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Ayrton Martino Scouting Report: 2021 NHL Draft #41

Ayrton Martino Scouting Report

Welcome back to Top Shelf Prospects, the daily column that brings you the next crop of professional hockey players. Each day I will bring you a new player profile or topical article in the lead-up to the 2021 NHL Draft. Be sure to bookmark the site, follow me on Twitter, and spread the word for the site that will bring you analytical and critical profiles and scouting reports! Last Word On Hockey Prospects is your new headquarters for everything “2021 NHL Draft”! We have a complete listing of our draft articles here. Today we bring you our Ayrton Martino Scouting Report. 

Drafted by the Guelph Storm in the 2018 OHL Draft, Toronto native Ayrton Martino instead opted to play for the St. Michael’s Buzzers in the OJHL to maintain NCAA Eligibility. However, with the pandemic wreaking havoc on the OJHL season, he choose to play in B.C. for Chilliwack. When that season was also delayed, he went to the USHL to play for the Omaha Lancers. In 38 games Martino scored 18 goals and 56 points. He also played two playoff games but was held off the scoresheet. Martino is committed to playing for the Clarkson University Golden Knights next season.

In 2019-20, Martino put up 29 goals and 79 points in 48 games with the Buzzers. He added two goals and six points in four playoff games before the season was cut short. Martino was named to the OJHL Second All-Star Team. Martino won a silver medal at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge. He scored five points in five games for Team Canada White. In 2018-19 he put up 10 goals and 42 points in 49 games with the Buzzers. Martino also added two goals and 10 points in 11 playoff games.

Ayrton Martino Scouting Report

Left Wing — shoots Left
Born September 28th 2002 — Toronto, Ontario
Height 5’10” — Weight 170 lbs [178 cm/77 kg]

Skating

Martino is an outstanding skater. His stride is nearly textbook perfect and this leads to great speed as well as outstanding acceleration. His ability to change speeds also helps him to avoid defenders and create space. Once he gets a step on a defender, Martino can quickly pull away. This creates a ton of breakaways and odd-man rushes. His agility and edgework are also very good. Martino gains speed out of his turns and his quick changes of direction can leave an opponent flat-footed. They also help to create passing and shooting lanes in the offensive zone. He can also avoid defenders both with and without the puck.

Martino is strong on his skates as well. He has a powerful stride which helps him to fight through checks. He is also good on the boards. Martino is able to protect the puck while working down low on the cycle. He gets in quickly on the forecheck and creates turnovers. He also wins plenty of battles in front of the net. This should continue to improve as he matures and gets stronger.

Offensive Game

Martino has high-end offensive skills. As mentioned, Martino’s speed is a real threat and helps him to generate breakaways and odd-man rushes. He has the soft hands to finish those plays. He also has a powerful wrist shot and snapshot. His quick hands allow him to change the angle of his release and beat goaltenders. Martino is also an outstanding playmaker. He has a high-end vision as well as excellent passing skills. Martino protects the puck well in the offensive zone, cycling and creating time for his teammates to get open. When they do, he has the passing skills to get the puck through tight areas and set up a scoring chance. Martino is extremely creative and his one-on-one skills create passing and shooting lanes. He is not afraid to play in dirty areas of the ice. Martino often cuts to the net with or without the puck.

There are some issues though. His stickhandling is good and helps him to avoid defenders as well as enter the neutral zone with possession at the USHL level. It also helps him to protect the puck in the offensive zone as he cycles the puck. However, it can continue to be improved. Martino sometimes loses control of the puck when moving at top speed, or he needs to slow down to better control it. He could also stand to improve the accuracy on his shots. Martino can have shots blocked or miss the net a bit too often. If he can improve these two areas of his game, even just a little, he can be an even more dynamic offensive threat.

Defensive Game

Martino is a strong defensive player as well. He uses his hockey IQ to read the play and anticipate where an opponent may go with the puck. This helps him to create turnovers by intercepting passes. Once a turnover is created, he is quick to move the puck up the ice to create offensive chances. However, there are times when he is a bit too quick to move up the ice without the puck, leaving his teammates in a tough situation in the defensive end. He also backchecks effectively. Martino supports the defence down low and brings good backpressure against the rush. A lack of size can be an issue though and he sometimes struggles to contain bigger and stronger opponents.

Projection and Comparison

Martino has the offensive skill to develop into a top-six winger if he can continue to improve those skills he can develop into a top-six winger at the NHL level. He needs to be a bit more accurate with his shot as well as continue to work on his puck handling while moving at top speed. He can also continue to improve his strength and defensive game. Martino will have time to focus on improving these skills with plenty of practice time between games at the NCAA level. Martino’s game is reminiscent of Alex Tanguay. However, this is a stylistic comparison only and not one based on his skill and ability.

Highlights

The following is a compilation of some of the highlight packages and features of Ayrton Martino that are available on youtube and twitter.

https://twitter.com/PodStreetGove/status/1382414253882216458

 

Come back tomorrow for our latest NHL Draft article.

 

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