This weekend, Gustavus’ Men’s Hockey team will play their final series of the regular season against Hamline, having already clinched a playoff spot with realistic hopes of finishing in MIAC’s second place. Integral in his team’s successes this season, Junior David Martinson has excelled both on and off of the ice for the Gusties, majoring in accounting while being the conference’s most prolific scorer.
A 2004 graduate of St. Louis Park High School, Martinson played on two Junior-A teams in Texas and Massachusetts before enrolling at the Air Force Academy, a Division I program. After a season in which he saw time in roughly half of the team’s games, Martinson decided to transfer to the hill. “I enjoyed the hockey there, but the military life wasn’t for me,” Martinson said. “After playing all across the country, I wanted to play my college hockey in Minnesota.”
Last year, Martinson thrived in his first season playing for the Gusties, leading the team with 21 goals and 20 assists, 12 points higher than Patrick Dynan’s 29. Gustavus finished fourth in the conference, going 13-12-1 (10-6 in MIAC) with a host of young talent. This year, that youth has had a chance to gel, and they’ve harvested a season with more notches in the win column. The Gusties sit at 14-9 (9-5 in the conference), and with wins over quality non-conference opponents (Elmira, Stout, River Falls), as well as pivotal weekend sweeps against St. Thomas and Augsburg, the Gusties are poised to make a long postseason run, provided they have the momentum to do so.
“With hockey, Division III isn’t really that much of a step down [from Division I]. It’s not easy—there are some really good hockey players,” said Martinson. “Any of the top-line guys in Division III could play D[ivision] I, just as the lower line Division I players wouldn’t necessarily come in here and dominate. They are quite interchangeable,” Martinson said.
Martinson is one of 12 juniors on the Gustavus roster, three of whom came via transfer (Martinson and the Dynan brothers), and he is the only former Division I player on the team.
This season, Martinson has dominated the conference in scoring. His 24 goals are seven more than the next highest player in the conference, good enough to put him four lit lamps behind the national leader, leaving him in second place in the country. Martinson is averaging an astounding .93 goals per game this season for the Gusties, while netting the puck three times as game-winners.
To this soft-spoken young man, however, the statistics aren’t what hold the most importance. “It’s always nice to have good numbers but I had good numbers in high school, and that’s not what I remember,” said Martinson. “What I do remember is winning the section and playing in the state tournament. It’s the team achievements that are the most rewarding.”
Martinson’s innate ability to find the back of the net is a skill not many in the sport possess, and that knack to make things happen in both open ice and in traffic truly makes him a special player.
It’s these abilities that have gained the respect of Head Men’s Hockey Coach Brett Peterson. “Marty brings a wealth of experience to the team. From his time spent playing junior hockey to the military academy and then here, he has had a unique path that brings him a lot of experience and helps in his leadership,” said Peterson. “He’s a very good hockey player, but is an even better person. That means as much on the ice and off in a lot of respects.”
After his career for the Gusties is finished, Martinson has aspirations of competing overseas. After his playing days have ceased, he will turn to a career in finance.