Danick Martel

Danick Martel
Born	(1994-12-12) December 12, 1994 Drummondville, Quebec, Canada
Occupation	Ice hockey forward
Years active	2014–present
Known for	Playing professionally with HPK in the Finnish Liiga; NHL stints with Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning

Danick Martel (born December 12, 1994) is a Canadian ice hockey forward who currently plays professionally under contract with HPK in the Finnish Liiga. His NHL experience includes stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Playing career

Martel developed his early skills playing youth hockey for the Drummondville Voltigeurs minor team. During the 2014–15 campaign, he competed in the QMJHL with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, where he tallied 48 goals alongside 54 assists. His outstanding performance earned him a spot on the QMJHL First All-Star Team as well as the prestigious 2014–15 CHL Humanitarian of the Year award.

Despite not being selected in the NHL Entry Draft, Martel secured a three-year entry-level deal with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 10, 2015. Soon after, he joined their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In the 2017–18 season, Martel led both the Phantoms and the entire AHL in goals scored with 14 in just 17 games before receiving a call-up to the Flyers. He made his NHL debut on November 22, 2017, appearing in four games that season prior to returning to the AHL. Though chosen for the 2018 AHL All-Star game, an injury prevented his participation. Toward the end of that season, he was honored as Lehigh Valley’s 2017–18 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year for his community involvement.

On September 22, 2018, Martel was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Throughout the 2018–19 NHL season, he played in nine games mainly serving as a depth forward and registered two goals, including his first NHL point recorded on December 18, 2018. The Lightning extended his contract with a one-year, two-way agreement on July 4, 2019. During the following season (2019–20), Martel spent time with Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, accumulating 30 points over 52 games before being traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Anthony Greco on February 20, 2020.

After becoming a free agent from Florida, Martel inked a one-year AHL contract with the Binghamton Devils, New Jersey Devils’ affiliate, on January 9, 2021. In a shortened season impacted by the pandemic, he posted six goals and totaled fourteen points across twenty-four contests. Following Binghamton’s suspension of operations, Martel signed a one-year deal with his hometown team, the Laval Rocket, on July 3, 2021.

After completing two seasons with Laval, Martel moved to Europe by agreeing to a one-year contract with HPK of Finland’s Liiga on July 31, 2023.

Career statistics

  |   2020–21 AHL season   |   Binghamton Devils   |   AHL   |   24   |   6   |   8   |   14   |   44   |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     bgcolor="#f0f0f0"   |   2021–22 AHL season   |   Laval Rocket   |   AHL                  |  2022–23 AHL season  | Laval Rocket

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010–11	Magog Cantonniers	QMAAA		41	10	8	18	60		13	7	4	11	8
2011–12	Magog Cantonniers	QMAAA		41	23	29	52	83		7	6	3	9	10
2011–12	Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	QMJHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	QMJHL		68	19	22	41	50		15	3	4	7	16
2013–14	Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	QMJHL		63	32	28	60	42		11	8	1	9	8
2014–15	Blainville-Boisbriand Armada	QMJHL		64	48	54	102	85		6	4	3	7	8
2014–15	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		5	1	2	3	4
2015–16 AHL season	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		67	22	15	37	68
Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL	68		20	20	40	67	5		1	0	1	4
2017–18 AHL season	Lehigh Valley Phantoms	AHL		59	25	15	40	50		13	4	4	8	22
2017–18 NHL season	Philadelphia Flyers	National Hockey League		4	0	0	0	0
2018–19 AHL season	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		4	0	1	1	6
2018–19 NHL season	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		9	0	2	2	8
2019–20 AHL season	Syracuse Crunch	AHL		52	16	14	30	42
2019–20	Springfield Thunderbirds	AHL		8	4	5	9	17
AHL	26	4		8	12	15	1	0		0	0

Awards and honours

Award	Year
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
First Team All-Star	2015
Humanitarian of the Year	2015
(CHL) Humanitarian of the Year	2015
American Hockey League (AHL)
IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year	2018