Martin St. Pierre fills Bulldogs void

The Hamilton Bulldogs suffered through one of their worst seasons last year. The team was missing some key elements and leadership was one of them. The Bulldogs did not even have a team captain. That void has been filled this season, and Martin St. Pierre, a 9-year pro and first-year Bulldog, is helping to lead the way on and off the ice.

Listed at a very generous five-foot, nine-inches tall, Martin St. Pierre isn’t the biggest Bulldog nor is he the most vocal. But his presence is felt both on and off the ice.

Head Coach Sylvain Lefebvre: “The calming influence is big in that locker room, but particularly when things aren’t going well and when something needs to be said. He’s not a ‘Rah, Rah’ kind of guy, but when he does talk, players listen.”

So far this season, St. Pierre has scored six goals and leads the teams with seventeen assists and 23 points in total. In his ten years playing professionally, he’s been named an AHL all-star five times, but this is the first time he’s ever been named a team captain: “When I go out on the ice, work ethic. I’m a playmaker, be consistent, have the guys say ‘that’s our captain and he’s winning us some games’, and that’s the biggest asset to being a leader.”

A on-going throng of injuries has meant a continuous rotation of linemates for the dog’s captain.

But St. Pierre says he’s pleased with his current pairing with forwards Mike Blunden and Patrick Holland: “I’m playing with some great guys and we’re finally finding some chemistry 5 on 5, power play, and we’re winning so that’s what it’s all about.”