Prospect Profile: Crew Martinson

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WHL Tri-City Americans

Prospect Profile: Crew Martinson

June 5, 2025 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Tri-City Americans News Release


Growing up in small-town Alberta, it's no surprise some of Crew Martinson's earliest memories of hockey were on an outdoor rink.

"I think it's kind of a cliche answer," he said. "But going on the outdoor rink with your friends and parents, learning how to skate, just having fun. Most of my memories I have from back then are just being on the outdoor rink with your buddies."

Cliche or not, Martinson's early foray into hockey on the outdoor rinks in Olds, Alberta helped pave the way for the player he has become.

He says his parents helped grow his love for hockey with their support through each step of his minor hockey days.

Olds is small town in Central Alberta with a population of under 10,000. While it's not far from larger centers like Red Deer (45 minutes) or Calgary (one hour), Martinson says his hometown allowed him to enjoy hockey with all of his closest friends.

"You're just playing with all your best buddies," he said. "When you're in school, you've got basically your entire team in your class with you. It helps you love the game even faster when you're able to share it with all the people you're close with."

Despite having two WHL teams within an hour drive from Olds, Martinson says his hometown Junior A team, the Olds Grizzlys, is the one he was most fond of.

"I loved going out to those games," he said. "They were so great with the fans out in the community. I went to a lot of their games when I was younger."

The Grizzlys play out of the Olds Sports Complex, which has a capacity of just 2,000 spectators for hockey.

As Martinson approached the age to play at the U15 level, it was clear his skill level required him to play away from home.

Thankfully, he didn't have to go far.

"If you want to play at the AAA level, you have to go to Red Deer," he said. "That's where all the kids from around where I'm from go to play, so we made the decision to go there and I think it worked out well."

Martinson's first year with the U15 Red Deer Rebels went smoothly as he recorded 29 points (14-15-29) in 34 games. The physicality was perhaps the biggest adjustment he had to make.

"It was a pretty big jump, and that was my first year of contact," he said. "It took a while to get used to that, but I think once I was able to adjust to that I was able to handle it well."

When playing at the U15 level, you start to play with and against players who will get drafted into the Western Hockey League at the end of the year. Martinson says that's when his attention started to turn toward being a WHL player.

"I think once you reach that level, you starting hearing guys talk about the draft," he said. "You see the older guys getting drafted and it makes you start to think that maybe you could get drafted the following year. I'd say that's when I really started to think about it and working hard to get there."

While Martinson did end up getting drafted the following season, he had to work through some adversity after suffering a major injury early in the 2023-24 season.

"We were playing in a tournament that we were hosting in Red Deer," he recalled. "I took a hard hit and my knee kind of bend backwards. I ended up breaking two bones in my knee from that hit. It was pretty difficult, it's not easy when you're not able to play. But when I got back it was a big relief to be back on the ice."

Even though he was limited to 19 games that season, Martinson still racked up 48 points (20-28-48) to finish second on his team in scoring. His playoffs cemented his status as an upper-echelon prospect for the 2024 WHL Prospects Draft as he exploded for 25 points (12-13-25) in just nine games.

He and his two linemates, Tayte Hoiland and Easton Nafziger, combined to score 27 of their team's 40 goals in those nine playoff games.

"Those two guys were so easy to play with," he said. "But really it was a full team effort. Even if other guys weren't scoring, they were all making an impact. Playoffs are the best time of the year and that run was a lot of fun."

Before the draft Martinson was able to play in the Alberta Cup, which features the top WHL draft-eligible players in Alberta.

A solid performance of two goals and two assists was Martinson's last impression on WHL teams before the draft.

Come draft day, Martinson wasn't sure what to expect, but had his family watching to share the moment with them.

"I didn't know what team was going to take me," he said. "I knew I was sort of in that second or third round territory, but I didn't really know what to expect. I had all my family here sitting on the couch watching."

Early in round two, the moment Martinson had been waiting for occurred as the Americans selected him with the 24th overall pick.

There was a slight delay in him finding out, however.

"Just before the pick the wifi at our house cut out," he laughed. "We finally got it working on the TV again and by the time we had gotten it fixed, my name was already there. It was so exciting and it was awesome to have my whole family there to celebrate with because they've helped me so much."

Martinson signed with the Americans not long after the draft, saying he was set on playing in the WHL and was happy to go wherever he was drafted.

Travelling to Kennewick for his first training camp last August, Martinson says there was a mix of excitement and nervousness ahead of the camp.

"It's definitely a bit of both," he said. "You don't really know what to expect playing against bigger, older and stronger guys. Once you get going you start to get more used to it and more comfortable. I was lucky to be staying with Carter MacAdams during camp, and he was really awesome. He taught me a lot of things during the short time I was there, so I'm really thankful for him."

Returning to Red Deer and making the jump to U18, Martinson's transition couldn't have gone much smoother as he finished second in the Alberta Elite U18 League in scoring with 57 points (17-40-57).

Maybe as expected, Martinson praised his teammates for the success he had.

"I had some really great linemates this past season," he said. "They got open all the time and they made it easy for me to feed them the puck. We had a good year, playoffs came down to the final weekend of the year. In our second last game, the winner of the game would make the playoffs, and unfortunately we lost in overtime. It was tough, but I think we had a good year with a really good group of guys."

Martinson did everything he could to try and help his Red Deer Optimist Chiefs win that game, recording three assists in the 4-3 overtime loss. And while the final game of the year didn't have an impact on their playoff picture, Martinson still went out with a bang by scoring a hat trick.

Just before that final weekend, Martinson was called up to make his WHL debut February 8 in Kelowna.

"I got a call a few days before telling me they were bringing me in," he said. "There was definitely some nerves after I hung up the phone, but I was really excited. The game was so awesome, Jake Sloan scored four goals that game, so that made it more memorable."

After his U18 season ended, Martinson returned to Tri-City to practice with the Americans for the rest of the season. That provided invaluable experience, Martinson said.

"It really showed me the pace you have to play with," he said. "In practice you have to move pucks quick. I think it gave me a bit of a head start on what the daily schedule is like. I'm really grateful I had the opportunity to be there as long as I was."

He was also able to play his second WHL game in the regular season finale against the Seattle Thunderbirds.

Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, Martinson's main goal is to come to training camp and show he can play full time in the WHL as a 16-year-old.

"I think I'm going to be a lot more comfortable than I was last year," he said. "I know everyone a lot better now, I know what the pace is like now, that is really going to help me. I know I need to come to camp and compete as hard as I can every single day. I think we're going to have a good team next year, so it's going to be tough to make the team, but if I come down, work hard and play my game, I think I have a pretty good shot."

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