If you recognize the name Cru Martinson, you may remember the viral video of Cru pushing a hockey net with one of his teammates from NXT Level Hockey on top of the net.  This video circulated around NHL’s social media pages along with both TSN and ESPN’s Sports Center shows.  Watching the video, the strength of Cru is something to behold at six years old, but his skating form is also outstanding.  Watching more of Cru’s highlights you can see that his skating is well above the standard of a six-year-old and his other skills are improving quickly.  Being able to shoot the puck into corners on dry land he is working hard to transition this onto the ice and training with players who are older than him has allowed Cru to pick up their tendencies and good shooting habits. 

Cru is not intimidated by training with players who are much bigger than him, he knows that this is the best opportunity for him to learn more as it is a great time for him to visualize what he wants his game to be when he gets older.  His ability to always work at full speed and his already strong fundamentals has allowed him to thrive in power skating sessions with Coach Mike Bickley.  Cru began training with Coach Mike when he was only two and a half years old, and he immediately knew Cru was something special.  Being the youngest ever player ever to skate, train and play at the club comes with some pressure, but Cru’s persistence and dedication to the sport of hockey makes him the best player he can be.  Cru does not let his mistakes get to him knowing that frustration will only harm his growth, so he always bounces back and works with Coach Mike on anything he is struggling with.  As Cru looks forward to participating next season with NXT Level Hockey and playing for the Jr. Ducks, his skating makes him more than ready to play at high level in his age group.  Training for next season involves Cru continuing to do off-ice workouts and boxing to help with his core training and it also helps become stronger overall. 

With his favorite player being Jonathan Marchessault, Cru tries to model his game after him as an outstanding skater with a scoring ability that few players fail to match.  Marchessault is also an undersized player that Cru looks up to knowing that no matter how tall he gets, there is always a good chance for him to accomplish his dream and make it to the NHL.  As he grows in the game, Cru looks forward to helping NXT Level Hockey and the Jr. Ducks succeed and do everything he can to help them win.  It is incredibly rare to see kids Cru’s age with this kind of drive for success not only on an individual basis but basing their own success off the team.  This level of unselfishness is great to see in a kid like Cru and we all look forward to seeing what Cru can do throughout his career.