Martin preparing for 2025 NHL Draft, later career on family’s dairy farm

The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held June 27-28 at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be held June 27 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with rounds 2-7 on June 28 (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at Sault Ste. Marie forward Brady Martin. Full draft coverage can be found here.

Brady Martin is just 18 years old, but he already has his career path mapped out.

First a long run in the NHL.

Then he takes over the family's dairy farm in Elora, Ontario.

"That's the plan," Martin said. "Hopefully I play in the NHL. But if that doesn't work out, then the farm is definitely where I'll be heading."

The way Martin played this season, life on the farm might be limited to offseason work for the foreseeable future.

The 18-year-old right-shot center had 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 57 games with Sault Ste. Marie of the Ontario Hockey League, and 11 points (three goals, eight assists) to help Canada win the gold medal at the 2025 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

He's No. 11 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2025 NHL Draft.

"He plays big minutes and in all situations for his team in Sault Ste. Marie," Central Scouting's Nick Smith said. "Lots of raw talent with great habits and plays the entire 200 feet. Will play physical and play in the trenches. He has great offensive instincts with vision and creativity, and can finish as well. He’s the guy you want on the ice when the game is on the line. Checks all the boxes and has no holes in his game."

Martin didn't turn 18 until March 16, but Sault Ste. Marie coach John Dean by then had grown enough trust in Martin that he played him in all situations.

"He's first-unit [penalty-kill] guy, he's a first-unit power-play guy," Dean said. "... He's on the ice 6-on-5 against, 6-on-5 for. As a 17-year-old kid, we're asking him to carry a lot of the mail."

Having that level of responsibility is nothing new for Martin. He knew growing up that it was farm chores first, hockey second.

"So I'd wake up, like, 6 o'clock [in the morning], scrape out the [poop] in the pens and then put fresh stuff down for [the cows] to lay on, and then feed them all, put a couple through the milker that need to. Then probably go for breakfast, and then see whatever else needs to get done the rest of the day."

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.

"He already has a pro mentality," Smith said. "He’s the guy that brings it from Game 1 to Game 68, every day, all day and twice on Sundays. It takes players a while to learn that kind of consistency."

Dean said the next step for Martin is to shoot the puck more, even though he led Sault Ste. Marie with 202 shots on goal this season.

"He's got an absolute cannon for a shot," Dean said. "He's got a great release."

Dean, though, has no concerns about Martin doing what he has to do to raise his game to an even higher level.

"There's a maturity level there," he said. "The background story that everyone knows is he's been a responsible kid his whole life growing up on the farm, he's had a lot of responsibility I think at an early age. I think he relishes the idea of being accountable to his teammates and being a guy who could be the difference. Just love who he is as a person, as a player, and obviously for us as coaches, he's made it very easy."