Home 5 Inductee 5 Markell John

Markell John

John Markell
Sport: Hockey:   Year Inducted: 1996

John Markell was born in Cornwall on October 3, 1958. He learned his hockey skills while playing in Cornwall minor hockey house leagues, and played in all divisions, including their travelling teams.

His natural skills in combination with a passion for the game gave him the drive that allowed a lightweight (150 lb) player to make the hometown Cornwall Royals from 1974-76 in the rough and tumble house league.

John was offered a scholarship to Bowling Green University in 1976 while sidelined from the Royals with a broken leg. His college years gave him the opportunity to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree and refine his hockey skills and physical demeanour to the professional level. The college record books show he was a four time all-star scoring leader, team scoring leader, and league MVP for 1978, as well as being selected to the Canadian Olympic team.

In 1979, John was named Winnipeg Jets Rookie of the Year. He toiled in the Central Hockey League for the next three seasons, with the Tulsa Oilers and the Salt Lake City Golden Eagles where he came first in regular season points. In 1983-84, John played for the St. Louis Blues and their farm team, the Montana Magic. He was top scorer on his team, came fourth in the league scoring, and made the first All-Star team.

With the demise of the CHL in 1984, John looked towards Germany as a way to continue playing while providing security for his family. He had an opportunity to play for the Minnesota Northstars, but finally returned overseas to Germany.

Between 1985 and 1993, Markell made his mark in Germany, and was always with the top five scoring leaders in the league while playing with ESC Bad Nauheim and ESC Wolfburg. In 1990, he was offered the opportunity to combine the duties of both player and coach. While playing all regular season games, he coached the team, including contract negotiations, and still finished fifth in the regular season scoring race, and went on to first in the playoffs. He did equally well the following two seasons.

In 1995, John Markell was named head coach of the Ohio State University Buckeyes hockey team. He makes his home in Pickerington, Ohio with his wife, Kim, another Cornwall native, and their children. In the off season, he rations his time between his family, developing up and coming players, power skating skills for Huron Hockey School, and winning the odd trophy at golf tournaments.