Written by Ted Clarke
Citizen staff
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Monday, 02 November 2009 |
Martell perfectly comfortable with his new junior A teammates
It’s a big jump from the B.C. Major Midget League to the B.C. Hockey League.
Junior A players are bigger and stronger, the game is faster, and it’s harder to score on the goalies.
But after seeing Lyndon Martell in action Saturday patrolling the left wing for the Prince George Spruce Kings in his fourth BCHL game, it becomes immediately apparent the 16-year-old has made a smooth transition.
“He’s really adapted well, he’s putting himself in scoring position and getting rewarded,” said Kings defenceman Justin Fillion. “He’s only 16 and he has a lot of years ahead of him. He’s a great player and he helps us out a lot on that top line.”
Inserted into the Spruce Kings’ lineup two weekends ago playing the left side with centre Zac Rasmussen and right wing Sam Muchalla, after having led the Cariboo Cougars major midgets in scoring, Martell has picked up two goals and two assists in four BCHL games. Martell is one of only four Kings (Brooks Robinson, Sam Muchalla and Wes McLeod are the others) on a point per game pace or better.
“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable out there now and I’m playing with a couple of great guys with Muchalla and Rasmussen,” said Martell. “We’ve got some chemistry going so hopefully we can get some more goals for the team and create some offence. When they wanted me to come they said they thought I could help the team and contribute offensively so I decided to come here.”
Martell’s first BCHL goal on Friday in Quesnel was a gift from goalie Luke Siemens, who cleared the puck right onto Martell’s stick, allowing him to score into an open net on a wraparound.
Martell knows there’s much less room for error in the BCHL than he had playing major midget hockey.
“It’s a lot faster up here and you have less time and space when you get the puck,” said Martell, a native of Smithers who moved to Prince George when he was five. “You have to make smart plays and get the puck out all the time or it’s going to be in the back of your net. I just try to use my body to protect the puck and go to the net and try to make some traffic for my linemates to put it in, or vice-versa.”
Martell has the size (six-foot-one, 190 pounds) to be an impact player and his soft hands and puck sense created numerous scoring opportunities in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Trail.
One of them, a power-play point shot deflection, resulted in Martell’s second goal of the season.
“Lyndon has been fabulous and he’s going to be a great player,” said Kings head coach Ed Dempsey. “He’s got great hand-eye co-ordination and good on-ice vision and he has the knack of being able to position his big body in situations where it allows him to score some goals. We’ll try to work with him as much as we can to improve his skating and allow him to develop and move up. He definitely has a very bright future.”
Martell will try to boost his point total and, more importantly, try to get the Spruce Kings back into the win column on home ice tonight (7 p.m.) when they take on the Quesnel Millionaires at the Coliseum.
The Kings (7-11-1-1) have just two wins and a tie in 11 games at home this season and lead the Mills (5-12-0-3) by three points in the Interior Conference standings. The Mills are coming off an 8-2 loss at home to Trail on Sunday.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 02 November 2009 )
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