Why your favorite NHL team should be in love with 2025 NHL Draft’s Brady Martin

Among some of the big names heading into the 2025 NHL Draft, there’s one player who might be under the radar, but has the potential to be a big-time player in the future.

Forward Brady Martin enters this year’s draft having the best season of his junior hockey career with the Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. In 57 games, the 18-year-old posted career highs in goals (33), assists (39) and points (72), adding another four points in the playoffs before the Greyhounds were eliminated in the first round of the OHL Playoffs by the Windsor Spitfires.

Along with an impressive run in the Soo, the Elmira, Ontario native has represented his country a few times over the past year. Along with playing for Canada Red at the 2023 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, Martin won gold with Team Canada at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.

With less than a month to go before the draft, Daily Faceoff draft expert Steven Ellis has Martin listed as the seventh-best prospect.

On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Ellis joined Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk to discuss what makes Martin an impressive prospect.

Steven Ellis: Brady Martin is a guy where I think if you watch enough of him, you understand the appeal. I feel like when you look online, a lot of people in that seven, eight, ninth draft range, they’re looking at us like, “Why would we want Brady Martin?” … When it comes to what Brady Martin’s able to do, he’s one of the most aggressive players out there. He moves well. He’s so smart. He scores.

There’s a little bit of Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand in him. What do you know about those two guys right now? Those are guys that are currently key parts of a team that looks like they’re going to go to the Stanley Cup final. You’re looking for guys like that. The guys who will just play like your life depends on it every single shift. That’s what you get out of Brady Martin. He might not be the most skilled guy out there, although I’ve seen him score some unbelievable goals, but we watched him at the under-18s. We watched him in the OHL this year. This is a player that just does not get enough respect, I think, from the average fan.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…