TORONTO -- Mason Marchment has been rewarded for his hard work the past two seasons with the Marlies organization.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed the 22-year-old forward to a two-year entry-level contract, the club announced.
The deal will pay Marchment $70,000 USD at the AHL level in each season beginning in 2018-19 while he would make US $650,000 at the NHL level in Year 1 and US $700,000 in Year 2, Sporting News has learned.
Marchment, who has nine goals and 12 assists in 37 games with the Marlies, is on an American Hockey League contract this season.
No quit from @mush__27 to fire home his ninth of the year.#MarliesLive pic.twitter.com/8T67dV1Znq
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) March 10, 2018
“It’s what I’ve been working for my whole life,” Marchment recently told Sporting News. “I’ve always been one of the underdogs and it would be great for (the entry-level contract) to finally come through.”
Undrafted, Marchment originally joined the Marlies on an ATO following his final Ontario Hockey League season in 2015-16.
The Uxbridge, Ont. native split last season between the Marlies and ECHL Orlando while focusing on his development. His focus on improving paid off as Marchment earned an extended look at Maple Leafs training camp in September.
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Marchment started this season tallying scoring five goals and seven assists in his first 18 games and was among the AHL rookie scoring leaders. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound winger earned player of the week honours in November after scoring a goal and six assists in three games.
The son of former NHLer Bryan Marchment, Mason was eventually slowed by a knee injury, which caused him to miss 14 games over six weeks.
“That was hard. I was trying to keep up my strength at the same time, it was hard to keep your training going while doing rehab and stuff like that,” Marchment said. “It was a long haul, but for the better. I missed six weeks so it was definitely a little bit of a struggle to get back, but I feel good now, I feel back to normal.”
In 19 games since returning, Marchment has registered four goals and five assists.
Despite the lack of production following the injury, Marlies coach Sheldon Keefe said he has seen signs of Marchment returning to his pre-injury form.
“It’s taken him some time. Probably more than he or we would like, but that’s part of the deal when some guys miss significant time, it takes a while to get back up to speed,” said Keefe. “We’ve made real good strides with [Marchment] and felt real good about where his game was at prior to the injury.
"It was a tough one, and tough timing, but there’s been progress in practice and games here of late.”
With Marlies forward Kerby Rychel being traded to the Montreal Canadiens in the Tomas Plekanec deal, Keefe said he expects Marchment to take on a bigger role.
“That’s going to open up more opportunity for him to really solidify himself,” Keefe said.