Bruins
“I look up to Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson, Matthew Knies — a couple of those guys who play hard and physical and put the puck in the net.”
Brady Martin had a busy week at the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo earlier this month.
By the 18-year-old center’s estimation, he conducted interviews with 27 teams during the combine.
Of those 27 meetings, four of them resulted in dinners — with the Flyers, Mammoth, Predators … and Bruins all earning an extended sit down with arguably the highest riser in the 2025 NHL Draft.
“Steak every night,” the Elmira, Ontario product said of the many feasts held in his honor during his time in Buffalo.
Considering that Boston is last among those four teams in draft positioning with the No. 7 pick, it’s a testament to the growing belief that the hard-nosed Martin is destined to be a top-10 pick on June 27.
Months ago, such a label being bestowed on Martin felt like a long shot.
He wasn’t listed among the top 20 prospects on TSN’s annual preseason ranking for the ‘25 Draft. Daily Faceoff tabbed him as the No. 22 prospect in their preseason ranking, while NHL Central Scouting’s midseason rankings from January had Martin listed as the No. 17 North American skater.
So why the late surge in Martin’s draft stock?
All one has to do is look at the wake of destruction Sam Bennett left on the ice during Florida’s latest Stanley Cup to draw the correlation.
“I look up to Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson, Matthew Knies — a couple of those guys who play hard and physical and put the puck in the net,” Martin said.
Martin — at 6-foot and 187 pounds — doesn’t fit the power-forward mold of a Wilson. Among his fellow 2025 draft-eligible skaters, Martin doesn’t possess the puck skills and offensive capabilities of a James Hagens, or the pro-ready shot wielded by Anton Frondell.
But Martin is the type of prospect that GMs covet — especially after a Panthers team built around a relentless forechecking approach laid siege to every defensive structure that stood in their way this spring.
“If you look at the teams in the [Stanley Cup Finals] there, and the way they play, like [Zach] Hyman is obviously out — but I think the way he plays is kind of how I play,” Martin said when asked if the narratives surrounding the playoffs has aided his draft stock. “So I think it helps me quite a bit.”
Martin may not be a player who will lead the league in scoring within the next five years. But he’s a player you can win with.
And in a draft class rife with uncertainty and plenty of question marks regarding the ceiling of several prospects, Martin stands as a tantalizing addition to a team’s second line.
“He plays big minutes and in all situations for his team in Sault Ste. Marie,” Central Scouting’s Nick Smith told NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman of Martin’s game at the combine. “Lots of raw talent with great habits and plays the entire 200 feet.
“Will play physical and play in the trenches. He has great offensive instincts with vision and creativity, and can finish as well. He’s the guy you want on the ice when the game is on the line. Checks all the boxes and has no holes in his game.”
It doesn’t take an extensive dive into game tape to see why scouts and GMs perk up when Martin is mentioned as a future NHLer.
Martin is an on-ice wrecking ball whenever he hops over the boards — doling out damage across the boards and tenderizing puck retrievers with bone-crunching checks. His skating doesn’t stand out to the same degree as someone like Hagens, but his high motor makes him a player that’s hard to miss in all three zones.
Martin credits his upbringing for instilling in him the discipline, responsibility, and physical requirements needed to thrive in pro hockey.
Rather than spend his early mornings at a hockey facility or gym, Martin spent most of his early years up before sunrise working on his family’s dairy farm — tending to the over 60,000 chickens and 250 cows on the property.
“I haven’t got too into hockey training — more just kind of ‘farm strong’, is what they call it, I guess,” Martin said. “That’s kind of how I grew up and put on a lot of strength and muscle.”
But Martin is far more than just a punishing forechecker. Playing for the Soo Greyhounds (OHL) this past season, Martin scored 33 goals and 72 total points over 57 games — while adding another 11 points over seven games while serving as Canada’s assistant captain during the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
Those offensive totals may not measure up to the stat lines put forth by higher-rated forwards like Michael Misa (134 points in 65 games) or even other potential Bruins first-round targets like Jake O’Brien (98 points in 66 games).
But much like Bennett — who has just one 50-plus point season in his NHL career — Martin could be a player whose scoring threshold sits around that same range, but whose value doesn’t just rest in the pure production.
The Bruins, like most NHL teams, would love to add a player like Martin to their lineup in the coming years.
He’d ingratiate himself to fans on Causeway Street in record time given his propensity to dole out punishment, and the odds would be high that he’d carve out a role as a middle-six stalwart in due time.
But the real question remains.
Is that the type of player that one uses a top-10 pick to target — rather than target a youngster with a higher ceiling?
The Bruins need bodies moving forward. And after years of whiffing on draft picks or cashing in those selections for win-now results, Boston can’t afford to squander this No. 7 selection.
Martin’s floor is very high, but his ceiling is also lower than a player such as Hagens, O’Brien, or McQueen — all of whom have their own red flags, but also the tools in place to be legitimate 70 or 80-point difference-makers at the next level.
It remains to be seen if Martin will even be up for grabs by the time Boston is on the clock. A team like Utah that already has a skilled pivot like Logan Cooley on their roster could opt for a safer option with their No. 4 pick and bring in Martin as a punishing 2C.
But if Martin is available on June 27, Don Sweeney and the Bruins will have a tough call to make.
Martin will likely be a good player for the Bruins if he dons a black-and-gold sweater later this month.
Whether or not he’ll be an elite player at pick No. 7 is another ask entirely.
And if the Bruins want to avoid drafting in the top-10 again moving forward, they can’t just draft good players.
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