Earning ice time

“We have an onus to every player to develop them,” Martin said.

That doesn’t mean everyone is going to receive the same opportunity when the games count.

“We can sit here and lie to ourselves and say, well, every player’s going to play the same amount. They’re not.”

Martin believes players earn confidence through the work they put in long before they step onto the ice for a game.

“Players drive their confidence through how they study for the exam, and that’s how you practice, how you work out, how you prepare in the summer,” he said.

And for younger players, that can be a difficult lesson to learn.

“You hope that your older guys are playing more because they’ve gone through the growing pains of all of this,” Martin said. “And at the end of the day, I mean, you do have to win hockey games, and you do have to do right by the logo.”

That can put a coach in an uncomfortable position.

A young player may feel ready for more. Martin still has to decide whether the player is ready for more.

“You can’t coach with your heart, you got to coach with your head,” he said.

“You make the best decision for the organization, you make the best decision for 25 players.”

Martin said that’s one of the hardest parts of the job.

“From an emotional standpoint, from a heart standpoint, you would like to get a guy out for another shift, or you would like to use him more,” he said.

But sometimes the circumstances simply don’t allow it.

“It’s just not his night or the other guys are going, or you’re in a one-goal game.”

That’s when Martin believes the responsibility shifts from individual development to the team as a whole.

“You owe it to the organization. You owe it to 25 guys to do what you can to be successful and win a game in that moment.”

For a young player, accepting that reality isn’t always easy.

“That’s why I say this league is difficult on young guys,” Martin said. “It’s really, really hard.”

Martin believes the players who eventually break through are the ones who embrace the uncomfortable part of the process instead of fighting it.

“You’ve got to make a real decision as an individual to embrace doing the hard things,” he said.

“And understand that when you push through that, there’s a reward for it.”

Martin has already seen that with Rockets forward Eli Barrett.

Barrett came into last season as a 17-year-old forward on a veteran Kelowna team, and there were stretches when his opportunities were limited.

“A lot of 19-year-old forwards, a lot of veterans, a Memorial Cup year,” Martin said. “And the first half of the year was really hard, really hard on him.”

Martin acknowledged how difficult it was to sit across from a young player who wanted to contribute more.

“Really hard to have to look a guy in the eye that much and not use him,” he said.

Barrett didn’t let it derail him.

“I thought that he really did a good job of pushing through in the second half,” Martin said.

An injury eventually ended Barrett’s season, but the experience appears to have stayed with him.

Now 18, Barrett is back with the Rockets, and Martin sees a player who has grown from what he went through.

“There’s just a difference between Eli Barrett at 17 than we’re seeing at 18 years old,” Martin said.

That’s the progression Martin wants from the younger players on this year’s roster.

They will get opportunities. They will make mistakes. Some nights they will play more than others.

And some will probably still believe they should be playing more.

Martin’s job is to make sure the players understand that wanting a bigger role and earning a bigger role are two different things.

“I don’t think I’m a heartless person,” Martin said. “I love all my guys. I believe all my guys know that I love them.”

Then comes the part every player eventually has to understand.

“But it’s a results-based industry, and you’ve got to do what’s right for the logo.”

by Regan Bartel

Earning ice time

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