After a remarkably productive season with the Wisconsin Windigo where the Michigan native was named the NAHL MVP and forward of the year, Martin has brought his talents and skills to northwest Ohio. He is one of six newcomers, including three freshmen, on a BGSU squad that returned nearly its entire roster from last year. The 6-foot, 188-pound lefthander went through what he called an “interesting time” earlier this year when changes were being made within the BGSU program. Martin committed to the Falcons in January under previous head coach Ty Eigner, but the school parted ways with the latter in mid-March. Staying in touch with BGSU’s assistants, like Curtis Carr, and athletic director Derek van der Merwe while the search for a new coach was under way were meaningful for Martin. “The assistant coaches and the athletic director did a really good job of communicating with all the recruits coming in about just trusting the process, like we’re going to be fine,” Martin said. “Having all the assistants stay definitely helps out a lot too, so you’re kind of familiar with who recruited you because I was recruited by an assistant coach [Carr] to come here.“That transition kind of made it easier to have all our assistants here, and then talking with Dennis and after seeing his first interview here, he just seemed like a guy that I wanted to play for and lead me into my next path of hockey.”

The stats Martin generated in the USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier II league speak for themselves. In 60 regular season games, Martin led the NAHL in goals (44) and points (97) while ranking third in assists (53). His 12 game-winning goals were first in the league, while his 17 power-play goals and 25 power-play assists were both ranked in the top three. He also tallied a goal and four assists in six playoff games. “I think the one thing that Max brings is he’s a flex player. Obviously, he put points up in the North American league, did very well, and had great success,” Williams said. “But this year’s another jump in terms of getting settled into college hockey. “He’s going from playing against boys to men now, and the one thing Max has is he has a fall-back plan. He plays hard, he’s physical. Watching him on the ice, he’s first on pucks, he gets to the net front. You can see why he had success at that level. He has very good details and tangibles to his game right now, and now, it’s just a matter of how quickly can that transfer and adjust to college hockey.”

Martin’s efforts in practice have already been noticeable by his teammates, including fifth-year senior forward Ethan Scardina. “Marts is a great kid. He’s a great person, everyone on our team loves him. He comes to the rink every day with a great attitude and works very, very hard on the ice,” Scardina said. “A lot of guys see that, especially myself. “Obviously, he had a great year last year and he can kind of carry that confidence going into this year. But I think he’s obviously got skill, but if he keeps working at his work ethic and doing the right things, he’ll do great at this level throughout his four years here. I’m really excited to see how he develops over the course of this year with me and then over the course of the last three years without me.” For Martin, the first conversations with Williams after he got hired were “very intense.” He took his new coach’s advice seriously, and Williams’ dedication to getting the most out of every minute on the ice stood out, as well. “He’s an intense guy, and it was mainly talking about the summer training this year and to really empty the tank this summer and be ready for this fall,” Martin said. “A big thing that he said that stuck with me was, ‘Don’t let your future self ask you what you were doing all summer.’ “ He always has a purpose with everything he does. He wants to translate that to us, as well, so he wants us to have a purpose with everything we do. Super intense and super hard, but it’s a lot of fun.” As Martin works to transfer his talents to the college level, playing his game and doing whatever he can to help the Falcons win are his biggest focuses. He said he doesn’t want to reinvent the wheel. When asked to describe his game, Martin said he plays physical, works hard, and plays both sides of the puck. He knows how to make a play with the puck and trusts himself with it. “The way he’s been practicing, the way he’s been competing, he’s definitely going to have a great opportunity to step right in and be an impact player not just this year, but for the next four years,” Williams said.