Whale sign free agent Kennedy Marchment
After a 72-point season in the SDHL, Marchment will continue her career in Connecticut
The Connecticut Whale have signed Kennedy Marchment for the 2021-22 season, becoming the first NWHL team to dip their toes into the free agent market this offseason.
Marchment was originally drafted second overall by the Buffalo Beauts in 2017, but opted instead to head overseas and play three seasons in the SDHL, first with Linköping HC and then two for HV71. With HV71, she finished second in the SDHL in scoring in back-to-back seasons.
Marchment played for St. Lawrence University from 2014-15 until 2017-18. She had her best NCAA season in 2016-17 scoring 20 goals as a member of the Saints. That year, she was also named a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier award after scoring 56 points (20G, 36A) in 36 games.
More recently in the SDHL, Marchment had 72 regular season points in 34 games with HV71 in 2020-21, as well as 10 points in five playoff games, seven of those points being goals.
Some Kennedy Marchment highlights from her past season with HV71 in the SDHL for @CTWhale_NWHL fans. 🐳 pic.twitter.com/U1oVxKPNFv
— Mike Murphy (@DigDeepBSB) June 2, 2021
Marchment’s performance in the SDHL was certainly enough to grab the attention of the Connecticut Whale’s head coach, Colton Orr.
“Kennedy is a special player that has a natural ability to find the back of the net,” he said, “Every season she continues to take her game to new levels, and we are excited to add a player of her talents to the Connecticut Whale.”
Signing Marchment, who has been a consistent point-per-game player since her junior year at St. Lawrence, should bolster Connecticut’s offense. This is something they’ve been needing to do for a while now, particularly after a truly heart-wrenching Isobel Cup semi-final where the Whale were eliminated from Cup contention after losing 7-0 to the Minnesota Whitecaps.
Kennedy Marchment’s consistency when it comes to finding the back of the net is just the kind of skill set that could help the Whale have a bounce-back season in 2021-22. She certainly knows how to run up a score, and considering you can only win hockey games by scoring more goals than the other team, that makes her an important addition to Connecticut’s forward group.
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Marchment becomes the third player to sign with the Whale this offseason. She’ll join the Whale’s top scorer in Lake Placid, Alyssa Wohlfeiler as well as goaltender Abbie Ives, both of whom are returning players.
Data Courtesy of EliteProspects.com.
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