Marco Scandella (born February 23, 1990) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He previously played

major junior hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

(QMJHL) for the Val d'Or Foreurs prior to being selected by the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

in the second-round, 55th overall, in the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

. As well as the Wild, Scandella formerly played with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

and

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Playing career

Amateur

Scandella began his junior career with the Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL. Shortly after returning from the 2010 World Junior Championships tournament, Scandella was suspended for 15 games by the QMJHL for elbowing Alexandre Durette of the

Rimouski Océanic The Rimouski Océanic are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The franchise was granted for the 1969–70 season as the Sherbrooke Castors. The Castors played in Sherbrooke from 1969 to 1982 before moving to ...

in the head.

Professional

Minnesota Wild

Scandella made his NHL debut for the Minnesota Wild on November 12, 2010, against the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

. He scored his first career NHL goal during the first game of the 2011–12 season against Steve Mason of the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. Scandella began his breakout year in the 2013–14 season, skating in 76 games with the Wild and playing the majority of his minutes on the second defensive pairing with close friend

Jared Spurgeon Jared Spurgeon (born November 29, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and captain of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Spurgeon was selected 156th overall by the New York Islanders in the 2008 NHL Entr ...

. He scored three goals and added 14 assists for 17 points over the course of the season. There were high expectations for Scandella entering the 2014–15 season. He immediately made an impact, going on a scoring streak and surpassing his career totals of goals scored. He scored the overtime winners against the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

and

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

on November 14 and November 29, and on the latter date signed a five-year, $20 million contract extension with Minnesota. Scandella was later fined $2,755.38 for an illegal check to the head of the

T. J. Oshie Timothy Leif "T. J." Oshie (born December 23, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey right winger for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the first round of the 2005 NHL ...

on December 1, and nine days later, he was suspended a further two games for the same infraction against the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Brock Nelson Brock Christian Nelson (born October 15, 1991) is an American professional ice hockey player for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nelson was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Isl ...

Buffalo Sabres

After seven seasons with Minnesota, Scandella (alongside

Jason Pominville Jason John Pominville (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian- American former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playing career Amateur As a youth, ...

and a

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

fourth-round pick) was traded to the

on June 30, 2017 in exchange for Tyler Ennis,

Marcus Foligno Marcus Foligno (; born August 10, 1991) is an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey winger and alternate captain for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed “Moose” He was selected 104th overall by the Buffa ...

and a third-round pick.

Montreal Canadiens

Entering the final year of his contract in the 2019–20 season, Scandella contributed with three goals and nine points in 31 games. On January 3, 2020, Scandella was traded to the

in exchange for a

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

fourth-round pick. He scored his first goal for the Canadiens on February 8 in a 2–1 overtime win against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

St. Louis Blues

On February 18, 2020, Scandella, after only one month with the Canadiens, was traded on to the

in exchange for a

second-round pick and

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

conditional fourth-round pick. Scandella made 11 regular season appearances with the Blues, registering 1 assist, before the season was suspended due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. On April 16, 2020, the Blues signed Scandella as an impending free agent to a four-year, $13.1 million contract extension.

International play

Scandella represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

internationally for the first time at the 2008 World Under-18 Championships, helping his country to a gold medal and recording one goal and one assist in seven games. He also represented

at the 2010 World Junior Championships, helping the team to a silver medal and recording one goal and two assists in six games.

Personal life

Scandella is the nephew of former NHLer

Sergio Momesso Sergio Francesco Momesso (born September 4, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 13 seasons in the National Hockey League between 1983 and 1997. Playing career Blessed with size and a mean streak to go with a sof ...

. Marco's older brother, Giulio Scandella, plays professional hockey in Italy and is a member of the

Italian national team The Italy national football team ( it, Nazionale di calcio dell'Italia) has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing bo ...

with whom he appeared at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

. Scandella's father, Francesco, is an Italian immigrant, and Marco is trilingual, speaking

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scandella, Marco 1990 births Living people Anglophone Quebec people Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Italian descent French Quebecers Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Minnesota Wild draft picks Minnesota Wild players Montreal Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Montreal St. Louis Blues players Val-d'Or Foreurs players