Player evaluation: Martinez

ALEC MARTINEZ
This season: 4 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 2 penalty minutes, 15:25 average ice time.
The good: Martinez made the roster out of training camp, after Sean O’Donnell’s preseason suspension, and was called up two other times during the season. That means he’s high on the radar of team management, which is certainly a positive thing for him. Martinez is a solid puck-moving defenseman with a good shot, who totaled seven goals and 23 assists in 55 games for Manchester this season.
The bad: Martinez’s offensive ability to going to have to be what punches his ticket to the NHL, because even though he has size — he’s listed at 6-foot-1, 208 pounds — he has yet to display much of a physical game. As part of an organization with a significant number of defensive prospects, Martinez is going to have to do something special to make himself stand out.
Going forward: Martinez is still only 22 years old, and there will definitely be an opportunity for him to make the Kings’ roster in the fall. That said, given the depth of defensive prospects in the system, Martinez is going to need to open eyes in training camp and make it tough for the Kings to send him down.