Center Brady Martin had to take some time off work earlier this month in order to attend the NHL's scouting combine in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Work" for Martin, in the summers, is his duties on his family's farm back in Elmira, Ontario. It's no small operation -- the farm boasts 4,000 pigs, 60,000 chickens, 250 cows and fields of wheat, bean and corn.
Martin's chores back home start early in the morning, with his least favorite being "stone-picking" -- driving up and down the field gathering stones and "boulders, sometimes you can't even lift" so they don't damage the expensive farm equipment later on when they harvest the crops.
Martin's long days on the farm don't leave him with the same opportunities for offseason training that some of his peers have this time of year. Martin brings a different kind of strength to his game, he believes.
"I train a bit, but I haven't got too into hockey training," Martin said at the combine. "I'm more just 'farm strong,' is what they call it. That's how I grew up and put on a lot of strength and muscle."
That farm strength and the discipline Martin gained through that farm work has him poised to be a first-round pick later this month at the draft. Rankings from even late into the season had Martin expected to be picked somewhere in the early teens, right around where the Penguins pick at No. 11 overall. But more recent projections have Martin likely going earlier, perhaps in the No. 5-10 range.
The Penguins need high-end prospects now. They need high-end centers, especially. And so if the Penguins have the opportunity to move up a few spots in the draft, Martin would be one of the ideal targets for his playmaking, strength on the forecheck, heavy hitting and energy.
Martin also plays for the OHL's Soo Greyhounds, Kyle Dubas' childhood team for which he eventually worked as an analyst, scout and eventually general manager. Dubas remains a fan of his former team, and self-admittedly has a bias toward Greyhound players.
I asked Martin how many teams he met with at the combine, and he told me that he met with 27, including the Penguins.
"And Kyle Dubas was there?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Did he talk about the Soo?"
"Oh, yeah," Martin said with a grin. "We talked about the Soo quite a bit."
When asked about the players in the NHL he looks up to, Martin told the Penguins that he likes Tom Wilson for their similar styles -- "They didn't like that," he said, smiling again.
It's an apt comparison.
"I've always been a physical guy," Martin said when asked what element of his game he likes the most. "Growing up, my dad always preached that. Just running guys over."
Martin, listed at six feet and 186 pounds, also describes himself as a "200-foot forward who competes hard every shift and loves to win." And while that well-rounded game and his physicality are what he thinks sets him apart, he's a big-time point-producer too. His 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 57 games ranked No. 2 on he Greyhounds and 29th in the league, despite being just 17 years old for most of the season. The Elite Prospects Draft Guide wrote that Martin is "a powerful shooter and an even better playmaker," and "has NHL-caliber scoring tools across the board."
If Martin manages to still be on the board by pick No. 11, it'd make for an easy decision for the Penguins. But if they don't want to take that risk, and want to move up and go after one of the high-end center options earlier in the first round, Martin's strength, energy and physicality could be something that sets him apart from his peers in this class.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
7:49 pm - 06.22.2025Buffalo, N.Y.Draft profiles: Martin is 'farm strong'
Center Brady Martin had to take some time off work earlier this month in order to attend the NHL's scouting combine in Buffalo, N.Y.
"Work" for Martin, in the summers, is his duties on his family's farm back in Elmira, Ontario. It's no small operation -- the farm boasts 4,000 pigs, 60,000 chickens, 250 cows and fields of wheat, bean and corn.
Martin's chores back home start early in the morning, with his least favorite being "stone-picking" -- driving up and down the field gathering stones and "boulders, sometimes you can't even lift" so they don't damage the expensive farm equipment later on when they harvest the crops.
Martin's long days on the farm don't leave him with the same opportunities for offseason training that some of his peers have this time of year. Martin brings a different kind of strength to his game, he believes.
"I train a bit, but I haven't got too into hockey training," Martin said at the combine. "I'm more just 'farm strong,' is what they call it. That's how I grew up and put on a lot of strength and muscle."
That farm strength and the discipline Martin gained through that farm work has him poised to be a first-round pick later this month at the draft. Rankings from even late into the season had Martin expected to be picked somewhere in the early teens, right around where the Penguins pick at No. 11 overall. But more recent projections have Martin likely going earlier, perhaps in the No. 5-10 range.
The Penguins need high-end prospects now. They need high-end centers, especially. And so if the Penguins have the opportunity to move up a few spots in the draft, Martin would be one of the ideal targets for his playmaking, strength on the forecheck, heavy hitting and energy.
Martin also plays for the OHL's Soo Greyhounds, Kyle Dubas' childhood team for which he eventually worked as an analyst, scout and eventually general manager. Dubas remains a fan of his former team, and self-admittedly has a bias toward Greyhound players.
I asked Martin how many teams he met with at the combine, and he told me that he met with 27, including the Penguins.
"And Kyle Dubas was there?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Did he talk about the Soo?"
"Oh, yeah," Martin said with a grin. "We talked about the Soo quite a bit."
When asked about the players in the NHL he looks up to, Martin told the Penguins that he likes Tom Wilson for their similar styles -- "They didn't like that," he said, smiling again.
It's an apt comparison.
"I've always been a physical guy," Martin said when asked what element of his game he likes the most. "Growing up, my dad always preached that. Just running guys over."
Martin, listed at six feet and 186 pounds, also describes himself as a "200-foot forward who competes hard every shift and loves to win." And while that well-rounded game and his physicality are what he thinks sets him apart, he's a big-time point-producer too. His 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 57 games ranked No. 2 on he Greyhounds and 29th in the league, despite being just 17 years old for most of the season. The Elite Prospects Draft Guide wrote that Martin is "a powerful shooter and an even better playmaker," and "has NHL-caliber scoring tools across the board."
If Martin manages to still be on the board by pick No. 11, it'd make for an easy decision for the Penguins. But if they don't want to take that risk, and want to move up and go after one of the high-end center options earlier in the first round, Martin's strength, energy and physicality could be something that sets him apart from his peers in this class.
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