Neal Martin | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born | Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | September 8, 1975||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
Position | Defence | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for | Hampton Roads Admirals San Antonio Dragons Portland Pirates Mississippi Sea Wolves Waco Wizards Long Beach Ice Dogs Chicago Wolves London Knights SERC Wild Wings Villacher SV Coventry Blaze AaB Ice Hockey | ||
National team | Canada | ||
NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
Playing career | 1996–2010 |
Neal Martin (born September 8, 1975 in Sudbury, Ontario) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman
Martin began his Major Junior career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, having been selected in the 5th round, 79th overall, in the 1992 OHL Priority Selection Draft. [1] [2] Martin played sparingly in his first season with the Greyhounds, logging only 17 regular season games. The team had an extended run in the play-offs, before losing the finals to the Peterborough Petes. Nevertheless, they qualified as hosts for the 1993 Memorial Cup, which they subsequently won. He began the 1993-94 with the Greyhounds, before being traded midway through the season to home-town team Sudbury Wolves. [3] Martin found more ice time in Sudbury, and as a result his scoring increased. During the 1994-95 season, he registered 36 points in 62 games, whilst the following season saw him register 49 points in 51 games. Following the culmination of the 1995-96 season, Martin turned professional.
The Hampton Roads Admirals of the ECHL were Martin's first professional team, he played 54 games in the 1996-97 season, registering 22 points. In addition to his time in Norfolk, Martin also played a single game for both the AHL's Portland Pirates and the IHL's San Antonio Dragons. Martin remained in the ECHL for the following season, moving to the Mississippi Sea Wolves, where his production dipped slightly, tallying 14 points in 52 games as the Sea Wolves failed to make the playoffs. Following the season in Mississippi, Martin joined the Waco Wizards of the WPHL where he went on to have a career year, registering 54 points in 50 games. [1] During the season he also had short stints with the Chicago Wolves and the Long Beach Ice Dogs, both of the IHL.
After his success in Texas, Martin moved to the United Kingdom and signed with the London Knights of the BISL. It was a successful season, with Martin being named as a Second Team All-Star, and the Knights winning the British Championship. Martin re-signed with the Knights for the 2000-01 season. [4] During his second season in the capital, Martin was named as an alternate captain, scored 25 points in 47 games, and was again named as a Second Team All-Star. Following his time in the United Kingdom, Martin moved to Germany in order to play for DEL side SERC Wild Wings. The Wild Wings finished last in the standings, and narrowly avoided relegation, despite this, Martin put up respectable numbers, scoring 25 points in 59 games. [1] Martin remained with the Wild Wings for the following season, however, the team's fortunes didn't change, again finishing last in the league. Despite winning the play-down, the Wild Wings were relegated to the 2nd Bundesliga as they lost their license due to insolvency proceedings.
Following the Wild Wings relegation, Martin moved across the border to Austria and played for Villacher SV of the EBEL for the 2003-04 season. It'd be a productive one, Martin scored 18 points in 47 games as VSV finished 3rd in the regular season. They made it to the play-off final before ultimately losing to EC KAC. During the season, Martin was named to the Canadian National Team for the 2003 Lotto Cup, held in Slovakia. [5]
Martin returned to the UK for the 2004-05 season, in order to play for the Coventry Blaze of the Elite Ice Hockey League, where he was named as an alternate captain. The EIHL was the new top-tier of the sport in the UK, following the collapse of the BISL. The team had a spectacular season, completing the British Grand Slam, after winning the regular season, Play-offs and Challenge Cup. Likewise, Martin had a strong season, scoring 15 points in 30 games and being selected as a First Team All-Star. [1] Martin would increase his production during his second year in the Midlands, tallying 30 points in 40 games, and was again named as a First Team All-Star. His third season for the Blaze again saw increased scoring, this time registering 37 points in 50 games. The Blaze would win the regular season, and the challenge cup, with Martin once again being named as First Team All-Star. Martin returned for a fourth season in Coventry, increasing his scoring once again with 39 points in 49 games, and was named a First Team All-Star for the fourth consecutive time. The Blaze would again top the table in the regular season, and would also take home the short-lived Knock-out Cup. [1] Following the culmination of the season, it was announced that after four years Martin would be leaving Coventry, to player for AaB Ice Hockey of the AL-Bank Ligaen. [6]
His first season in Denmark was mixed, the team struggled, finishing 8th in the regular season and went out of the play-offs in the first round. Nevertheless, Martin managed to register 21 points in 42 games. [7] AaB had a much better season in 2009-10, finishing 2nd in the league, before being swept in the play-off finals by SønderjyskE. Following his second year in Denmark, Martin retired from professional hockey.
In 2011, Martin was inducted to the British Ice Hockey Hall of Fame as a result of his strong career in the UK. [8] [9]
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1992-93 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1993-94 | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL | 19 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1993-94 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 21 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
1994-95 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 62 | 4 | 32 | 36 | 61 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 6 | ||
1995-96 | Sudbury Wolves | OHL | 51 | 7 | 42 | 49 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1996-97 | Hampton Roads Admirals | ECHL | 54 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 89 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
1996-97 | San Antonio Dragons | IHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1996-97 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1997-98 | Mississippi Sea Wolves | ECHL | 52 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1998–99 | Waco Wizards | WPHL | 50 | 13 | 41 | 55 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
1998–99 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1998–99 | Chicago Wolves | IHL | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1999–00 | London Knights | BISL | 39 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||
2000–01 | London Knights | BISL | 47 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 45 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | ||
2001-02 | SERC Wild Wings | DEL | 59 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 89 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 22 | ||
2002-03 | SERC Wild Wings | DEL | 45 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 64 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
2003-04 | Villacher SV | EBEL | 47 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 56 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | ||
2004–05 | Coventry Blaze | EIHL | 30 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
2005–06 | Coventry Blaze | EIHL | 40 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
2006–07 | Coventry Blaze | EIHL | 50 | 6 | 31 | 37 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
2007-08 | Coventry Blaze | EIHL | 49 | 11 | 28 | 39 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
2008–09 | AaB Ice Hockey | DEN | 42 | 5 | 16 | 31 | 46 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
2009–10 | AaB Ice Hockey | DEN | 21 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 20 | ||
EIHL totals | 169 | 33 | 89 | 122 | 112 | 23 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 12 |
Martin's cousin is fellow professional hockey player Sean Blanchard, who also played for the London Knights. [1] During Martin's time with the Blaze he attended Coventry University, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Sports Management before studying for an MBA. [12]
The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to as the British Elite League or, for sponsorship reasons, the Viaplay Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level of ice hockey competition in the United Kingdom.
The Coventry Blaze are a British professional ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the original Solihull Barons and renamed the Solihull Blaze in 1996, before relocating to Coventry at the turn of the millennium. The Blaze have won four Elite Ice Hockey League Championships since the formation of the league in 2003.
The Belfast Giants are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and are the current champions for the 7th time in their history. They play their home games at the SSE Arena. Since their inception in 2000, the Giants have won fourteen major honours, including seven British league championships, three British championships by winning the play-offs, and five Challenge Cups.
Hull Stingrays were a British ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull who was a member of the Elite Ice Hockey League from 2003 until 2015. They played their home games at Hull Arena.
Paul Thompson is a British ice hockey coach and general manager. He was head coach of the Great Britain men's national ice hockey team from 2006 to 2011. As of 2018, he is the winningest coach in the Elite Ice Hockey League, and has received nine Coach of the Year trophies in his career. His teams have won three Challenge Cups, two British Knockout Cups, and he is the first coach to win five Elite League titles. In the 2004–2005 season, Thompson completed the British Hockey Grand Slam; winning the Challenge Cup, the EIHL title, and the EIHL playoff championship. He served as the general manager and head coach of the Sheffield Steelers from 2015 to 2018, and previously coached 19 seasons with the Coventry Blaze organisation. He has coached professional teams in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Sweden; and has been the head coach of the Odense Bulldogs since 2021. He is known by the nickname "Thommo".
Mark Timothy Kolesar is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played two seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Maple Leafs between 1995 and 1997. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1994 to 2004, was split between the minor leagues and various leagues in Europe.
Michael Ware is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played for the Edmonton Oilers, as well as in Europe, where he was primarily an enforcer.
Mark Dutiaume, is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger, who played in the minor leagues and in Europe.
David Struch is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and former head coach of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League. As a player, he played for the Calgary Flames in the NHL, as well as in the minor leagues, and across Europe.
Derek Campbell is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player.
The 2004–05 Elite Ice Hockey League season was the second season of the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Manchester Phoenix did not ice due as they could not agree a deal with the Manchester Evening News Arena.
Matt Marquardt is a retired Canadian ice hockey left winger. He most recently played for the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL. Marquardt was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 7th round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Vezio Sacratini is a retired Italian-Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for various teams across Europe, most notably the Cardiff Devils, and the Italian national team. Sacratini was a member of the Italian team that finished 9th in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Sean Blanchard is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Brantford Blast in Allan Cup Hockey. He was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, and spent most of his professional career in Europe.
David Broll is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He last played with the Coventry Blaze in the EIHL. Broll was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
David Levin is an Israeli professional ice hockey player. He currently plays for Nottingham Panthers in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
Nicholas Suzuki is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Vegas Golden Knights selected him in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
The 2017–18 EIHL season was the 15th season of the Elite Ice Hockey League. The regular season commenced on 9 September 2017 and ended on 25 March 2018. The reigning league champions were the Cardiff Devils, who won the championship for the first time in 2016–17. The Devils retained their regular season title, with a 3–2 victory away at the Belfast Giants on 16 March 2018. The Devils also won the playoff title, beating the Sheffield Steelers – who had defeated the Devils 12 months prior in a 6–5 double overtime game – 3–1 in the final, winning a first playoff title since 1998–99.
Kim Ahlroos is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey winger who played in Finland and throughout Europe.
Mikko Koivunoro is a Finnish retired professional ice hockey centre who played in Finland and throughout Europe.