Marco Scandella was born on February 23, 1990 in Montreal, Quebec. A standout defenseman for the Val-d'Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he helped the Canadian team to a silver medal victory at the 2010 World Junior Championship.
Scandella was selected in the second round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota Wild and joined the club's AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros in 2010.
Scandella would split time during the 2010-11 season between the Wild and NHL and AHL, seeing action in 20 games for Minnesota, recording a pair of assists. The following year, he would appear in 63 games for the Wild and score the first three goals of his NHL career.
In 2014-15, Scadella would establish new career-highs in goals and points. Suiting up in 64 games for the Wild, he found the back of the net 11 times and added 12 assists for 23 points.
After seven seasons with the Wild, Scandella's time in Minnesota would come to an end. He was traded along with Jason Pominville and a fourth round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres in exhange for Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno and a third round pick.