The Rock Lobsters, Athens’ new Federal Professional Hockey League team, introduced former NHL’er Steve Martinson last Friday as its first head coach and general manager.
“First, I want to say I really appreciate this. What a great turnout. I mean, I’ve been to a few meet-and-greets before, but never one like this,” Martinson said, looking out over a standing-room-only crowd at Terrapin Brewery.
Martinson jumped right in, declaring, “We’re going to have a big, skilled, fast, talented, tough team. Right now, we’ve got a couple of veteran players signed and some of the top players in the league, and a couple of really great physical players. So, we’re off to a really good start.”
After interviewing for the job by phone, Martinson and his wife, Michelle, the new Rock Lobsters merchandising manager, who was set up just a few feet away doing brisk business with swag-loving fans, had arrived in the Classic City just one day before.
He said they both love downtown’s relaxed, college vibe, the vibrant local music scene, and the beautiful surrounding countryside.
Martinson also suggested after the event that the city’s and surrounding amenities would make it easier for him to attract good talent to the fledgling Athens hockey team.
“When you’re recruiting players below the NHL and American League contracting salaries, quality of life is a really important thing,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for advancement, but not every player knows they will move up. Some players know that they’re good players and entertaining players, but they also know they’re not going to make it to the NHL, but they still want to play at a relatively high level and enjoy the experience.”
Playing in the still-under-construction Classic Center Arena will contribute to that. The Rock Lobsters will host their first home game on Dec. 6 after starting their inaugural season with 11 road games.
“I’m even getting to help design the locker room just as I want it, which is a first for me,” Martinson said.
Martinson, 65, played NCAA Div. II hockey at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota before making his pro debut in 1980 with the IHL Toledo Goaldiggers. He played for several IHL, CHL, and AHL teams before making his NHL debut with Detroit in 1987. He finished that season with the AHL Adirondack Red Wings and was traded in 1988 to the Montreal Canadiens.
He stuck with the Canadiens and its AHL affiliate through two seasons before dropping down to the IHL San Diego Gulls in 1990 and having his final cup of coffee in the NHL with one game played in 1990 for the Minnesota North Stars.
Four more seasons of playing second-tier pro hockey followed, with Martinson’s first head coaching role coming in 1995-96 with the Gulls in the inaugural West Coast Hockey League season. Martinson experienced immediate success behind the bench as the Gulls won the first three WCHL season titles.
He went on to win two more WCHL championships in San Diego before joining the Rockford (Ill.) IceHogs in 2004, where he won the ECHL championship three years later.
Martinson began a three-year stay in 2007 coaching the ECHL Elmira (NY) Jackals, followed by leading the Chicago Express, which folded in 2012 after playing just one Central Hockey League season.
He immediately moved to the Allen (Penn.) Americans, where Martinson earned two CHL championships (2013, 2014), followed by consecutive season titles in 2015-16 after the Americans moved up to ECHL competition.
All told, Martinson has 10 pro hockey championships as a head coach, was the first American-born head coach to reach 1,000 wins, and, with 1,123 total victories, is the winningest American-born head coach in pro hockey history.
Last October, he was named among the three inaugural members of the now-AHL-affiliated Rockford IceHogs’ Ring of Honor.
In addressing questions from the crowd, Martinson repeatedly returned to his tough-to-play-against philosophy for the Lobsters.
“I really think we’re going to have an exciting, physical, entertaining team. I don’t go for that dump-and-chase game. We want to make plays and carry the puck, but if we don’t have it, we want to have guys that want to get the puck back and want to be hard to play against.
“So, we’re going to be all out on offense and our defense will be jumping up in the play, but everybody will also be buying in and coming back on defense,” the coach insisted. “I’ve got absolutely no intention of starting out with a bad team. It’s like I said, we’re going to have a good mix of three groups of players: guys that are only playing for us to win, veteran guys, and players who never give up.”