NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – The Lone Star Brahmas have signed their fourth player via a tender for the 2017-18 season. Josh Martin, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound defenseman who is currently playing with the T1EHL’s Belle Tire, will look to join the Brahmas in the fall.
“Al (Rooney)’s done a good job identifying him,” Head Coach Dan Wildfong said. “He is a big, strong kid who can make hockey plays.”
Martin, who is 17 years old (’99 birth year), will have three years of junior eligibility remaining after the current season, and the Brahmas coaching staff hope to see the big right-handed defenseman with the Brahmas as soon as next season.
“We expect him to be a big part of the defense corps next year,” Assistant Coach Al Rooney said. “He’s a real steady guy in the back end. He’s got the skill to make a play in tight places. At the same time, it looks like he’s got the maturity where he doesn’t try to force plays. He’s got good size and positioning, doesn’t get himself out of position too much.”
Martin has one goal and six assists in 18 games with Belle Tire’s Under-18 Tier I Midget Major team this season. While those are not eye-popping offensive numbers, Rooney was impressed with how well-rounded Martin is.
“He lets plays develop, hits the right guy, makes the high percentage play more often than not, and quite frankly, he defends well. It wasn’t really one dynamic thing [that caught our eye], it was a lot of little things that he does well.”
Martin himself is looking forward to joining the Brahmas. “I’ve just heard nothing but good stuff about Lone Star, the program and everything,” he said. “Great city, great place to play.”
Before his time with Bell Tire, the Michigan native played four seasons with the Compuware Hockey program out of Detroit.
* A tender is a contract, of sorts, a player signs announcing his intentions to play for that particular NAHL team and that NAHL team only. Once a player signs a tender with an NAHL team, his playing rights belong to that team within the NAHL and he may not be recruited by any other NAHL team. Each team is granted ten (10) tenders – plus or minus any trades. Tendered players are not eligible for the NAHL draft. *