“The way he’s taken his game to the next level, he deserves whatever he gets. The main thing is his consistency. He plays every night and shift hard.”
—Teammate Vincent Lecavalier

"He is a mentally tough kid. You have to be to fight through what he has ... and do the things he is doing right now."
—Lightning coach John Tortorella

"He is a guy who is always trying to prove to people that size means nothing. He still gets questioned on his size, and I think that is in the back of his mind. He has become a National Hockey League player and a very good one by fighting through some of the questioning of him.”
—Tortorella

“Martin is the kind of guy who gets pissed off when you start talking about his size because he doesn’t think that should come into play at all. He is going to show you everything he has every night.”
—Tortorella

“Around the league they don’t look at him as a small player anymore. They look at him as a very dangerous player.”
—Teammate Dave Andreychuk

“He ought to be the poster boy, not just for small players, but for any player who dreams of making it.”
—Lightning GM Jay Feaster

"That's one of the things you notice about him. He still approaches every day saying, `If I am not working harder than the other guy then I might not be here.'"
—Feaster

“He has the heart of a lion and he brings that out on the ice with him every time.”
—Feaster

“I thought he could score in the NHL. Did I know it would turn out like it has today? No.”
—Panthers GM Rick Dudley

“He is tough to defend and gritty. He will pay the price to make a play and score. He can take the big hit. I admire him."
—Lightning Exec Bill Barber

“You can’t rattle him. He’s going to take a hit; he’s going to give a hit. He won’t change his game. I think it’s a great success story.”
—Thrashers coach Bob Hartley

“Everybody keeps talking about his height and his size. But he plays like a big guy.”
—Teammate Fredrik Modin

“Another part of him that impresses us is how he handles himself, especially now with all the success he’s had and all the attention he’s getting.”
—Modin

“Obviously Martin has finally been recognized as a premier player in the NHL. He has proved a lot of people wrong. We are very, very proud of what he has accomplished, and I can’t say his success is unexpected by those of us who remember his success and work ethic here at UVM.”
—Former University of Vermont coach Mike Gilligan

“He plays with quite a bit of competitive edge and he competes every hard. He’s perfectly suited for the game today.”
—Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice

“He’s one of those few young players who have the ability to change the tempo of a game and break it wide open. You can’t for a minute not be prepared when he’s on the ice.”
—Flyers captain Keith Primeau