The Flyers made some very minor news this Friday afternoon when they announced the signing of 22-year old Swiss defenseman Christian Marti.
Marti spent the past two seasons in Switzerland’s National League A, and has one year of hockey in North America when he played for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the QMJHL in 2012-13.
His fairly low scoring numbers suggest that he’s more of a stay-at-home, shutdown-type of defenseman. Also via eliteprospects, here’s a brief scouting report on Marti:
Possesses a rare combination of size and mobility. Christian Marti, with his skill and long reach, has perfect shutdown abilities. Battles hard along the boards and will not quit until he has the puck. Plays with a lot intensity, as Marti loves to throw out punishing hits. He needs to work on his consistency and try to avoid defensive woes. Has untapped offensive abilities and owns a booming shot from the point, which makes him a reliable option for a power play unit. (by Rafik Soliman, December 2013)
That was from December 2013, so if we haven’t seen much more from him offensively by now, it’s possible that we never will. Still, if you’ve got a young defenseman with size who can skate well, there’s always some intrigue. Hockeybuzz’s Bill Meltzer also noted on Twitter that Marti was dealing with shoulder injuries for parts of this season, so it’s possible that stunted his offensive development.
Marti is the third undrafted free agent the Flyers have signed this year. Danick Martel, one of the other two, was one of Marti’s teammates in 2012-13 in Blainville-Boisbriand. He will likely battle next year for a spot on the Phantoms’ blueline.
