00 H hv H O CN CN Kevin Nagel, Oakville Beaver S ports Editor, knagel@ burlingtonpost.com I s-" Sports n o o v 0 "Connected to your Community" "O DC CD 0 o | | | § b Spencer Martin said he would play in NHL since the ag3 of four By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff 0 ____________________________________________ < ------------------------------------------------a5 He admits now that he may have been a little w overconhdent, but from the time he started playing hockey Spencer Martin was sure he 1 was going to play in the NHL. Of course, when you're four years old watching Curtis Joseph on T y you really have no idea what it takes to get there. "He' s been talking about playing in the NHL since he was in kindergarten," said his m om Karen. "He never had a backup plan, which drove some of his teachers crazy He was a good student but his goal was always to play in the NHL." It didn't take the young goalie long to real ize it would take a lot of hard work, but he never shied away from it. Karen and Allan Martin knew the odds were slim, but they also saw their son' s pas sion for the game. If he wasn't playing hock ey, he was playing road hockey. If he wasn't playing road hockey, he was playing mini sticks. If it wasn't mini sticks, it was Xbox, hockey of course. "We didn't want to squash his dream," his m om said. Last Friday, Spencer Martin called his parents to let them know that the dream he held on to for 17 years was coming true. He would be starting for the Colorado Ava lanche in San Jose. He immediately began calling airlines and making arrangements to get his family to the game. "My family has been so supportive," Martin Spencer Martin made his NHL debut said. "They've done everything last Friday in San Jose when the Sharks they could to make (playing in defeated Martin's Colorado Avalanche the NHL) a possibility." in overtime.| Above file photo by Saturday, Karen and Allan Michael M artin - Colorado Ava Martin, their daughter Allison, lanche; right photo courtesy NHL Martin' s grandparents and his girlfriend Alex woke up a 3 a.m. to make their way to San riod, Logan Couture skated to the right faJose, flying through Chicago to San Fran ceoff circle and fired a shot. Martin threw out cisco and then driving to San Jose. A friend his left arm and got a piece of the puck to and former minor hockey teammate living in send it wide. The Sharks' David Schlemko, California joined the family in San Jose for however, taking advantage of an Avs line Martin' s big day. change, beat his man to the net and was On the biggest night of his hockey career, there to tuck the puck into the net and give Martin couldn't help but feel disappointed. the Sharks a 3 -2 win. As a goalie, the job description is pretty sim "In the moment, it' s never a good feeling to ple -- just win. get scored on in overtime. We were so close Colorado' s third-round pick in the 2013 to winning but it' s three-on-three so anything draft had done everything he could to make can happen," said Martin, who finished the that happen. He had stopped 25 of 27 shots night with 27 saves. "But when you take a step through three periods, getting the Colorado back later, you think, `That went pretty well.'" Avalanche into overtime tied 2-2. Colorado had lost nine of 10 when it rolled But not every NHL debut gets the Disney into San Jose. To make matters worse, the ending. Ju st over a minute into the extra pe Avs' top two defencemen, Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie, were sidelined with injuries. So picking up a point on the road against the Pacific Division-leading Sharks was a victory, even if it didn't feel like it. Martin said three previous stints with the team serving as the backup helped him get comfortable with his surroundings. "I thought playing my first game I would be really nervous and amped up, but as soon as the game started I just started thinking about normal stuff, just sort of zoned out and played my game," the 21-year-old said. "You try to enjoy it because it' s a big accom plishment, but you still have to try to not get too caught up in the moment. I just tried to play the way I have in the American (Hock ey) League." That' s a wise move considering his per formance with the San Antonio Rampage. He was named to the AHL all-star team, but he'll miss Monday' s game for a good reason -- he'll still be with Colorado. Colorado announced Thursday that goalie Semyon Varlamov is out for the season. W hat that means for Martin remains to be seen. "I'm not taking too m uch for granted," Martin said. "Things change quickly" Nobody knows that better than him. Ju st two years ago he was rehabbing after knee surgery to repair a torn ACL that brought his final season with the Ontario Hockey League' s Mississauga Steelheads to an abrupt end. He returned strong that fall, recording a shutout in his pro debut with the ECHLs Fort Wayne Komets. After splitting the sea son between Fort Wayne and San Antonio, he established himself as a starter in the AHL this season, going 15-9-0 with a 2.6 2 goalsagainst average and a .915 save percentage. He' s been recalled by the Avs several times as Varlamov battled a groin injury but didn't see his first action until Saturday "Sometimes you have to catch a break." Martin said. tradyo Buy and sell in your neighbourhood. A lp in e S ki B o o ts S n o w R e m o v a l S e rv ic e G irls W in te r J a c k e t H o c k e y S k a te s R a c in g G o g g le s <2km 9 <4km 9 <1km 9 <1.5km Visit w w w .tra d y o .c o m or d o w n lo a d th e fr e e a p p . · A p p S to re I ^ G o ^ f e - p ia y