CATCHING UP WITH THE 'CUDA: JON MARTIN

Aug 29, 2017

Once the 2016-17 season concluded, each Barracuda player returned to his hometown or offseason hangout. Moving forward, each week sjbarracuda.com will check in with a different Barracuda player and see what he is up to this summer. This week we catch up with Jon Martin.

Where do you stay during the offseason? I’ve spent the summer in Kelowna. It’s a beautiful spot.

Any plans to go back to Winnipeg this summer? No, I don’t think I’m going to get back there. There’s just not enough time.

Have you had a chance to see any of your teammates this summer? Yeah, I saw (Adam) Helewka a couple of times. He was here a lot since his family has a place in Kelowna. (Troy) Grosenick and (Jacob) Middleton were here too, so I saw those guys as well.

Are there any pro players that you workout with during the summer? Yeah, there’s a gym that a lot of pro guys workout at here in Kelowna that I’ve been going to. A guy named Shane Pizzey runs it. Shea Weber and Curtis Lazar have worked with him before, but I haven’t personally trained with those guys, I have my separate group. One name would be Justin Kirkland from the Milwaukee Admirals, he trains with me.

What have you been working on this offseason to improve your game for next year? Continuing to try to build my power, quicken up my feet by doing some footwork drills, body strength, speed. So a little bit of everything.

What was your favorite memory from last season? That’s tough, but I think one of the best ones was when (Mike) Brodzinski and I first got our apartment we had to make a trip to IKEA. We got our entire place furnished. Everything, two beds, a couch, and we fit it all into his truck. We got home and thought we hadn’t lost anything only to realize our kitchen table had fallen off the back of the truck, never to be seen again. That’s how Middleton moved in with us, he had a dining room table.

What’s your favorite thing to do during the summers? Just be outside. Kelowna is a little different than Winnipeg (he laughs), so I enjoy hiking and being on the water.

Now that you’ve spent a season in California, would you say you are a beach, a lake, or a river type of person? That’s tough, but I'd say a lake with fish. I’m not the water sports type, but I really enjoy fishing.