Ryan O’Reilly, with one tooth missing, was grinning ear to ear when talking about what it’s been like to have center Brady Martin at Nashville Predators training camp.
The 18-year-old was drafted by the Predators fifth overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, and after a busy summer, is locked in on earning a spot on the Predators roster.
O’Reilly, entering his 18th NHL season, has been enticed by Martin’s skill, energy and overall positive attitude.
“It’s fun getting to know him [Martin],” O’Reilly said. “It takes me back to when I was young and I was excited to be at NHL training camp. He’s got a lot of energy and always has a smile on his face. It’s fun to see.”
O’Reilly remembers that similar excitement, but said there’s a wide skill gap between Martin and himself when he was 18, in that Martin is better.
“He’s a lot better than I was at that age,” O’Reilly chuckled. “He skates a lot better and I kind of ran on the ice a bit.”
That’s been an area of Martin’s game that he’s been improving on over the summer. He said that he worked a lot off the ice, mainly with a track coach, to transition that explosiveness to the ice.
It was the skill that Martin believed he “sharpened” the most this offseason.
“We just did a lot of explosive exercises off the ice and worked a little bit of skating too,” Martin said.
Martin’s ability to battle for the puck stuck out to O’Reilly as well. His strength on the stick is what played into his draft stock. In juniors, he was a bigger player who was hard to take the puck off of.
“He’s [Martin] very strong on the stick just in those little battles and pushing on him,” O’Reilly said. “When I was younger, that was something that could’ve given me a leg [up] in being strong on pucks…you can tell he’s got that strength. That farm boy strength.”
Martin’s abilities on the puck were put to the test in Friday’s scrimmage as he went up against 6-foot-6-inch Michael McCarron.
“He’s tough. He’s a big boy,” Martin said on facing McCarron. “It’s tough to beat him, but it’s just about taking little tips and seeing what he does and trying to beat him. It’s a good challenge.”
While Martin and McCarron faced off earlier this week, they both play a critical role in bringing up the Predators’ center depth. Both likely could play significant roles down the middle in bringing up the center depth in the bottom six.
The effort is led by O’Reilly, who will likely center the first line at the start of the regular season.
However, in the first week of training camp, Martin is looking to showcase his skills and continue proving that he’s deserving of a spot on this season’s roster.
“I’m just going out there and working my tail off in every opportunity I get,” Martin said. “I’m just trying to work hard and show the coaches what I have to bring.”
Read the full article here
