Anchorage Daily News

Shortly after the Alaska Aces signed defenseman Derick Martin and added him to the lineup last February, both parties prospered.

Martin rejuvenated the hockey club's moribund penalty-killing unit, helped solidify a banged-up blue line and furnished a consistent and relentless physical presence.

The Aces promptly reeled off an eight-game winning streak and enjoyed a resurgence in which they won 15 of 17 games.

No wonder Martin and the Aces both wanted to renew the relationship.

The Aces on Monday announced they have signed Martin, 26, for the upcoming season, securing a lockdown defenseman with an offensive upside.

Martin's signing is the third by the Aces this off-season. Last week, they announced the signings of sibling snipers Colin and Brett Hemingway. The team does not reveal financial terms of contracts.

In 27 regular-season games for the Aces, Martin produced a remarkable plus-18 rating. He also added three goals and six assists. And his four goals in nine ECHL playoff games -- the most memorable was his double-overtime strike in Game 3 of the opening round against Idaho -- tied for the team postseason lead.

"Derick came in here last (season) and really instilled work ethic game in and game out, did everything we wanted and more,'' Aces coach Keith McCambridge said. "He was physical, he played against the other team's best line and made people pay a price when they came into our zone.''

The Aces last season signed Martin, who began the season playing in France, just before the league deadline for adding players from Europe. He played so well for them that he earned his first call-up to the American Hockey League, playing two games for the Peoria Rivermen and contributing an assist in each match.

Martin, reached by phone Monday at his family's home in Timmins, Ontario, said everything he experienced in Anchorage made returning attractive.

"I guess I'm a woodsman at heart, if you call it that,'' Martin said. "I like the town, I like the feel of it. And the players who live there -- Lee Green, Corbin Schmidt, Matt Shasby, Cam Keith -- they're good guys to hang around with.

"I can't say enough about (McCambridge) and Anchorage, and the fans and the community. The team wants to take care of you, and they're willing to do the things necessary to have a winning team.''

Martin will be a fifth-year pro in the upcoming season. This will mark the first time in his pro career he has begun a season with the same club with which he finished the previous season.

"It will be comfortable to go to a place I know, guys I know and a coach I know, and also to know what's expected of me,'' Martin said.

Martin logged heavy minutes for the Aces, and despite a physical edge to his game that resulted in punishing hits that belie his ordinary size (6-foot, 185 pounds), he spent little time in the penalty box. He was whistled for just 18 penalty minutes in 27 games -- he has earned just 218 penalty minutes in 223 North American pro games -- and that allowed him to kill nearly all penalties the Aces took.

McCambridge said he was particularly impressed with Martin's consistency and fitness. The night Martin was promoted to the AHL, he played a home game for the Aces, flew overnight on a red-eye flight and suited up for Peoria in San Antonio the next night.

Though Martin is not technically a veteran in the ECHL, McCambridge covets Martin's leadership. Martin has played 245 regular-season pro games, just shy of the 260 that mark an ECHL player as a veteran. Each team is allowed four veterans.

"After games, he'd be working out, lifting weights, riding the bike,'' McCambridge said. "It was contagious. The rest of the team saw the effect it had on his game.''

Find Doyle Woody's hockey blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.

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