| The journey continues |
By: Mark Remme
|
Posted: Wednesday, March 18, 2009 12:07 am
|
 Email  Print
|
Left: Former Shattuck-St. Mary’s hockey player Marty Mjelleli skates for St. Cloud State University. Middle: Mjelleli moves up the ice for the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL. Right: Mjelleli scouts during the MSHSL state tournament.
|
|
FARIBAULT — Marty Mjelleli learned years ago playing at Shattuck-St. Mary’s that when watching or playing hockey, paying attention to detail is critical.
The crisp passes. The speed of the game. Knowing who excels above the rest and who makes the right passes at the optimal time. From the moment Sabres prep coach Tom Ward taught him that, Mjelleli began putting the game under a microscope.
“Since I had that talk, I’ve been like Jason Bourne on the ‘Bourne Supremacy,’” Mjelleli joked.
By that token, perhaps it’s no surprise that Mjelleli spent the weekend sitting at the Minnesota state hockey tournament in St. Paul, carefully combing through the next wave of talent as the newest scout and assistant coach for the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers.
Using a plus- and minus-system, the 2001 SSM graduate and former St. Cloud State hockey player began anew, scouting current high school athletes at the Xcel Energy Center with aspirations of taking his love affair with hockey into the coaching ranks.
“Coaching is a great trade afterwards,” Mjelleli said. “You see (players) not only as hockey players, but also see them grow into young men. Both of my parents were teachers, so maybe that rubbed off on me.”
Perhaps, but Mjelleli’s former coaches and current peers saw his bright future on the bench long before he was done playing the game.
Back at SSM, not only did Mjelleli begin working closely with youth hockey camps, but Ward noticed just how into the intricacies of the game Mjelleli seemed as a young talent with the Sabres.
“Marty’s got a lot of really good personality traits that would lend (themselves) into the coaching profession,” Ward said. “It’s great to see good things happen to good people, and Marty is one of them.”
So when Marty was released after a stint playing with the East Coast Hockey League’s Johnstown Chiefs in February, it’s no surprise that a familiar face came calling.
Former SSM coach J.P. Parise, now head coach and general manager of the Buccaneers, wanted Mjelleli to join the staff. The fit was perfect — not only did he have ties to Parise from Faribault, but Mjelleli became a fan favorite in Des Moines while playing for the Bucs from 2001-2004.
“He was always interested in the game itself and how we do things,” Parise said. “When I was talking to him, he said he’d love to stay in the game one way or another. I said how about we hire him.”
Proudly wearing his Buccaneers track jacket while scouting in St. Paul, Mjelleli is set to excel in the next phase of his hockey career.
Although playing the game still excites him — he admitted watching the state tournament made him want to lace up the skates — having the opportunity to make kids better is what makes Mjelleli enthusiastic about the future.
“You’re just a very small piece of the puzzle,” he said. “They score a goal or make the team they want to make and you trained them that summer, it’s like a measuring stick. It’s like maybe I’m doing something right, and it’s very rewarding.”
— Sports Reporter Mark Remme may be reached at 333-3129. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
MySpace
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!
