Matt Martin 2010-11 SEASON REVIEW:

Matt Martin

Date of birth: May 08, 1989  (2010-11 Season Age: 21)

Place of birth: Windsor, Ont., Canada
Height: 6-2
Weight: 192
Shooting Hand: Left
NHL Season: ROOKIE
Drafted: Islanders In the 5th Round (148th Overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft 
Acquired: Originally drafted by the NY Islanders

2010-11 Season Stats:
Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL:  GP: 7   G: 1  A: 2  P: 3   PIM: 11
New York Islanders           NHL:  GP:68  G: 5  A: 9  P:14  PIM: 147

Short-Term Status: 

He will be with the NY Islanders next season and I am expecting an increase in minutes. He was effective on the fourth line, but he has the ability to play on the 3rd line next season. If he gets the limited minutes he received this year again, it might hurt his development.

Long-Term Status:

I am a HUGE fan of Matt Martin and I believe he will be a member of the Islanders organization for the long-run. I expect him to become one of the better bottom-6 forwards in the league with the outside chance that he is able to develop into a 2nd liner. He is a key member of the locker room already at the young age of 22, and his character is impressive.

Contract Status:

LENGTH: 3 YEAR(S)     VALUE: $1,895,000     TYPE: ENTRY LEVEL     EXPIRY STATUS: RFA (2012)
SEASON	AHL SALARY	NHL SALARY	P. BONUSES	S. BONUS	CAP HIT
2009-10	$65,000	$665,000	$187,500	—	$852,500
2010-11	$65,000	$615,000	$237,500	—	$852,500
2011-12	$65,000	$615,000	$237,500	—	$852,500

Review: 

Matt Martin's style of play made him an instant fan favorite among Islanders fans, myself included. He was an absolute beast physically and ended the season with 299 hits which was the 4th most of anyone in the league. Its worth taking into account that he only played in 68 games which was the lowest games played total of any player in the top 5 for hits. Of those 4 other players the next lowest games played total was 76 games which is 8 more than Martin's. He also led all rookies in hitting and had 121 hits more than the player with the 2nd most which is impressive any way you look at it. Along with his intimidating hits, he was willing to drop the gloves with anyone and had the second most fights of any Islander with 13. According to Hockeyfights.com, his record in those fights was 6-3-4. Although he was incredible in the physical aspect of the game, I felt he was able to display some nice offensive potential. He may not have put up great numbers, but for a rookie who was used as a 4th line grinder, he did well with what opportunities he was given. His vision in the offensive zone is a lot better than any normal 4th liner and although his skating may not be the best, he makes up for it with hockey sense. He also proved to be a very effective net front presence and was used occasionally on the power play because of it. His willingness to go to the corners was very noticeable and he would usually win any board battle. One aspect of his play he needs to work on, is his defensive zone awareness. There were a few times throughout the season that he was a bit lost in his own zone, such as not knowing where to be or who to cover. Aside from that, I believe Matt Martin had a great rookie season to his hopefully long, NY Islanders and NHL career.

Season Grade (A+ to F-): B

I was happy with Matt Martin's season, despite the fact that I was hoping he would produce a little more than he did. He was a significant league-wide force physically and established himself as a hard-nosed hockey player. 

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