Denis “Ducky” Martin
Year Inducted: 2019
Birthdate: 06/22/1958 -
Town/City: Berlin, NH
A member of state champion Berlin High School teams as a junior and senior, Denis “Ducky” Martin went on to have a distinguished, four-year career at Providence College and a fi ve-year professional career in Europe.
Born in Berlin to parents who immigrated there from Quebec, he began playing youth hockey when he was 7. On an early team, there were two other players named Denis and he received his nickname, since the coach’s wife thought he skated like a duck. He would play on New Hampshire champions as a Squirt, Pee-Wee and Midget.
After helping Berlin High School win a state championship and reach the quarterfinals of the New England tournament as a junior in 1974-75, Martin centered the first line and first power-play unit as a senior, and was named captain and MVP as Berlin won states again and advanced to the New England tournament final. He was given the Richard Wagner Award as the best male student-athlete in the graduating class, and finished his high school career with 63 goals and 73 assists for 136 points.
It was during the New England tournament his senior year that he was scouted by Providence and offered a scholarship to play there. He joined coach Lou Lamoriello’s program in the fall of 1976, was shifted from center to wing and helped the team reach the ECAC tournament, where it lost in the quarterfinals. The following year, the Friars reached the final of that tournament, where they lost to Boston College. In Martin’s junior year, they returned to the tournament, losing in the quarterfinals.
As a senior, Martin enjoyed his fi nest season at Providence. He was the team’s high scorer with 44 points and was named to the East All-Star Team. The Friars went 21-11 and reached the ECAC final, losing to Cornell. Martin finished his college career with 35 goals and 91 points in 130 games, and graduated in the spring of 1980 with a degree in sociology and a minor in psychology.
Following graduation, Martin was contacted by a professional team in Dijon, France, and was offered a place on the team and to coach other teams in the area. Playing for five years in the French National B League, at times as a player-coach, he was the high scorer on the team each season, finishing with 317 goals, 249 assists and 566 points in 118 games. Each year, the team lost in the finals of the league playoff tournament.
Martin returned to the United States after his playing career and had a stint coaching at Lebanon High School. He entered the construction field and makes his home in Rye.