Martin also would check in on some of the 60,000 chickens on the 250-acre farm, as well as help with anything that came up on the family’s 300-acre farm about 11 miles north in Belwood, Ontario, which has dairy cows and pigs.
And if that isn’t enough, Martin also is an experienced welder, having spent time working for Jembrook Welding.
“COVID hit, and I didn’t have anything to do, so I bought some cows, and then I went back down the street and they were looking for a person to run their plasma cutter,” said Martin, who was 13 years old at the time. “And that’s where it all started. So I ran a plasma cutter cutting steel. That was the summer, and then the next summer I got more into painting the stuff they were welding, and I welded a couple things together.
“We were making manure spreaders. Local people would buy them. My family actually bought one from there. I worked back there and talked my way in there. … I liked it. I didn’t get paid a lot but it’s another skill you’ll have the rest of your life.”
When all his farm work or welding duties kept him too busy to get to the rink or the gym, Martin (6-foot, 186 pounds) came up with a solution. He built a gym in one of the barns last summer.
“So (trainer) Matt Nichol gave me a program, and just set me up with some stuff,” Martin said. “I got some equipment brought to my house, and that’s what I did this summer. A squat rack and a couple weights and stuff. A lot of body weight stuff, just to get more mobility. It’s a lot. He gave me a lot of stuff to do, and I followed that program this summer. I think it’s part of my success this season.
“I feel like I’m a lot stronger on the ice. I’m just more of an ox out there. It’s tough to get the puck off me, I feel like. I think that’s a big thing for me, is my puck protection. And I think that helped this summer, to get a little bigger.”
That success certainly was noticed by the scouts who watched him this season.
