Marcel Marcel was happy to hear the Chicago Blackhawks call his name during the NHL draft, even if some people think his name is “stupid.”
The Czech forward, drafted at No. 131 in the fifth round, addressed the origin of his name and a number of other topics during a laugh-filled news conference Saturday at Fifth Third Arena.
Here are five things to know about the Hawks draft pick.
1. So nice she named him twice.
Marcel has three older siblings, and his mother planned to name his eldest brother Marcel Marcel “because sometimes when you’re in Czech, they put your last name as the first and your first as the last.”
“She went with my brother to see a doctor, and they called her Mrs. Patrick because he’s Patrick Marcel,” he said. “But she’s Marcel. At first, she wanted to name him Marcel Marcel, but they couldn’t do it because of the government or something. When I came, it was the only option. I’m happy for that.”
The double name strikes some as odd, particularly North Americans.
“There’s a lot of people who make fun of it, like, ‘Whose name is that stupid?’” Marcel said. “But it’s cool, I would say.”
2. Marcel’s tall order? Being a tall order.
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Marcel had 14 goals and 18 assists in 52 games for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Gatineau Olympiques. But his more relevant numbers are these: 6-foot-4, 242 pounds.
“Toward the end (of the draft), we switched things up and took a few shots (on) some guys like Marcel Marcel and Milton Oscarson (6-6, 216), who are very big men,” Hawks general manager Kyle Davidson said. “Wanted to take a shot on high upside and see what they can become.”
Marcel completed a questionnaire and met with a scout.
“I know that some people were calling (2022 Hawks third-round pick and Olympiques teammate) Sam Savoie and my physio and asking about me, but that’s it,” he said.
So when the Hawks selected Marcel in the fifth round, it came as a surprise.
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“I didn’t expect to go that high. I didn’t expect it at all,” he said. “I knew there was a chance to go, to be drafted, but I was more thinking about (the) sixth round. When I got that high, I was pretty surprised.”
3. Watch the throne.
It became clear how unabashed Marcel is when he recounted how he learned he was drafted.
“I saw it was the beginning of the fifth round. I had just gone on the toilet,” he said. “I have a video ... I was in Canada at my billet parents’ house. I had just (come) from the toilet, I checked the time, sat down.
“My billet mom, she was just checking on the phone, she was like, ‘You were drafted!’ I was just sitting like, ‘What are you talking about?’ She went crazy. I was looking on the TV, waiting for the pick and then I saw my name and my phone went crazy.
“I got 50 calls at the same time. It was crazy. I didn’t expect that.”
As promised Marcel showed off the video to reporters after his news conference.
4. Suspension of disbelief.
Marcel recalled he had plenty of time to meet with a Hawks scout before the draft because he was suspended. After that, the details get fuzzier. And funnier.
When asked why he was suspended, he suggested it was because he’s a “big guy.”
“The guy was smaller,” he said. “It was not that dirty. But he didn’t look good. My physio told me one side was completely blue. Poor him. Sorry for that.”
Asked if he received a one-game suspension, he feigned sheepishness.
“Uh, I think I got maybe more. Maybe two. Maybe three,” he said. “I don’t remember. I’m glad I don’t remember.”
5. You have yours and I have mime.
Late-round picks usually have some deficiencies to work on.
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“I’m 245 (pounds),” Marcel said, “so I have to work on the quickness and the first two, three steps. But in general, I work on everything.”
Everything except the art of silence. That skill belonged to the late French mime artist Marcel Marceau.
That name didn’t ring a bell with Marcel Marcel, at least not at first.
“No ... is it black and white?” he asked, referring to Marceau’s picture. “Oh, I saw that.”
Whenever he Googles images of his name, “there’s maybe one, two pictures of me, but there’s a full side of (Marceau). Black-and-white pictures of him. It’s funny.”
Despite his gift of gab, Marcel doesn’t consider himself the jokester in the locker room.
“I just do my business,” he said. “I’m a quiet guy. I’m not like Savoie.”