Today on the 2025 Broad Street Hockey Community Draft Board, we’ll turn the page to one of the most physical forwards in the draft class, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds center Brady Martin.
Around this time every single year, we start to get a clearer picture of the draft tiers, who is rising, and who is falling. This is often the final time for prospects to make a push, with the IIHF World U18 Championship just wrapping up and the NHL Draft Combine at the beginning of June. If you’re looking for a player that has made a hell of an impression in the last month or so, look no further than Brady Martin, who recently led Team Canada to a World U18 Gold Medal.
Over the course of the U18s, Martin separated himself as Team Canada’s best forward, registering 11 points across seven games and winning the Tournament All-Star award for the event’s most valuable player. Martin has one mode on the ice: one-man wrecking ball. Since he’s played in juniors, Martin’s been one of the most physical forwards in the entire game, and scouts have commended him for his ability not just to throw a hit, but to throw a really effective one.
But that isn’t only what’s inflated Martin’s stock in the last couple of weeks – it’s the other flashes that Martin has shown. He’s showing legitimate offensive upside, combining plus skating with an improving shot and decent passing vision on the ice. There’s been talk about Martin ultimately ending up in the top-10, so let’s get into why that could happen come draft day.
Pre-draft rankings
No. 10 by The Athletic (Scott Wheeler)
No. 18 by Elite Prospects
No. 13 by TSN (Bob McKenzie)
No. 14 by Daily Faceoff
Bio
DOB: March 16, 2007
Birthplace: Elmira, Ontario, Canada
Position: Center
Height: 6’0″
Weight: 174 lbs
Shoots: Right
Statistics
What’s there to like?
As mentioned above, Martin is truly just a heavy physical presence on the ice, noticeable on a lot of his shifts due to his constant need to throw a check. So, despite Martin showing legitimate flashes of the other parts of his game in recent U18s competition, his physicality feels like the only place a profile on him should begin.
In short, Martin is bruising to play against, and he throws hits in all three zones. He’s constantly going full intensity, and has one of the highest motors in the draft class. He’s constantly throwing open-ice hits, causing disruptions by consistently throwing effective, legal hits. It’s hard to look at Martin’s hits and call him a truly “dirty” player, even when his hits sometimes injure opponents, like in the highlight below.
With his open-ice hits, it’s really useful to go through an entire game of Martin, shift-by-shift, and realize the magnitude of Martin’s physicality. My gut reaction to players like this is usually full of doubt, but Martin does seem to have a knack for throwing effective ones. For example, the clip vs Sudbury shows Martin timing a check on a defender perfectly, forcing a turnover by muscling a guy to the ground and creating space for a teammate’s mini-breakaway. It didn’t lead to a goal, and this will be harder to accomplish in the NHL, but the way Martin picks and chooses his places to leverage his body-checking skill is impressive.
Going hand-in-hand with his physicality, lots of Martin’s goals come from him being parked right in the front of the net and causing issues. He’s one of the best in the class at deflections in tight, fighting for rebounds, and scoring in a variety of ways even when his raw skill lacks behind. That might make him appealing for some teams, his ability to be an effective player even when his raw puck skills don’t exactly stand out.
Other than that, Martin is an all-situations type of player, who logged heavy minutes for Soo this past season in the OHL. Being relied on frequently for 25 minutes a night and the top forward on a not-so-great Greyhounds team, Martin was deployed in all facets of the game. He made an impact as one of the team’s top penalty killers, something that can probably be projected to future NHL success on the kill. He wasn’t incredible on the power play, but it’s not like anyone really was on Soo, who had the fifth worst power play percentage in the OHL. Either way, Martin’s a forward that has been trusted in every possible game situation, whether for Soo or Team Canada, and he’s shown his capabilities well in each situation. Unlocking the full upside of Martin might be difficult, but I’d feel decently confident in my chances of getting an effective third-line center or middle-sixer in selecting him.
What’s not to like?
There was, and still is, a legitimate concern about Martin’s ability to score at a high level in the pros. The shot isn’t terrific, but it’s been good enough to beat goaltenders at a decent clip thus far. He hasn’t shown a lot of promise in scoring on the one-timer, but he has been able to beat goaltenders clean on rushes and in the zone with his wrist-shot. His shot will probably never be a plus, but it can certainly work its way to league-average or slightly above league average.
Another thing that could detract from Martin is the doubt over whether he sticks at center long-term. Thinking about the archetype of player that the best case scenario for Martin would be, most of those types of NHLers are on the wing. Putting Martin on the wing would alleviate him of some of the responsibilities of being a center in the NHL, and in most systems could let him be the first forward in the zone. Martin flying into the zone as the first forechecker is promising, and could be an absolute pain for opposing defenses to handle. To me, that feels like the only real viable path to getting a top-6 forward out of Martin, otherwise you might just have a checking third-line center that’s annoying to play against. That’s not a bad outcome for a mid-first rounder, but Martin’s stock is currently inflating quite a bit.
How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?
There’s been a few players who we’ve said this about, but this is the final time I’ll use it for this draft class (I think), because there really is no one in the draft who feels like he was made for Philadelphia more than Martin. You name it, and Martin will hit it. There’s zero doubt in my mind that Philadelphia would die for the player that the high motor, bruising Brady Martin is. If a system allows Martin to fly into the zone as the first forward, he’s going to wreak havoc on the forecheck. Best case scenario for Martin as a player is one that is going to cause tons of turnovers in open-ice, at the blueline on the penalty kill, pretty much all over the ice. A version of Martin that meets his high-end projection has “playoff performer” written all over him, and is the type of player who will be the cause of every scrum.
Could the Flyers actually get him?
Prior to U18s, it seemed this answer would be a resounding no, as Martin would be a massive overreach at the Flyers first selection, and barring a trade up into the mid-teens, selecting Martin would have been impossible to achieve. Now, though, Martin might not even make it to the teens, with the recent rumors that Martin might be pushing his way into the back half of the top 10. There’s even recent mocks from The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler and TSN’s Craig Button that mocked Martin to the Flyers at 6. Martin all the sudden feels very possible, and he’s got a lot of momentum heading into the final stretch here.
Having said that, considering what we know about Martin, this feels like it has a higher likelihood of being a mistake than a success. It isn’t just the Flyers who might be obsessed with the archetype of player that Martin could be – everyone wants their version of Matthew Tkachuk. The thing is, the odds that Martin is that are extremely extremely low. There’s only one Matthew Tkachuk for a reason. It’s hard to find that level of physicality and snarl with high-end offensive skill, and the skill part is hard to project with Martin. Who knows? Maybe Martin will be the next Tkachuk, but the Flyers have to be careful dipping into those waters on a player whose offensive tools are very much in question. They’d have to be very confident in the offensive tools, otherwise they might just have a 2025 version of Casey Cizikas.
What scouts are saying
“Few players go hard in the paint like Brady Martin. His competitiveness, his intensity and his confidence pop off the screen with every shift. Nobody will question his effort, especially not with how physically he plays.
That said, Martin is more than a wrecking ball on skates; he’s bringing a ton of skill too. He’s a force in transition due to his raw strength, and he brings soft hands to go along with it. It’s not uncommon to see Martin challenge a defender in the middle of the ice, just for Martin to immediately make a move into space to leverage his powerful shot.
While he’s relatively new to the first-round conversation, Martin has been pulling eyes all over the NHL since he’s been given the reins with the Soo Greyhounds. It’s possible we have another Jett Luchanko on our hands.”
David Saad, Dobber Prospects (January)
“Brady Martin projects as a dependable 3C at the NHL level, offering flashes of smart playmaking and strong puck protection, particularly when moving in straight lines. He’s comfortable threading passes through tight windows—often slipping pucks under sticks into the slot—and shows good puck security when handling pressure head-on through the neutral zone. His reach allows him to create turnovers along the boards and disrupt opposing possessions in the offensive zone.
However, Martin’s game lacks consistent pace and agility. He can struggle to pivot or shake defenders when facing lateral pressure, which leads to some untimely turnovers, especially near the offensive blue line. His shot selection under pressure is a work in progress, as he often fires into traffic from low-danger areas without finding a clean lane. While he’s capable of chipping in secondary offense through smart support play and puck movement, he’s not a primary creator or dynamic finisher at this stage.”
“An argument can be made that Martin is the most competitive player in the entire draft class. He’s a relentless, leads-by-example forward for the Soo Greyhounds. In his most recent 10-game segment Martin produced 8G-11A while averaging over 24 minutes per game of ice time and being deployed in all situations. He finished the regular season with 33G-39A overall.
Martin never cuts corners. He only weighs 178 pounds, but plays much bigger than his listed size. He finishes all of his checks, battles in the trenches, drives to the net and makes life generally miserable for opponents.”
Next up, we’re adding Cullen Potter to the poll, a small, smooth-skating center from Arizona State.
“The best-skating forward in this age group by a margin for me, Potter is a smallish but talented and extremely fast player who uses his electric speed to put defenders on their heels, back them off, create opportunistic chances, get out in transition and jump onto loose pucks. He’s a fun player to watch with his ability to go inside-out and outside-in on players, his ability to round corners on them and his desire to attack off the rush and challenge D by turning on the jets and burning them wide or blazing into a quick stop-up. He’s tough to catch in straight lines or track in and out of cuts. He’s got some cleverness one-on-one. He can be creative with the puck on his stick. He can really get going in a hurry and has shown an ability to finish plays as well, with a great release. It sounds like he’s not done growing, either, which could upgrade his projection. His decision to leave the program to join Arizona State was a testy one and some questioned whether he and his game were ready for the NCAA level, but while he was inconsistent at times in the first half, I felt he really popped late in the year with the Sun Devils before rejoining Team USA for U18 Worlds. At U18s, he made some skill plays, drew some penalties with his speed, had a goal disallowed, had some third assists and had several chances around the net that he was probably owed from. But he also came and went a little too much for some and didn’t take over like they wanted him to. He has regularly flashed and occasionally even thrilled with his speed and legit puck skill. His skating truly is on another level, both through his edges and through a uniquely wide straightaway base. There’s still some real learning of the game and how to deploy his speed that needs to happen, but there’s also a real draw/appeal/upside to his game. If Frank Nazar could get picked 13th as a smallish center/winger hybrid who relies on speed and skill, I think Potter belongs in a similar range (he’s an even better skater, too, which is saying something). He’s an exciting player to watch when he winds up, and I’ll be interested to see at which point in the draft a team decides to bet on that because there are mixed opinions on him out there (Nazar was also more consistent/responsible), but the talent and speed are undeniable.”
