35-year-old forward is back for a 9th season in Cardiff
Pictured above: Joey Martin celebrates one of his 26 goals last season (photo James Assinder)
The Cardiff Devils are pleased to confirm that Joey Martin is back for the 2024-25 season.
Last season, Martin centred the Devils’ top line between Cole Sanford and Trevor Cox for a second straight year. He was second on the team in goals with 26 and finished with 44 points in 55 games in all competitions, missing 11 games to injury midway through the season.
Shown above: Highlights of Joey Martin during the 2023-24 season
Martin originally joined the Devils ahead of the 2014-15 season after three years in the ECHL. He led the Devils in scoring that first season and was selected as an EIHL First Team All-Star.
Over the next five seasons, he racked up as many individual awards as the team did championships, winning three consecutive EIHL Forward of the Year awards and back to back Player of the Year awards. He was also voted onto the league’s First Team All-Star in his first five seasons as a Devil.
He lifted the Challenge Cup in 2015 and 2017, the EIite League Title in 2017 and 2018 then back to back Playoff Championships in 2018 and 2019. After Covid-19 cut the 2019-20 season short, Martin opted to play in Norway for the Stavanger Oilers for the 2020-21 season when the EIHL was still shut down. He moved to Austria the following year to play for the Graz 99ers but opted to return to Cardiff ahead of the 2022-23 season instead of renewing his contract in Graz.
Pictured above: Martin celebrates a goal with his teammates against Dundee (photo James Assinder)
His first year back in Cardiff after Covid was an impressive one. He finished in the top 10 in league scoring with 22 goals and 34 assists for 56 points in 53 games while playing on the top line with Sanford and Cox.
Considered by many to be the greatest Cardiff Devil in franchise history, he continues to be one of the best players in the EIHL. He will turn 36 years old later this month but has showed no signs of slowing down. He remains one of the team’s top penalty killers and tied for the team lead with 7 powerplay goals.
Pictured above: Martin in action against Fife last season (photo James Assinder)
Head Coach Pete Russell spoke about re-signing Joey Martin:
“I cannot say enough good things about Joey Martin as a player or as a person. He is one of the most coachable players I have ever had, and he turns up to compete every day.
“He plays hard at both ends of the ice and is someone we rely on to play in every situation. He makes guys around him better and still has the knack for putting the puck in the net.
“He leads by example and has been tremendous for this organisation over his entire career. I am very pleased to get him signed up for another season.”
Thank you to Protech Automotive (formerly Manic Mechanics) for being Joey’s player sponsor for another season. Shaun and Brett at Protech have been valuable sponsors for over a decade now and have been looking after Devils fans' vehicles for even longer. Check out their new website - protechautomotive.co.uk
