Another Kariya commits to Bears> 4th family member to play for UMaine

Paul Kariya became the only freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award in 1993 as he led the University of Maine to the NCAA championship. He is now playing for the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and is the NHL’s leading scorer.

Paul’s younger brother Steve, a senior, is Maine’s top point-getter and is considered a Hobey Baker Award candidate this season.

Their sister, sophomore Noriko, plays for the Black Bear field hockey team.

Now the fifth and youngest member of the Kariya family, 17-year-old Martin, has verbally committed to attend UMaine and play hockey.

He selected Maine over Denver and Harvard after visiting Maine and Denver.

The 5-foot-7 1/2, 157-pound Kariya, currently playing for the Victoria Salsa in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League, said that family ties had nothing to do with his decision.

“I felt that I could develop the most at Maine,” said Kariya, who is among the BCJHL’s top 15 point-getters with 14 goals and 56 assists in 41 games. “I already knew Maine had a great coaching staff. And when I was down there for my visit, I felt their program was much better than most colleges.”

Kariya’s coach at Victoria is former Black Bear defenseman Campbell Blair.

“Martin is very creative with the puck. He has great offensive talent,” said Blair. “He has good speed and sees the ice well like all of the Kariyas. His limiting factors are his size and strength, but those will improve as the years go on. He’s a very committed player.”

Blair said Kariya would be better suited on a wing as opposed to center in Maine coach Shawn Walsh’s system.

“Initially, he might struggle as a center down low in the defensive zone because of the strength factor. As a wing, he could use his speed. And there isn’t as much [defensive] responsibility,” said Blair. “He should fit in, no problem.”

Kariya considers himself a “pretty good playmaker,” but said he needs to work on his scoring.

“I feel I can still get to another level this season,” said Kariya, who had only 16 points in 55 games for Victoria a year ago.

Blair said Kariya has been generating more scoring opportunities for himself lately, “so it’s just a matter of him finishing.”

Kariya said he will follow brother Steve’s workout regimen during the offseason to try to develop his strength and his overall game.

He said he knows he will be coming to a very good team in the fall.

“I’ll be coming to a team that is currently ranked second in the country. They may be losing their top scorer, but they’ve got a pretty good corps of players coming back. It’ll be hard to crack one of the top lines. We’ll see next year,” said Martin.

Paul Kariya had 33 goals and 91 assists in 51 games spanning a season and a half at Maine. He had 25 goals and 75 assists in 39 games during his Hobey Baker Award-winning season. Steve has 64 goals and 86 assists in 126 career games to date.