I love the town,” said Brad Marek. “I love the surrounding areas and the culture. It kind of reminds me of my little Midwestern town in Michigan. Just a little bigger and I love it.”
He was raised on a family farm just outside of Big Rapids, Michigan. His father, Brian mastered his craft as a farrier, while his mother, Danielle did wonders in the community working for ChildServe.
It was on the family farm where Brad learned the life lessons of hard work. Brad didn’t share an interest in learning the family trade, but he did jump into the saddle and learn how to ride a horse. It’s something he still enjoys in the offseason.
“I didn’t do much of the farrier stuff with my dad,” he explained. “Although, here and there I liked to hop on a horse and take a trail ride. I try to go a couple times a summer and ride around the property. There is a lot of space as we’re on quite a bit acreage.”
The family farm is nestled outside of town, which also serves home to Ferris State University. It was going to Bulldogs’ games as a kid with his father where he first fell in love with hockey. Brad learned a lot about the game from his dad, who played juniors during his youth and regularly tuned into nightly NHL broadcasts.
“My dad honestly got me into it, and my cousin played as well,” said Marek. “It was always on in the TV and some of my first memories, are watching the Red Wings games with my dad whenever they were on.”
In addition to his father, Brad’s cousin, Mitchell Hawes was also a heavy influence on his early playing days, and a great sounding board to this day. Mitchell was a few years older and left Michigan to play in the British Columbia Hockey League. He shared his experiences with Marek down the road, helping the young forward through his time in the USHL.
“I was 16 when I made the jump to juniors, he definitely made it a lot easier,” said the Wild forward. “I had a lot of questions and would call him. He would calm me down or answer those questions or show me what to expect and how to go about it.”
As he got older, hockey started to take center stage and Marek was getting attention. He started in the USHL, playing in Central Illinois (Bloomington, IL), Youngstown and Muskegon before heading to college.
He initially committed to Michigan State, but after a coaching change, Marek reopened his recruitment and that is when he got a call from Bob Daniels, the longtime legendary coach at Ferris State.
“It was everything for me. I grew up watching the games, from as long as I can remember,” said Brad. “I remember exactly where I was, when it happened and how it went down. It was it was a no brainer for me. I couldn’t be more grateful and appreciative.”
The decision to return to Big Rapids was a great one for Marek. Under Daniels, Brad made his mark and was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team and took home the CCHA Rookie of the Year award in 2021-22. He posted 10 goals as a freshman and added eight more in his second season.
NHL teams started to notice, with scouts sniffing around Ewigleben Ice Arena as early as the first month of his freshman season. After that, Marek realized he may have a future in the game. Turning pro became a reality after his sophomore year with the Bulldogs and Marek signed an AHL contract with the San Jose Barracuda.
He split his rookie season between the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda and the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder in 2023-24. He scored five times and totaled six points in his 26 AHL rookie outings.