2016 Top 25 Avalanche under 25: #14 Spencer Martin

Today’s entry into the 2016 edition of the Top 25 Avalanche Under 25 features the 14th-ranked player on our list, goaltender Spencer Martin. Martin is a player several of us felt great about but couldn’t find a way to edge him up a bit higher. His average ranking across the seven ballots was 16.2, with a high of 14 and a low of 19.

Who is Spencer Martin?

Spencer Martin was selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft, a draft that has a chance to significantly shape the future of the organization as both first and second round selections, Nathan MacKinnon and Chris Bigras, have already broken into the NHL.

Martin’s junior career was nothing but a smashing success as he received accolades throughout his career, beginning with being named to the OHL’s Second All-Rookie Team in 2011-12. Fast forward to 2014-15 and Martin was brilliantly backstopping a struggling Mississauga Steelheads team when he injured his knee, prematurely ending his season after just 31 starts. Still, his performance was strong enough to warrant being a nominee for OHL Goaltender of the Year.

Upon turning pro last season, Martin turned in an extremely promising season as he split time between the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage and the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. While he had his struggles with the Komets, his performance behind the struggling Rampage is the biggest reason for optimism regarding Martin’s future.

At the age of 20 and coming off a major knee injury, Martin turned in a .921 save percentage for the Rampage in 18 games. While the small sample size alarms are obviously going off, there’s still enough reason to feel it’s a performance he can duplicate, especially as the glut of goaltenders in front of him has been removed and he should be a permanent fixture in San Antonio this upcoming season.

What is the future for Spencer Martin?

Martin’s future is extremely interesting and could be a very important one for the Avalanche in the long run. Right now, he’s slated to be the backup goaltender to veteran Jeremy Smith in San Antonio and the Avalanche have refrained from bringing in anyone else to seriously compete with Martin for the backup job.

The increased opportunity will really give Martin a chance to shine and prove he’s worth more ice time. Smith’s one-year contract means if Martin breaks out, he could be looking at the starting role in the AHL as soon as 2017-18. The expansion draft also looms large for the Avalanche as both NHL goaltenders, Calvin Pickard and Semyon Varlamov, figure to be extremely intriguing options for the new Las Vegas franchise as the Avalanche are only allowed to protect one player.

Should the Vegas team take an Avs goaltender, it could speed up the clock on Martin’s development and by age 22 he could be battling for the backup job with the Avalanche. As great as Varlamov has been at times for Colorado, a theoretical future tandem of Pickard and Martin would be a young, dynamic duo to watch for years for come.

Even if that doesn’t come to fruition, you have to think by the conclusion of Varlamov’s contract at the end of the 2019 season, Martin will be NHL-ready and beating down the door for more time. For now, he’s going to focus on being the best backup he can be in San Antonio and his bright future will come in due time.