Top 20 on the Islanders: #12 Matt Martin

Matt Martin doing his favorite thing, fighting (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

          Next up on the top twenty list is a player who is not known for scoring by opponents, but believe me, they know about him.  He is the league leader in hits and loves to fight.  The player I'm talking about, and the number twelve player is left winger, Matt Martin.
          Martin was drafted in the fifth round (148th overall), by the Islanders in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.  He was known as big hitter who can score his fair share of goals.
          Prior to playing for the Islanders, Martin was a player for the Sarnia Sting, of the Ontario Hockey League.  In his three years there, Martin played in 166 games.  He compiled sixty-three goals and forty-six assists, for one-hundred-nine points.  
          He then began his career with the Islander organization, playing for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  In eighty-three games there, Martin has thirteen goals and twenty-one assists, totaling thirty-four points.  
          Martin played in his first full season with the Islanders last year and has had a good career so far.  He's played in 144 games, compiling twelve goals and eighteen assists, totaling thirty points.
          But where Martin is best is as an enforcer.  A player who will do everything he can to protect his teammates.  Martin has fought many opponents who have given big hits and made them pay.  He is a young kid who is not afraid to back down from any fight.  
          With his grittiness and overall good play, Martin has become a fan favorite on the Island.  And in my opinion, he is going to stay one for the foreseeable future.