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Vegas Golden Knights Report Cards: Jonathan Marchessault

By Andrew Steele-Davis

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 18: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal past Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 18: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal past Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal past Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Jonathan Marchessault #81 of the Vegas Golden Knights scores a goal past Brenden Dillon #4 of the San Jose Sharks in the third period in Game Five of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 18, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Jonathan Marchessault was the man for the Vegas Golden Knights after leading the franchise in a number of categories in his second year in Sin City.

Jonathan Marchessault: Grade A+

We plough on with our 2018-19 Vegas Golden Knights Report Cards today as we look back on Jonathan Marchessault’s dominant year with the franchise.

His Season

Jonathan Marchessault was selected eighth overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, after registering 51 points (30 goals, 21 assists) in 75 games for the Florida Panthers in 2016-17. The fact that the right wing was left unprotected was a shock to many but the Panthers’ loss turned out to be the Knights’ significant gain.

After lighting it up for Vegas in 2017-18 on a dominant top-line that also featured William Karlsson and Reilly Smith, Marchessault finished the Golden Knights’ inaugural year with a career-high 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists). In-fact, that trio were so deadly they combined for a staggering 213 points.

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With that potent line intact heading into 2018-19, Marchessault wasted little time in proving that the year before was no fluke as he scored the team’s first goal of the year against the Philadelphia Flyers, setting the tone for what was to come in what proved to be another explosive year in the offensive zone for the 28-year-old.

And Marchessault was also a consistent force throughout 2018-19, carving out six different three-game point streaks during the season and helping himself to four points (two goals, two assists) in the first four games of the year. He went on a four-point stretch (one goal, three assists) as the Knights went 2-0-1 against the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and the New York Islanders in December.

His best was saved until last, however, when he embarked on a superb tear down the stretch, recording four goals and three assists for seven points in just three games between March 17-21. He had back-to-back two-goal games against the Edmonton Oilers and the San Jose Sharks and came up clutch for his team when they needed him most.

Marchessault also achieved a couple of firsts last year, converting the first penalty shot of his career against the Ottawa Senators in a 4-3 win on Oct. 28 at T-Mobile Arena, before going on to register the first hat trick of his career with the Golden Knights against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 19.

The elite forward finished 2018-19 with 25 goals and 34 assists for 59 points in 82 games, including 16 points on the power play and a plus/minus rating of +2. Marchessault also achieved career-highs in ATOI (18:09) and total shots attempted (486), in addition to racking up 22 blocked shots, 98 hits and 51 takeaways.

VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 09: Vegas Golden Knights Left Wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) carries the puck in on Vancouver Canucks Goalie Thatcher Demko (35) during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on March 9, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vegas won 6-2. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
VANCOUVER, BC – MARCH 09: Vegas Golden Knights Left Wing Jonathan Marchessault (81) carries the puck in on Vancouver Canucks Goalie Thatcher Demko (35) during their NHL game at Rogers Arena on March 9, 2019 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vegas won 6-2. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Marchessault was the standout performer for Vegas in 2018-19 and he led the franchise in goals (25), assists (34), points (59), power play points (16), shots (278) and game-winning goals (six). In other words, the right-shot was at the peak of his powers for the second-straight year and he quickly established himself as one of the best pure scorers in the NHL.

But, despite being on top of his game last year, Marchessault is hungry for more as he and the Golden Knights prepare to once again compete for a Stanley Cup in 2019-20 with much of their core intact, as he told nhl.com/goldenknights.

"“As long as I’m living and playing in the NHL, I will never be satisfied on what we accomplished as a team. I think we should always want more, and I think in the locker room there is a lot of character. There is a lot of people that want more, and we all want to get better. We all want to help each other be better, and we have the same goal. When everybody has the same goal in the same group, we can do some damage and I think we will do some damage next year.”"

There was also success on the international stage for Marchessault, who tallied 10 points (three goals, seven assists) as Team Canada won the Silver Medal at the IIHF World Championships in Slovakia, losing 3-1 to 2019 NHL Entry Draft No.2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko and Finland in the Gold Medal game.

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