MARTIN TO BE INDUCTED INTO ECHL HALL OF FAME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 11, 2021

MARTIN TO BE INDUCTED INTO ECHL HALL OF FAME

ECHL to honor K-Wings assistant coach and record-setting goaltender at All-Star Classic in Jacksonville.

SHREWSBURY, NJ – Former Kalamazoo Wings goaltender and current assistant coach Joel Martin will be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame Class of 2022, the league announced Thursday.

Martin, along with three others will be formally inducted as the 14th class of the ECHL Hall of Fame during the 2022 Warrior Hockey/ECHL All-Star Classic in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.

Kalamazoo’s franchise record holder for games played (422), wins (229) and shutouts (21), played parts of 10 seasons in the ECHL with the K-Wings, Columbus, Trenton, Augusta and Elmira. He ranks second in league history with 22,962 minutes played, third with 394 appearances and fourth with 199 ECHL wins. Martin is also the only goaltender in league history to record at least three seasons of 30 or more victories.

“Joel Martin was not only the hardest-working goalie I played with, but the hardest-working teammate,” said K-Wings Head Coach Nick Bootland. “His professionalism on and off the ice is top notch. I’ve had the pleasure of playing with, coaching and working alongside him and he has made me better. His family has embraced the Kalamazoo community as home and we are blessed for that.”

Martin and Bootland were teammates on the 2005-06 K-Wings team that won the Colonial Cup Championship in the UHL. Bootland coached Martin from 2012-18 until Martin’s retirement and the two have been coaching together for three seasons.

The other Hall of Fame inductees, as announced by the ECHL Thursday include Cincinnati Cyclones Owner Ray Harris, former South Carolina Stingrays captain Brett Marietti and former on-ice official Tim Nowak.

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The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team located in southwest Michigan that has been a staple in the Kalamazoo, MI professional sports landscape since 1974. The K-Wings compete in the ECHL and are the AA affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets and American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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