It is easy to forget that Marto was recruited by both Minnesota and North Dakota. He is a very talented player that I think UND is very fortunate to have. There are a couple of things that make his situation unique, that in no way will prevent him from having a solid career at UND.
First when he graduated he was about 6' but only 150 pounds, which you can not be in the WCHA, playing defense. I don't think this was because he was weak, but rather he was a multi dimensional multi sport athlete. To his enormous credit he added about 10 pounds each of the last 2 seasons in the USHL, and if he hits the weight room hard he could come in at about 180 pounds, which is far more reasonable for a defensman in the WCHA.
The other thing about his situation is that we have an embarrassment of riches at UND on defense right now. Lee, Finley, Chorney are legit career NHLers. Jones, if he continues to develop may turn out to be a solid NHLer like his brother. Chay Genoway, though small, is a great QB like his brother. And Robbie Bina, just continues to get better and better and if this season is anything like last season, he may be an all WCHA type of guy.
If thats not enough we also bring in Derrick LaPoint, who is another elite defensman and if the draft were held today, probably would have gone in one of the top couple of rounds, based on lighting up the USHL as a rookie on a mediocre team.
Assuming we get Lee back and I REALLY hope we do (because Junior defensman tend to really improve in the WCHA), Marto is sitting as a very capable 8th or 9th defender (Radke). The reality is that as a freshman he is not likely to get alot of time. What he needs to focus on is to practice hard and hit the weight room hard. If you walk by him on the way to class, make sure he has a protein shake in his hand. If some is to get hurt, he will be ready. And come next year, I suspect we will need him to be solid. As a Sioux fan maybe the best thing we can hope for a a red shirt and then see him as a solid 4 year player. I do expect that by the time he is a Senior, we will have reaped the benefit that made him a high end recruit.
