After summer of hard work, Matt Martin fighting for roster spot

By Katie Strang
With a roster spot up for grabs and a prime opportunity to crack the Islanders lineup, Matt Martin took strides—literally-- to improve his chances this summer.

For a team looking to add net presence and physicality, Martin may be the odds-on favorite of all the Islanders prospects to make the team out of camp. But the 21-year-old power forward entered this summer well aware that his skating still remains the biggest knock on his game and he wasted no time addressing the issue.

“My whole life people have criticized different parts of my game,” Martin said. “I just put all of that in the tank and it fuels me.”
Before prospect camp in July, Martin flew himself to Pittsburgh for a week to work with skating coach and Bridgeport assistant Matt Bertani. Martin then worked out on a skating treadmill back home in Ontario before returning to Long Island and linking back up with Bertani for six weeks leading up to training camp.

In addition to the physical training to strengthen his hips and core—Martin gained 10 pounds this summer and whittled his body fat to 4.7%-- Martin and Bertani tailored his stride to make it more efficient.

“He just needed to clean it up, quicker strides, come out of the gates faster, work on his balance and edgework,” Bertani said.”He knows what it takes to get to that next level and he's doing what he's got to do to get there. His work ethic is phenomenal.”

Two days into training camp, Martin feels his hard work paying off.

“I feel a lot stronger, a lot more fluid. I’ve always been a fast player, but with more efficient strides, I feel less winded,” he said.

Head coach Scott Gordon said Martin’s skating is “night and day” different from one year ago and praised him for his dedication to improve.

“Some heed the advice, and others pick and choose what they want to do and when they want to do it,” Gordon said. “Matt identified [skating] as something that was important for him.”

With his countless hours of work this summer, Martin has already impressed the coaching staff with his commitment. Now he hopes to make the most out of his chance to become an every-day NHL player.

“They have definitely given me every opportunity, but other plays can come in and take it,” Martin said. “I’m not taking anything for granted.”