Mason Martin knows the Flin Flon Bombers will be relying on him this season. The veteran defenseman has played over 100 games for the maroon and white and will help lead a younger group, especially early in the season.
“If you're an older guy, and you’ve played a couple couple of years in the league, and you've been around for a while, you’ve got to take some leadership,” Martin said after the Bombers third preseason game.
“[The veterans] tell the rookies and the younger guys to just to settle down and ease into the games and whatnot. They'll come around over time - the young guys they'll get into it and they'll adjust quickly.”
Martin is entering his final season with the Bombers, and is giving advice to the younger and newer players.
“Just relax a little bit and have some fun while you're at it,” he said.
“Don't think about it too much. Just just go with the flow. This is supposed to be fun, right?”
Martin emphasized the team’s leadership off-ice.
“I'm just trying to make sure everyone's hanging out with each other, getting along and whatnot,” Martin said.
“I played on a couple teams where there's definitely some guys who just don't fit in. There's guys that just do their own thing. They don't want to be part of the team. They're selfish players.”
Martin drew on past experience when saying off-ice chemistry can lead to better on-ice performance.
“You want to help each other,” he said.
“You don't want to be selfish and you don't be selfish and you know worried about your own stats and stuff like that. You want to help all your buddies, you want to help all your friends. So in that way, I think I think it's good here because we’ve got a tight bond. Everyone wants to help each other out.”
Martin said that the small town environment can help lead to off-ice chemistry.
“It's a small town there's not much to do the boys really hang out with each other,” he said.
“They get to know each other which is really nice. I really like that. I've had a couple buddies play on the Winnipeg Blues of the MJHL and they don't hang out often because Winnipeg is such a big city there's a lot more distractions.”
Martin played in the Winnipeg Thrashers midget AAA system, captaining the team in the 2016/2017 season. He still spends the off-season working back in Winnipeg.
“I was roofing all summer,” Martin said.
“So that kept me in shape. So I based on my summer that way, just staying busy trying to try to stay on the ice as much as possible, get the skates going.”
Martin joined the Bombers with a couple teammates from the Thrashers in the fall of 2017, and immediately embraced the town.
“When we first came here was it's definitely way different than Winnipeg,” he said.
“It's just a small town feel, so it took some adjusting but honestly, I love it here. I love the town. I love the people here and obviously the bombers are a historic team to play for. So it's it's awesome.”
Martin has big goals for the Bombers this season, despite the high player turnover.
“We lost quite a few boys from last season, but I feel like I feel like we're gonna be good this year once once the team gets going,” he said.
“Preseason has been the greatest right now but what can you do. Once you start getting some vets and then get some chemistry going I think it will be good this year.”
Martin said thinks the Bombers should grow in strength throughout the season, adding he expects a better than average finish.
“[Our goals is] to get as many wins as we can,” he said.
“We're going to have a young team so it's gonna take some adjusting. Once the boys click together, they’ll get going and I think we'll be fine. We're gonna be good this year. I think we're gonna we're going to finish at least in the top half of the league for sure.”
Martin is hoping his performance in the SJHL leads to a scholarship opportunity. The Bombers have consistently sent players to high level NCAA schools around North America.
“If I could get a scholarship somewhere, anything that way. Get some schooling paid for in any way to just keep playing playing hockey next year. If I can get some schooling out of it, that would be huge. That'd be the main goal for sure.”
As far as personal goals for this season, Martin was less specific. He pointed to his role on the team as a factor. In two seasons with the Bombers, he only has 21 points. He’s hoping to get a bit more special teams time this year to help add to those totals.
“I'd like to drop little more points I did last year but I've never been a points guy myself,” Martin said.
“I'm more of a shutdown defenseman type role so obviously I'm thinking defense first but I can throw some points out - get some powerplay time.”
Martin and the Bombers open up the season playing against the La Ronge Ice Wolves on Sept. 13.
“I'm just going to play my game, play my solid game, do what I do,” Martin said.
“Shut down defenseman. So if I'm holding down the back end, I'm hoping the forwards can pull forward on the front end.”
