Neal Martin (born September 8, 1975 in Sudbury, Ontario), is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.
Martin played junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds where he won the Memorial Cup in 1993.
He currently plays for the Coventry Blaze in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. In the 2004–05 season he led the team to a British Grand Slam as the League MVP. In 2006–07, he helped the Blaze retain the Elite League and Challenge Cup titles. In 2007–08, Blaze have won the Elite League Championship for a 3rd time, and the British Knockout Cup. He has been voted to the Elite League All Star 1st Team in all four seasons that he has played for Coventry.
He is currently in his second spell playing Ice Hockey in the UK, having previously iced for the London Knights in the old British Ice Hockey Superleague.
Neal has a Canadian wife, and his son was born in Coventry in 2007. During his time with the Blaze, Martin has won defenceman of the season at the annual Blaze awards three times in a row.
In 2008, Neal was nominated for a "Man of Ice" Award in the best defenceman category.
For the past three seasons, Martin has played alongside former Sudbury Wolves team-mate Barrie Moore at the Coventry Blaze, and had also played with 04–05 & 05–06 team-mate Joel Porier at the same junior club.
On March 26th 2008, Coventry Blaze announced that Neal Martin would be leaving the club at the end of the current season to join AaB Ishockey in Denmark. He played for the team in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Career statistics[]
Regular Season
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1992-93 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 17 0 0 0 5
1993-94 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 19 0 4 4 4
1993-94 Sudbury Wolves OHL 21 2 6 8 6
1994-95 Sudbury Wolves OHL 62 4 32 36 61
1995-96 Sudbury Wolves OHL 51 7 42 49 54
1996-97 Hampton Roads Admirals ECHL 54 3 19 22 89
1996-97 San Antonio Dragons IHL 1 0 0 0 0
1996-97 Portland Pirates AHL 1 0 2 2 0
1997-98 Mississippi Sea Wolves ECHL 52 4 10 14 59
1998-99 Waco Wizards WPHL 50 13 41 54 27
1998-99 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 3 0 2 2 6
1998-99 Chicago Wolves IHL 8 0 1 1 2
1999-00 London Knights BISL 39 6 10 16 24
2000-01 London Knights BISL 47 8 17 25 45
2001-02 Schwenningen Wild Wings DEL 59 4 21 25 89
2002-03 Schwenningen Wild Wings DEL 45 1 3 4 64
2003-04 VSV EC AUST 47 3 15 18 56
2004-05 Coventry Blaze EIHL 60 6 31 37 30
2005-06 Coventry Blaze EIHL 54 16 26 42 26
2006-07 Coventry Blaze EIHL 63 7 33 40 70
2007-08 Coventry Blaze EIHL 49 11 28 39 44
2008-09 Aalborg OdLig 33 3 14 17 42