Brady Martin suffered an injury in Canada’s semifinal game against Czechia at the World Junior Championships on Jan. 4.
The Nashville Predators’ top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, Martin had been having an excellent tournament for Canada, scoring four goals and adding four assists in six games. A key part of Canada’s forward attack, he was paired with Gavin McKenna, the presumed top pick in the 2026 draft, against Czechia.
But then an injury occurred in the first period after Martin attempted a hit on Czechia’s Matyas Man. He was seen holding his right shoulder on the bench, then left for the locker room. Hockey Canada then ruled him out for the rest of the game.
Czechia eventually beat Canada 6-4, scoring twice in the final two minutes to advance to the gold medal match against Sweden on Jan. 5. Canada will play Finland in the bronze medal match on Jan. 5.
At the conclusion of the game, the broadcast caught Martin standing behind the Canada bench with his right arm in a sling. No other injury information has been released by Hockey Canada.
Martin will head back to the OHL after the tournament, but this injury sets up a challenging second half of the season. In 13 games for the Soo Greyhounds, Martin has five goals and 11 assists as the team’s captain and top center.
Nashville’s top center prospect, Martin made his NHL debut on Oct. 9 against Columbus. He recorded his first assist on Oct. 11, before being sent back to the OHL on Oct. 22.
Martin will finish the 2025-26 season in the OHL – the earliest he can return to the NHL is the 2026-27 season.
Alex Daugherty is the Predators beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Alex atjdaugherty@gannett.com. Follow Alex on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @alexdaugherty1. Also check out our Predators exclusive Instagram page @tennessean_preds.