The Huskies continued their red-hot December off the ice as they garnered their third verbal commitment of the month, this time from Giacomo Martino, a forward currently playing for the St. Michael’s Buzzers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.
Martino is a 5-foot-10, 160 pound left shot forward from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Currently with St. Michael’s, he has 33 points (16 goals) in 31 games, and sits in the top 20 in the league for points and goals. As a 16-year-old player in a league that has players as old as 20, that is extremely impressive and shows that Martino has the ability and skill to succeed on the scoresheet even as a double-underager. He would follow in the footsteps of current Huskies Ty Jackson, Dylan Jackson, and Tyler Spott who all played at St. Michael’s before eventually playing for Northeastern.
Martino was drafted by Waterloo, one of the top organizations in the United States Hockey League, in the 6th round of the 2021 USHL Futures Draft, and was a 7th round pick of the Niagara Ice Dogs in the 2021 Ontario Hockey League Priority Draft- something to monitor, but given the track record of the staff, and the fact that Giacomo’s brother is a freshman this year at Clarkson University, not something to worry about at this time.
Martino is considered an elite prospect for his age and his region. Neutral Zone’s scouting service recently called him a “forward who can fly and does not look out of position as a first year Junior. So far, early in Martino’s Junior career he is better than a point per game and has the all-round game to play on the top line for St. Mikes. He has an elite first step and gets to top speed quickly. He is confident carrying the puck and can create separation from opposition players with his speed. Martino tracked pucks well on the back check and created a number of turnovers with his back pressure at the OJHL showcase. He is reliable defensively and this allows him to play out of position with and vs better (older) players.”
Similarly, he was profiled in Sports Illustrated in a prospects profile and detailed as “a strong forward with offensive flair…likes to get pucks on net and is not afraid to try and deke around opposing defenders to create a dangerous scoring chance. Martino is a strong skater who thinks the game quickly. He is a fast player who will catch defenders off guard and take away the puck to create a dangerous rush. He is the kind of player who generates a lot of offence and gets multiple strong scoring chances in a game even if he doesn’t always get his name on the scoresheet.”
After he was selected in the OHL Draft, scouts and reporters also added “great shot, a pure goal-scorer with a shoot-first attitude,” and “agile skater that has the puckhandling ability and elusiveness to bring the puck into the house and into the high-danger areas. He’s a highly-offensive player that never takes his foot off the gas.”
An elite speedster with a shoot-first, goal-scoring approach with defensive responsibility at just 16 years old? Sign us all the way up. We expect that Martino will follow his older brother’s footsteps and go from the OJHL to the USHL ahead of enrolling at Northeastern, which gives him at least one more full season before potentially enrolling in 2023 when he is first eligible at age 18. It is not out of the realm of possibility he is pushed to 2024 if there are any roadblocks in his development, but at this stage and with this level of production, don’t be surprised if Martino forces his way onto Huntington Avenue as a true freshman.
Congratulations to Giacomo on his commitment! We are excited to watch his progress. As always, go Huskies!