Marcoux Returns to Thunder Blue Line

Photo by George Steckler

STOCKTON, Calif. - The Stockton Thunder, the proud ECHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League and Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, has agreed to contract terms with former Princeton defenseman Daryl Marcoux, Thunder head coach Matt Thomas announced today. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Marcoux, 25, led the Thunder with a +11 rating and was the recipient of the team's "Defensive Player of the Year" award last season, amassing 12 points and 24 penalty minutes in 41 regular season games and two assists in 14 Kelly Cup Playoff games after being signed as a free agent on Dec. 30, 2008. He began the season by scoring seven points (1g-6a) and totaling 20 penalty minutes in 30 games for the Fresno Falcons.

"Daryl's a type of player every team needs," said Thomas. "His work ethic and professionalism set an important tone with our team which makes him a leader on and off the ice. Bringing back our leader in plus/minus last season will be arguably one of our most critical signings of this offseason. We're looking forward to expanding his role and for him to continue to provide elements that make him an effective team leader."

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound defenseman has skated in 135 career ECHL games throughout two seasons-plus (2006-09) with the Thunder, Fresno Falcons and Trenton Devils, scoring 40 points (7g-33a) and adding 126 penalty minutes while appearing in 20 career postseason games with three points (1g-2a).

Marcoux led the Falcons with a +18 rating in 2007-08, his first full rookie season and previously skated in 126 career college games in four years (2003-07) at Princeton University (NCAA), scoring 18 points from the blueline (5g-13) while posting 78 penalty minutes.

"Coming back to a first tier organization in Stockton makes me very excited for the upcoming season," said Marcoux. "Coach Thomas is committed to both winning and moving players onto the next level and those are two things that really made the decision to return an easy one. I'm looking forward to coming back to the best fans in the whole league."

The contract signing marks the second returnee to the Thunder roster from the 2008-09 season, when Stockton finished 22-16-3 under Thomas and advanced to the Pacific Division Final round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.