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Colorado Avalanche: Andreas Martinsen’s Midseason Grade

By Ross Sellers

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Colorado Avalanche forward, Andreas Martinsen, is starting to make a name for himself on this team, so I’m going to look further into his game.

So far this season, Andreas Martinsen has been a welcome addition to the Colorado Avalanche, providing them with some much needed grit, and a lot of effort.

He’s played in 21 games this season and has 2 goals and 6 points, he’s a +2, and he’s scored one game winning goal. He’s starting to earn more ice time too, as he played on a line with Matt Duchene and John Mitchell most of the night on Monday.

So, what’s the dig on Marty then?

The Set Up!

As all Avalanche fans know, this is his rookie season, and he was called up to start Colorado’s six game road trip against the Flyers. He was a +2 that night, and provided 7 hits in 10:21 of ice time.

It was easy to tell right away that his game is predicated by the existence of physicality. He’s second in hits amongst rookies, despite playing 14 less games than the rookie leader.

He’s also very effective on the forecheck because he’s very aggressive and attacks the puck and stick relentlessly. He hits hard in the corners and ensures that there is no easy exit from the zone when he’s on the ice.

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There is a reason Marty has earned shut-down minutes with Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau. He has proven that he can skate well, and that he’s not afraid to use the body to get under players’ skin.

Obviously, he’s not a top-six forward kind of player, but he can certainly provide valuable minutes on the third line, and even score to a certain degree. Plus, this is only his first season in the NHL, and on North American ice, so he has the potential to be even better.

What Can Andreas Martinsen Improve?

Luckily, Marty rarely gets out of position when he’s going for a hit, he seems to time them for the appropriate endeavors. Furthermore, his contributions to the roster are obvious, since his call-up, the Colorado Avalanche are 13-7-1.

Obviously there are a lot of factors that contribute to that record, but his presence on a line with Soderberg and Comeau solidified the role of that third line, and provided Patrick Roy with a consistent outlet for shut-down minutes.

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However, every players has something they can improve upon. For my money, Andreas Martinsen just needs to hit more, and consistently put up big hitting nights. He could also shoot a little more as well, he’s averaging just over one shot per game.

Nonetheless, he knows his role well, and making space with his physicality is what he does best.

Andreas Martinsen at His Best

He’s at his best when he’s hitting, like this:

Yeah, that one set the tone for the game, and helped the Avalanche win a crucial division game on the road. That’s when he started standing out to me, and since then I’ve kept a steady eye on him.

It might have helped that he also scored the game-winning goal that night:

That’s a nice display of this kid’s hands because it’s tough to knock a puck out of the air, especially with the back-hand.

Andreas Martinsen proved what he is capable of in that game to my standards, he hits like a freight train, and he plays consistently hard enough to provide a big play at a key moment.

It’s not going to happen every game, but he works hard enough to ensure that he gets his chances.

Andreas Martinsen’s Midseason Grade

He gets an A from me, and I honestly think that he deserves it. He’s played hard every night when he’s been in the lineup, and he creates space for his teammates with his crushing hits.

He sticks up for his teammates too. He’s fought Steve Downie and Chris Neil, two guys who are well traveled in hockey fights. In his last fight against Steve Downie, Cody McLeod and Jarome Iginla were shouting some pointers from the bench:

After delivering a bomb of a hit against Klas Dahlbeck, who ironically is the rookie leader in hits I mentioned earlier, Steve Downie challenges Marty to a fight, and I’d say Martinsen won it.

I wonder if Dahlbeck’s hits are that hard, because he was introduced to the ice with speed. Anyway, that’s the type of play you like to see from a depth player like Martinsen, and those three videos are pretty good demonstrators of what he is capable of nightly.

New Year’s Resolution

His resolution has to be making sure that he stays with the big team for as long as possible, and starts to solidify the importance of his role for this team’s success. Patrick Roy scratched him for one night already, and immediately remarked that he felt they missed his presence.

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Andreas Martinsen needs to make sure that they keep understanding the importance of his presence to this team, to the players, and to the goal of making the playoffs. In order to do that, he needs to bring another level of ferocity when the New Year strikes.

He’ll need to keep hitting with tenacity, and keep skating hard to make the lives of his opponents miserable on the forecheck, and stifling in the neutral zone.

On Tap!

The Colorado Avalanche play the Blackhawks tomorrow night at 6:00 PM Mountain for a nice New Year’s game. Hopefully Semyon Varlamov is able to win his 9th straight against the Hawks, and the Avalanche are able to put a little distance from the .500 mark.

So, let’s have fun tonight and keep it responsible because police are on the prowl on New Year’s fans, so be careful and make the right hockey choice.

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I hope everyone who’s attending the game has fun, and those that find other forms of entertainment on New Year’s also enjoy the night.

Cheers to the Avs, and cheers to a New Year!

What do you think Avs fans? What grade would you have given Andreas Martinsen? What do you think his focus should be for a New Year’s resolution? Let us know in the comments!

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