Martinuik’s combination of playmaking and physicality were what lead to his success at this event. His foot speed and tenacity allowed him to consistently be the first man in on the forecheck and hound over loose pucks whenever they came about. With the puck on his stick he could speed things up or slow things down, either attacking defenders head on and using a series of slick dekes to get into space to get a shot off or delay upon entry and wait for a seam to open up before executing a cross-ice feed. Off-puck he was taking smart routes to the front of the net, which lead to him getting plenty of looks from dangerous areas and use his strong finishing touch around the net

Right out of the gate Martinuik was displaying a high level of foot speed and tenacity to get himself in on the forecheck, create turnovers and generate scoring chances for himself. It seemed like every time he was on the ice, he was limiting opponents time and space, hounding on loose pucks or even drawing penalties for his team. There was one sequence where he was able to strip a defender of the puck at offensive blueline, execute an inside-outside move on the last man standing before getting a shot off from the middle of the ice. He potted two goals in this game, with the first one coming off a perfect snapshot in motion that found its way over the goaltender’s blocker. The second one saw him take a smart off-puck route to the front of the net in transition and deflect a cross-ice feed from in close.

Martinuik’s playmaking and physicality are what allowed him to make such a positive impact throughout this game. He was consistently winning board battles below the goal line by winning body position on opponents, which allowed his line to initiate the cycle game and prolong possession in the offensive zone. With the puck on his stick he was patient and effective, waiting for seams to open up and the play to develop before delivering passes to the middle of the ice. He also showed a willingness to attack the middle of the ice with the puck, using his strength to power his way in in order to get shots off from the inside. His physicality was on full display in one instance, when he caught a defender with the puck off guard with a big hit in the defensive zone, turning the puck over and leading to a goal for his team. He scored his team’s first goal of the game by gliding to a dangerous area off the faceoff and firing a quick shot upon reception.