NLL Insider

San Jose Stealth defender Eric Martin might just end up being the first American to win the NLL’s Defender of the Year nod.

Hell, in a lot of people’s opinion, he should have done it last year, but after not even being named to the league’s All-Pro Second Team, it’s pretty evident that Martin is still somewhat an unknown commodity in the indoor game, playing in front of Albany Attack-like crowds at the HP Pavilion.

The American field convert has gone through major strides since first taking up box four winters ago, including a summer spent with the Victoria Shamrocks early in his pro career.

Since then, Martin has become one of the league’s most explosive, in-your-face, athletic, versatile, and after last year, higher scoring defenders (9 goals), rarely taking a shift off as he gains a rep as one of the hardest workers in the game today.

Martin’s 1v1 skills are off the charts, while his tireless work off the ball have also helped him immensely getting back on the ball, finishing fifth in the league in LB numbers in 2008.

In fact, Martin’s 477 LB over the past four seasons, the same amount he’s been in the NLL, has him ranked sixth in loosie digits over that span. Not only does Martin lead that stat for all Americans over the last four seasons, but he is only topped by Jim Veltman, Brodie Merrill, Steve Toll, Mark Steenhuis and Pat McCready. Not a bad five legends (or future legends) to be behind for a guy that only picked up even the field version of the game much later in life.

Martin first picked up a stick when he was in grade nine and was 24 when the Stealth drafted him 12th overall outta Salisbury in the 2004 entry draft.

With the way Martin’s game is developing and the systems it looks like San Jose will likely run this year, expect the guy his teammates call ‘Meat’ to become even more of a force on the press while maintaining a killer shut-down D style in his own end.

Check out a vid from the guys at the Box Lacrosse Academy below as Martin talks about what playing box has done for his outdoor game. Note that massive dirty ol’ bag of cheese Martin has on hand. The secret to his success?

Does Martin belong in the NLL Insider Top 50? Hit the boards and let us know what your Top 50 looks like heading into the 2009 NLL season…

#50 Matt Roik, San Jose Stealth
#49 Jon Sullivan, Minnesota Swarm
#48 Billy Dee Smith, Buffalo Bandits
#47 Steve Toll, Rochester Knighthawks
#46 Jarett Park, New York Titans
#45 Bruce Murray, Colorado Mammoth
#44 Shawn Evans, Rochester Knighthawks
#43 Peter Lough, Toronto Rock
#42 Matt Vinc, New York Titans
#41 Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
#40 Craig Point, Minnesota Swarm
#39 Scott Ranger, Calgary Roughnecks
#38 Brian Langtry, Colorado Mammoth
#37 Sean Pollock, Minnesota Swarm
#36 Jake Bergey, Boston Blazers
#35 Pat O’Toole, Rochester Knighthawks
#34 Kyle Sweeney, Philadelphia Wings
#33 Luke Wiles, Toronto Rock
#32 Ryan Boyle, New York Titans
#31 Chris White, Buffalo Bandits
#30 Jordan Hall, New York Titans
#29 Shawn Nadelen, Philadelphia Wings
#28 Cam Woods, Toronto Rock
#27 Mike Accursi, Buffalo Bandits
#26 Dan Carey, Colorado Mammoth
#25 Pat Maddalena, New York Titans
#24 Andy Secore, Edmonton Rush
#23 Ryan Ward, Minnesota Swarm
#22 Tracey Kelusky, Calgary Roughnecks
#21 Josh Sanderson, Calgary Roughnecks
#20 Shawn Williams, Rochester Knighthawks
#19 Blaine Manning, Toronto Rock
#18 Nick Patterson, Minnesota Swarm
#17 Eric Martin, San Jose Stealth

Hit this link for NLL Insider’s Top 50 archive and keep checkin’ back every week as we countdown the top 50 best in the pro game, with #1 being named just before the NLL season kicks off.

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