Expecting more scoring from him, the Oilers chose not to renew Marko’s entry-level contract after the 1997 season. Marko chose to return to Finland and HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League. Impressed with his defensive skills, Helsinki assigned Marko to a checking role in which he excelled. Even though he was used in a defensive role, he still managed to tally 50 points in 94 games over a two-year period. Not bad for a guy that was supposed to shadow the oppositions top players.
Early in 1999 the Los Angeles Kings, impressed with Marko’s well-rounded game, signed him to a free agent contract through the 2001 season. Marko ended up playing right wing on the Kings third and fourth lines. He played 63 games, logging quality minutes on the top PK unit in addition to his regular shifts (he finished with 17 points, scoring both on the PP and PK). In 2000, due to the Kings depth at forward (especially with the acquisition of Kelly Buchberger and emergence of Brad Chartrand, Eric Belanger and the since-traded Steve Reinprecht), Marko started the season on the Kings AHL farm team, the Lowell Lock Monsters. In Lowell, he was a dynamo, scoring 67 points in 59 games and playing against the top lines of opposing teams. He was summoned to Los Angeles later in the year and tallied a single assist in spot duty (11 games). He was unable to capture the two-way magic he had enjoyed the previous year.
Although he’s thirty, Tuomainen has only played 78 games in his NHL career. He’s still got plenty of legs left. At 6’3″, 213lbs he’s solidly built and big enough to handle the rough and tumble Eastern Conference. Marko has good speed and has built a reputation as a talented and relentless checker. In addition to his defensive skills, Marko has a booming slapshot and a deceptively quick wristshot. He also cycles the puck well and with his excellent size, he is able to shield the puck from the defender. He anticipates and reads plays well; this asset assists him with his defensive responsibilities.
Marko does have some deficiencies. He does not have an expolsive first step and is sometimes tentative about shooting the puck. He will more often than not, look to pass the puck to a teammate. Marko is not afraid to mix it up and do the “dirty work” needed to score goals. His cycling ability helps to chew up valuable minutes on the penalty kill, especially if he can trap the puck along the boards.
Marko has a better than average chance of making the Islanders opening night roster, although this maybe strictly in a 4th line and penalty kill capacity. As a right-winger, it would be tough for him to place ahead of Czerkawski, Parrish and Kolnik. His defensive ability would make him a shoe-in for the fourth line. Primary competition for this job would be Steve Webb and Alexander Kharitonov. He plays better defense than both and has more offensive upside than Webb.
Although, Kharitonov has the edge in skills, his small size would hinder him from playing in a checking role. As stated in the Kharitonov article, the Isles need Webb’s agitator/instigator skills, so Islander fans, in the 2001-2002 season you can expect to see Marko Tuomainen split the season between Long Island and Bridgeport. He won’t score a ton of points for the Isles, but he won’t hurt the Isles defensively either.
Next article: Ray Giroux
