With size, athleticism, and quickness just for starters, Spencer Martin will be a hot goalie commodity at the 2013 NHL Draft.
One of the few 17-year-old starters in the OHL, Martin has carried the load for the Mississauga Steelheads and battled through some tough stretches early in the season. He did not look sharp through the final two months of 2012 before recovering this past month, highlighted by an outstanding showing at the CHL Top Prospects Game.
The Oakville, Ontario native currently has the Steelheads in a playoff spot which is impressive considering the scoring support he gets from the Steelheads, the league's second lowest-scoring team.
He also faces a lot of quality rubber. Frequent defensive breakdowns in front of him usually translate into prime scoring chances against, often with Martin having to make rapid saves in succession.
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Spencer Martin (G, 2013), Mississauga
A tall, butterfly-style goaltender with excellent agility and flexibility.. generally speaking, receives inadequate support from his blueline crew, yet frustrate shooters by routinely making highlight-reel saves - that he makes look easy due to his sharp reflexes and quick lateral movement ...focuses on keeping his body square to the puck .. demonstrates good fluidity and excellent push-off strength - and can go post-to-post in an instant - though can expose the five hole when moving laterally .. his super-quick reflexes match impressive skating ability - allowing him to play an agile, athletic game .. tends to crouch down too low as the play crosses the line, which in essence makes him smaller .. relies heavily on size and quickness to bail himself out, as he stays down too long and consequently requires a quicker recovery .. immediately drops to the butterfly on wraparounds, effectively taking away the bottom portion of the goal - but will neglect the centering pass in front by becoming over-fixated on the play behind him .. must continue to add muscle to a lean frame - although he already handles himself well in traffic as he is a bigger body and has no issues smothering the puck .. appears to sustain solid focus - and is starting to eliminate a habit of allowing untimely, soft goals .. assertive, hard working, competes and stays with plays .. aggressively challenges shooters and cuts down angles, sporting a quick, strong glove hand .. okay blocker, modest stickhandler .. must guard against over-pursuing and leaving the middle of the net exposed on rebounds and broken plays .. will need to work on his mental toughness moving forward - as well as rebound management, as he kicks out some juicy ones straight back out, especially when moving laterally.