Soo Greyhounds' Brady Martin has more to prove after world juniors showcase
Last week, the 2025 world junior summer showcase offered an early look at how steep the road will be for Brady Martin to crack Canada's 2026 world junior roster.
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The 18‑year‑old Greyhounds centre was in Minneapolis, Minn. for the showcase, designed to give top prospects a first audition for the world juniors in December. Martin, the Nashville Predators' fifth-overall selection, left the showcase with a goal and an assist in two games against Sweden and the United States — but he wasn't a standout.
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Skating primarily out of position on Canada's third line at right wing alongside Cole Reschny (Victoria) and Cole Beaudoin (Barrie), Martin recorded an assist in the team's intrasquad game before sitting out the first contest against Finland. He scored his lone goal of the week in an 8‑4 loss to Sweden, using a defenseman as a screen and snapping a high‑glove shot past the goalie.
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Martin picked up another assist in the tournament finale against the United States, but the play came on a missed shot that bounced off the end boards to a teammate.
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With Canada leading 3-0, a failed zone clearing attempt by Martin led to the Americans' first goal. He also took two penalties for charging and cross‑checking. Overall, he wasn't very noticeable on the ice, which is usually a hallmark of his loud and physical game.
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Despite the uneven performance, Martin's standing for the world juniors isn't set in stone. Summer showcase games are more about evaluation than results, and players are often thrown out of their regular positions to test their versatility. For Martin, a natural centre, that experience will be more than an experiment if he cracks Canada's roster in December, as he will almost certainly be a bottom‑six winger. His strong showing at the 2025 U18 world championship, where he finished fifth in scoring, and his reputation as a reliable two‑way forward still give him a path to that role, provided he opens the OHL season with momentum.
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Competition will be fierce. Canada's summer roster featured 22 NHL first‑rounders, including projected 2026 No. 1 Gavin McKenna (Penn State), and forwards like Michael Hage (Michigan), Malcolm Spence (Erie), and linemate Reschny outshone Martin in Minnesota, despite the latter two being selected much later in this year's NHL draft. Sam O'Reilly (London) and Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton), two other competitors for bottom-six slots, also benefit from having their junior coaches (Dale Hunter and Gardiner MacDougall) on Canada's staff, a factor that has historically influenced final selections.
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If Martin does make the cut, he'll make it a third consecutive year that a Greyhounds player represents Canada at the world juniors. Andrew Gibson wore the maple leaf last tournament, and Owen Allard did so in 2024. Allard, passed over in two NHL drafts, was never expected to compete for a roster spot but forced himself into the conversation.
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Winnipeg Free Press
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