Ste. Rose's Brad Marshall dreamed of playing elite hockey at a young age, and that dream came true, as he is now in his second season with the MJHL's Neepawa Natives.
"I knew I wanted to play when I was just a little kid," said Marshall. "My brother Ryan Marshall played Junior his whole career, and Midget AAA with the Parkland Rangers as well. We went to a lot of his games, and I was sort of born into it. I just wanted to follow in his footsteps."
Marshall was a part of the Natives last season when they squeaked into the playoffs and pushed the Steinbach Pistons to six games before falling to the top-seeded, Pistons.
"That was a great experience," said Marshall. "We just came together and had a really tight group. All of our lines were producing, and each line was doing their jobs, and I think that success has helped us into this year."
So far this year, Marshall and the rest of the Natives are 6-6-1 heading into Wednesday's action against the Dauphin Kings.
"This is a really tight group of guys," said Marshall. "We have a high skill level, and everyone wants to compete on a daily basis. I think we're going to do really good this year."
The Kings and Natives will be meeting for the first time in the regular season, with the Natives taking two preseason games by identical 3-2 scores.
"I expect a very physical team based on how they've played this year so far," said Marshall. "I have a lot of friends on that team, so it's going to be a good game, and great competition."
Marshall has chipped in seven points so far through 12 games.
You can hear tonight's Kings-Natives game right here on 730CKDM beginning with the pregame show at 7:20.
