Marcus Crawford knew the experience at the ECHL All-Star Game would be a good one.

He just didn’t know it could be this good.

The 24-year-old Kansas City Mavericks defenseman took home MVP honors with three goals and an assist for the ECHL All-Stars in their 14-7 win over the host Jacksonville Icemen on January 17.

“It was a pretty quick experience, kind of a one day thing,” Crawford told FloHockey via cell phone. 

“But, it was very exciting. A lot of fun just to be a part of that whole day. I was definitely lucky to get a couple chances at the net, and fortunate to bury a couple of those. Well, three of those.”

The soft-spoken Ajax, Ontario, Canada native is back with the Mavericks on an ECHL contract this season. Crawford has been one of the most productive blueliners in the league over the past two years, a 12-30—42 line over 63 games in 2020-21 with Kansas City that has improved this year with seven goals and 25 assists in just 39 games. Putting him on pace for a career year.

“I’m just trying to stick with the process, you can’t get too high, and you can’t get too low,” he said. “It’s sticking with it, knowing what I need to do to play to help the team be successful, and there will be some personal success in there too.”

The solid season, combined with a big showing in front of plenty of National Hockey League scouts who annually attend the ECHL’s mid-season classic, should get him on the radar for an opportunity at the next level.

But, was that on his mind at all?

“Not really, I was just trying to enjoy the day and have fun,” he said. “We got to see a lot of different players from around the league, and it was just a lot of fun to be out there, making plays. I try to focus on winning games here and doing what I can to help Kansas City be successful, so I’m not really too worried about anything like that.”

The focus now shifts to making those plays in the second half of the regular season for the Mavericks, who are the league’s most penalized team and have floundered around “hockey .500” for most of the year. After a tough week, KC rebounded with a 2-1 win over Tulsa on Tuesday night, as seen on FloHockey, and the group is hopeful that, collectively, things are once again headed in the right direction.

“It was kind of a slow start, but we kind of turned things around in December there, and now we’re just battling through guys being out of the lineup, guys getting called up and stuff like that,” Crawford said.

“There’s been a next man up mentality. There’s guys missing every couple weeks, it seems like. We know what we have to do, and the style we have to play to be successful. We’re getting our full lineup back here pretty soon, and I think we’ll be ready for down the stretch here.”