NHL Draft Prospect Profile: Chris Martenet

Get to Know Chris Martenet

Date of Birth: 9/25/1996
Place of Birth: Waukesha, WI
Ht: 6’7”    Wt: 196 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Defense
Team: London Knights (OHL)

As any NHL draft progresses into the 3rd and 4th rounds, you begin to see a number of prospects with one or two really alluring attributes and a whole bunch of question marks.  Chris Martenet fits that category to a T.  The 6-7″ defenseman brings a great frame and a long wingspan, but he also possess a very raw skillset that shows potential.

Statistics

What Scouts See

Brendan Ross, McKeen’s Hockey

Skating at 6-foot-7 and it’s not surprising that first-year OHL defenseman Chris Martenet is drawing attention from scouts. On a young and inexperienced London blue line, Martenet has been a welcome addition and he’s improving with each passing game. His lanky long stride allows him to cover ice quickly and with his wide-wingspan Martenet has shown to be very difficult to beat on the outside. For a big man, Martenet owns good mobility and he hasn’t been shy to carry the puck up ice either. Gathering points will never be Martenet’s go-to skill set but he’s proving to be very valuable, replacing the tough minutes left behind after Nikita Zadorov’s departure last season. He’s very raw as a prospect but it’s hard not to love his size (obviously) and his overall demeanour/confidence on the ice is very attractive as well.

Brock Otten, OHL Prospects (tweet 1) (tweet 2)

I think he’ll go higher than where he’s currently ranked. NHL teams will be enamored with his size and potential. Improved a lot over the course of his first OHL season. Could be a physical beast once he gets stronger. Decent skater too.

What BSN Avalanche Sees

Martenet is a fairly typical big, mid-round defensive defenseman.  He’s fairly lanky and still needs to fill out his frame, but his long reach is already a tool he uses to his advantage.

Other than that, there’s not much that really stands out about him, but there’s not much that presents itself as a warning flag either.  His skating is pretty good for a big man, plus he can handle the puck, make acceptable passes, and fire a shot from the blueline.  He also makes good defensive reads and has good positioning, plus he uses his size in the corners to fish out the puck.  Martenet’s also not afraid to drop the gloves.

He’s still clearly pretty raw, and a September 1996 birthday means he’s older than most of the others in the class.  However, with his size and decent set of skills, it’s clear he has at least some NHL potential.

Highlights

Martenet is #86 and had a goal and assist in this game, but the London Knights website doesn’t want anyone else to know that.  Here’s a link to their super top secret, non-embedable video.

NHL Potential

Martenet’s a bit of a long shot to make the NHL, but teams do love to have size on the blueline.  He’s a project for sure, but if he fills out his frame and continues to work on the other aspects of his game, the lanky blueliner could serve as a defensively reliable 3rd pairing option in the future.

Expected Draft Position

CSS has him ranked as the 81st overall NA skater, so it’s likely that Martenet will go in the late third or early fourth rounds.  However, his size could cause a team to take a chance on him earlier.  After all, you can’t teach size, especially to someone with a decent skating stride.

How Prospect Fits in Avalanche Organization

If Roy wants the team to get bigger, Martenet falls in that category.  He also has enough raw potential that he could serve to fill out the left side of the Avs defensive pool even after players like Bigras and Siemens graduate to the NHL.

The Avs own the 101st Overall pick, so if the large defenseman falls, he might be a good grab at that point.  The team may even like what they see and risk the 71st Overall pick on him.  However, with limited upside and a long ways to go developmentally, it will be a while before the rangy blueliner challenges for a spot on the Avs blueline.