Entering the inaugural PWHL season, Kennedy Marchment was one of the more talked about players from the PHF and entering the draft. After a wrist injury derailed her year, Marchment didn't play during the second season of her contract, and hasn't played again. Where is she?
Do you remember Kennedy Marchment?
I’m sure most of you do.
Forward for the Montreal Victoire during the inaugural season, she only played nine games. She had an assist on Montreal’s first goal ever, January 2, 2024, scored by Claire Dalton. Eight days later, she scored her only goal in the PWHL against New York. Her last game was against Toronto on February 16.
She missed the following game on February 18 for precautionary reasons, but was finally placed on LTIR on March 2. I reported at the time that it was an injury to her left arm. It ended up being her left wrist.
At training camp the following season, she was on the ice for the first practice, and it was said that she was in her return-to-play plan. But on November 28, the team confirmed she was back on LTIR.
Since then, nothing. Not one interview talking about the injury or her future. Not one post on social media either.
And during this year’s training camp, I asked myself, what ever happened with Kennedy Marchment?
Was it a career-ending injury? Is she just waiting to see if she could make a comeback with possibly four new teams next season? What is going on?
A Real Omertà
I first asked GM Daniele Sauvageau right after training camp and she didn’t tell me much other than the obvious.
“All I can say is that she is no longer under contract with us. And that she hasn’t signed with any other team.”
She’s right. Marchment, 29, didn’t sign with any PWHL team nor any other professional team for that matter, like in Europe, for example.
So, I reached out to her agency team and never got an answer. I also reached out twice to the PWHLPA, who didn’t return any of my emails. Finally, my editor and myself reached out to her personally, and still, no answer.
A Tragedy In The Family
Hockey ran through the Marchment family’s blood.
Kennedy’s sister Carly played in the CIS (now U Sports), her brother Jake was a sixth-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Kings, her uncle Bryan played 926 games in the NHL, and her cousin Mason currently plays for the Seattle Kraken.
Coincidentally, her uncle Bryan passed away in Montreal, at the age of 53, on the eve of the 2022 NHL draft, as he was working as a scout for the San Jose Sharks. Something that was obviously hard on Kennedy and her family.
She was quoted in the Journal de Montreal saying that it was important for her to take care of the Marchment’s name and that she believed her uncle would be proud to see her continue to play professionally. As fate would have it, she played her last game the day after this article was published.
Racking Up Points
The Courtice, Ontario native was always a skill forward, among the leading scorers and racking up points wherever she went.
She had a very good career with St. Lawrence University, where she played with Hannah Miller and Amanda Boulier, totalling 154 points in 142 games between 2014 and 2018. In 2017, she was a finalist to the Patty Kazmaier award when she ended her season with 20 goals and 56 points in 36 games.
She then left for Sweden and continued to dominate in the SDHL. In 106 games, she scored 85 goals and averaged 1.77 points per game. In 2020-21 with HV71, she had 72 points in 34 games, finishing second in scoring behind Lara Stalder.
Then, in the PHF with the Connecticut Whale, she was the scoring leader in 2021-22 and finished second the following year. In 2022, she was also voted the league’s MVP. Before the PHF was bought and closed down, she had signed a US$130,000 contract with Connecticut, approximately four times what she earned in the PWHL.
There was a reason why she was drafted in the sixth round overall, 31st overall by Montreal, ahead of players such as Daryl Watts and Tereza Vanisova. But her wrist injury didn’t allow her to show those skills in the PWHL.
Looking Happy
Even if no one seems to have news or want to give some about her hockey whereabouts, her public social media seem to tell us that life is good for her lately.
On October 13, she posted on Instagram that she and former Montreal teammate Sarah Lefort got engaged. A few weeks before that, she participated in the Montreal Marathon.
As of this writing, I still don’t know if Kennedy Marchment has retired or not. But if she has indeed played her last game, let’s hope she’s as happy as she looks on her social media posts and let’s take this article as a celebration for her career.