in October of the inaugural season. I said to my girlfriend and her mom, "Watch that 81 guy. He's gonna be the heart of this team." I had never heard of him before that day. Now he's one of my favorite players.

HScottMattusow's comment did not age well.

I never even noticed his height as he plays so big. Love these stories - like Martin St. Louis. You are coming up with great videos. Thanks!

Dino Ciccarelli and Pat Verbeek, two smallish-yet-tenacious players who scored tons of goals and played in the greasy spots. Dino was undrafted and is in the HoF, and The Little Ball of Hate has a decent case to be in the Hall.

I was upset when Tampa let him walk. I mean yeah, they had so many other guys to sign and Marchey was the 13th forward... but man... All us Bolts fans knew what slipped through our fingers 😭

One of my favorite examples of disproving the size argument is Brad Marchand

Its crazy that teams passed on a 95 point scorer because he is under the average nhl player height

Oilers fan here. Marchessault was an assassin against us all series. Constantly sticking daggers at any chance of a momentum shift. It was brutal.

As a French Canadian I’m so proud of this guy!

Great analysis as always. I liked Marchy's play through the whole playoffs, but the Knights had so many players that could have gotten the nod for the Conn Smythe. Your video makes it clear why he was one of the frontrunners.

Johnathan Marchessault played like crazy in the cup final

Watching the Oilers lose to this team made me want to hate Marchessault, but seeing how hard he worked to earn every point he scored made it impossible to hate him.

There should be no such thing as too small. If you get hurt, you get hurt. If you’re small, you shy away from contact as best as possible which means, less chance of injury. I mean, Tkachuk is fairly big and he got hurt. A bigger player probably has more of a chance of being injured than a smaller one because they DONT avoid contact. They actually go to it.

Connathan Marchesmythe just finds ways to get it done. I believe his will be the first player number the Knights retire (58 and 99 already being retired for symbolic reasons) And yes, I know that opinion will anger the Fluery stans. MAF was great in Vegas, and yes VGK did him Dirty, but Marchy's impact at this point is far greater.

Marchessault is going to have his sweater hung up in the rafters one day for the Golden Knights. So happy for him to have won the Conn Smythe. Well-deserved!

Forgetting 20/20 hindsight, as a Panthers fan and season ticket holder I hated to see us let him go to Vegas. No, I never knew he would be this good but he was at least good enough in my mind to be a 2nd line winger on our team. Why not keep him as a piece? Yes, both former Panthers came back to bite us this Cup Finals.

Great video. Others talk like they know but you show that you know

I'd say the reason marshy is doing so well on the Knight's is BECAUSE of all the big dudes on his team. Just their presence and gritty play creates a lot of room for a skilled guy. The Knights are a REALLY big team, and they won the cup. I like it so MORE big, scary guys get sent into the league. You can bet other teams are looking at how rough these playoffs were and what the winning recipe was..

Expect Marchie to retire not as a lightning, and definitely not a panther, but as a Golden Knight.

Love it. Always root for an underdog with guts!

Imagine Marty St.Louis in today's nhl. Dude was putting up mad numbers as a small fella playing against giants.

Also marchy has got a mouth on him 🤣🤣I'm sure he wasn't making the greatest impression

All 5',9" of Ted Lindsay endured over 300+ stitches to his body and a HHOF career.

He is this generations Martin St Louis. The stories are almost identical. St Louis was my favorite player when I was younger living in Tampa and now that I live in Vegas it's Matchessault.

The kid ended up on the right team , with the right coach and the right team mates . Eichel drew the D and set him up , Stone took the middle pressure and the D kept the puck in the zone . Team effort

He goes to areas where people don't think to go which makes him a unique skilled bass player that can play with anybody in the league

Why was 2011 his draft year? He was 21 years old then. After this season he signed an AHL contract for 1 year. And then an NHL contract the year after. The question should be why no one drafted him during his 2009 season with 53 points and .5pts per game in the playoffs

I know he wasn't the best player around but as a kid I so fondly recall Nathan Gerbe at 5'4" taking out giants 🤣 so no size isn't the end all be all when it comes to being physical, but it sure does help.

H Scott Matusow... man that guy's a genius he really knows his stuff....

I love it….good on him and I hope he continues his success….IMO the best I drafted player of all time has to be Pavel Datsyuk….with martin St. Louis a close second.

Revisiting after the Preds signed him. Can’t wait to see what he can do!

As a a panthers fan…it’s worse we protected Alex Petrovic (not Bjustad) and exposed marshy… ugh. Dale Tallon still haunts this franchise… still paying Yandle too. ☠️

I remember being at a game along time ago and seeing Brian Gionta lining up at a face off beside a 6'4" apponant. That player would've killed him with a check if he had to hit him. So there is a fine line between speed and size. Everyone wants to win, but at what cost.

Marchy is really important to Vegas and always has been! Not surprised in the least that he got the MVP

I agree with the statements in this video as the undisputed truth. As someone who lived 7 years in Ste-Foy, a city adjacent to his hometown on Cap-Rouge, his success makes me smile. As for size, I have heard it argued many times...but here is MY take on size: • Eric Lindros was asked if he was EVER not the best player at any level. His answer was "yes", when he was 16. He said "the other kids were Italian and they had physically matured sooner... • In 1981 Dale Hawerchuk was the consensus number 1 prospected and drafted 1st overall by the Winnipeg Jets 1.0. He was said to be 5'11" tall. The Hartford Whalers drafted a 5'11" Ron Francis. They both had great rookie seasons but Ron Francis suffered a sophomore jinx and didn't recover for 2-3 years. At age 21 Ron Francis was 6'1". • When in schoo from grades 4 to 10, you slowly saw changes in the kids' bodies. Those who developed early stopped growing earlier while the ones who developped later grew bigger and "grew into their bodies". The tall lanky klutzes at 15 became star athletes by 18. My concern wit a short junior prospect would be that he is as good as he'll ever be. Eric Lindros grew into a star better than those 16-year old teammates. When Dale Hawerchuk retired he finished 10th all-time in scoring; a few years later Ron Francis finished 10th overall in scoring that year at the age of 37 (or maybe he was "only" 35). He eventually surpassed Dale Hawerchuk overall. Clearly, Marchesseault was good because he was good but if I was looking at size in the junior ranks, I would be concerned that the short guy had peaked at 18 while the big guy might peak at 26. Of course I AM ASSUMING that the differences in skill on draft day to be miniscule. My argument for size isn't so much about size per se rather growth potential in skill and coordination.

I always knew he would be drafted late but I always knew second season he was in he would be raising a Stanley Cup and winning the Conn Smythe and he did

Oh that tweet saying they'll never win a cup with him is just perfect.

Knew Marchessault was the real deal when he with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was a little surprised they let him walk.

To add a little more context on him being passed over for the draft. The 2011 wasn't his first year of eligibility, he was already on his 4th year and 20 years old when he posted 40G & 95PTS. Adding to the fact he was smaller, its actually pretty common for 20 year olds who have good stats to be passed over. There's a huge difference in scouts opinions of a 18 vs 20 year old. Philip-Michael Devos was the same age in 2011 led the league in scoring /w 47G and 114 pts. He also was never drafted and never played in the NHL. It's Marchessault perseverance and not give up that got him where he is now.

That Scott Matusow tweet aged terribly

I say it all the time to my own kids and my players. Additude and effort!

He wasn't even drafted in the juniors. Sick career for the guy.

So deserving ❤

As far as size goes, Butch Goring was essentially Marchy's size too, and he won the Smythe.

Always has been and always will be my favorite golden knight

Golden Misfits forever. That dream line of Smith, Karlsson and Marchessault was magnificent -- and all three players still doing well today. I believe the trade from FL made Marchessault. First, it made him mad. He had something to prove. A mission. Second, it was all brand new to the team. A fresh start with fresh players and management. A chance to raise your game. And Third: Luck. The matching of all 3 at that exact time was lucky, along with the play of Marc Andre-Fleury in Net giving them a chance.

Crosby is 5'11.....i dont hear this narrative until after the players win. Then we take what a few said to make a story.

wow he had as many goals as Draisaitl and it only took him twice the games. how impressive.

Great accomplishments, great player

Obviously Martin St-Louis

One of my fav players , so happy to see him succeeding ! And winning the hardware 🎉🔥, Awesome videos boss

St Louis, Belfour, Oates, Dino, Mullen, Stastny, Salming all in HHOF

Marty St. Louis has to be the best undrafted player

He was fucking lights out it’s crazy that he scored 12+ in the playoffs. the way u break it down shows that he was just a menace to those 4 teams he faced in the playoffs. Really hope he can stay in Vegas for a few more years to come. LETS GO VEGAS 2023 SC Champs. Man That sounds so good to say.

What I find ironic is people ignored Marchessault yet completely forget that Pat LaFontaine, whom is one of the best American-born players in NHL history and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was 5'10". One inch taller than Marchessault. And he played during the 1980s and 1990s. Never underestimate the smaller players.

I love Gio❤ #5 for the Flames, and #55 for the Leafs!

He reminds me of Martin St. Louis. Small guy, but very effective. Used his size to his advantage, and had a high hockey IQ. I really liked Marchy when he was on the Lightning. I was hoping they would have kept him, but with the salary cap, and Brayden Point on the rise, someone had to go. Plus we had Colton and Gourde at the time as well. Marchessault was one of those former Bolts I wish we could have kept all the way back then.

Johnathan Marchessault is the Unanimous winner of the Conn Smythe trophy for 2023, he plays just like Martin St. Louis.

As a panthers fan there was absolutly no reason in my opinion why we needed another big strong center when we already had barkov lost marchy and smith tsk

Super talent; really fun to watch! 😃

Martin St. Louis. Hands down is the best undrafted player of all time.

Scott Matusow getting justifyingly roasted.

Wayne was 5'11", he wasn't huge but he was bigger than 5'9"

Great run by Marchessault this season. IMO best undrafted player is Dino Ciccarelli.

Oilers fan here, I hate him for destroying my team in R2

Calling Marchy 5'9" is very generous

Greatest updrafted player in my opinion is Marty St. Louis