Philadelphia Flyers Prospect Profile: Danick Martel

By Gus Richardson | Aug 28, 2015

One name you do not hear when many talk about the exciting group of Flyers prospects is Danick Martel. The undersized, and undervalued, forward was signed by the Flyers in March of 2015, and eventually played five games for the Phantoms before the season was over.

Martel may be an underdog to eventually make it to the NHL, but that has always been the way it has gone for Martel. An undrafted free agent signed by the Flyers, he was also undrafted to make it into the QMJHL. That was three years ago, and now he has developed into a highly skilled winger, that has a great scoring ability.

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So why wasn’t this kid on many teams’ radars? His size. He’s 5’8″ 160-ish pounds. Many believe that’s what is holding Martel back from being a star in the NHL, but lately that is looking more and more like that wont be the case.

Smaller and smaller forwards are finding success at the NHL level, like for instance Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau (5’9″ 150lbs) or Tampa Bay’s Tyler Johnson (5’9 175lbs). Gaudreau was at least drafted, while Johnson also went undrafted because of his size. Tampa Bay took a flier on him, and now they have a top-line winger to go with their superstar scorer Steven Stamkos.

Johnson took some time to get to the NHL level. He was signed in 2011, and made his debut for the Lightning in 2013. Martel will also need time to develop to become NHL ready, and I believe he has the talent and grit to do it.

Martel put up big numbers in the QMJHL last season, with 48 goals and a whopping total of 102 points. He had three points in the five games he played for the Phantoms, a team he had just joined and was at the end of their season. It’ll be really exciting to see what he can do with the Phantoms this year, especially with the overhaul done to the team.

Here’s a recent interview between Martel and Steve Coates, speaking about his goals now that he has turned professional and why he shouldn’t be considered “undersized”:

Martel has proven through his play in the QMJHL, and his short time in the AHL, that he can and will play bigger than his 5’8″ frame. Going into corners and fighting for the puck to the best of your ability is a mental aspect of the game that players need, and Martel has it.

Ex-Phantoms Head Coach Terry Murray told this to Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer about his short time with Martel:

"“He made an impression, and he’s only going to get better,” Murray said after the season. “He’s fast, he’s got a knack around the net and a real good attitude. He goes to the hard areas.”"

This is encouraging to hear a coach, who only knew the player for a short amount of time, have such a good impression on a young, undersized player. Does this mean straight-up Martel will be a star and he’ll make it to the NHL shortly? No, but it does show the potential that we can all see in the kid is for real and he should be a prospect to watch this upcoming season.

Martel has the smarts, skill, and mentality of a player that can succeed at the NHL level, he just has to prove it. He may be small, but as long as he can find ways to utilize his size, other than letting it be a disadvantage against big, NHL sized players, then he will the diamond in the rough the Flyers think he can be.

“He’s fast, he’s got a knack around the net and a real good attitude.”

Martel will start the season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season, and if all goes well will make a case for a chance at some NHL time next season. Hell, he could certainly be called up this year if someone gets injured during the season. That’s as long as he’s performing highly in the AHL.

I certainly believe he will be. If you can, be sure to watch Danick Martel this season, it will be worth it.

For fun: Danick Martel and defensive big-man Sam Morin after a playoff series in 2014 (they didn’t know in a little over a year they’d be teammates)-

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