head coach of the Rockford IceHogs in the United Hockey League in 2004. He stayed with the IceHogs for three seasons, winning the league championship in 2007. During that season, Martinson ordered a line of enforcers to assault players on the Fort Wayne Komets. One of those players, 43-year-old Konstitin Shafronov, contemplated retirement due to the acts of Martinson and the IceHogs. Martinson then left the IceHogs after the championship season to become the head coach of the Elmira Jackals in their first season in the ECHL in 2007. With the Jackals, his teams qualified for the playoffs every season following multiple years of no postseasons before he was hired. In 2010, Martinson left the Jackals to become the inaugural head coach of the expansion Chicago Express in the ECHL. However, the Express did not take the ice until 2011 would end up only playing one season in 2011–12. After the Express folded in 2012, Martinson became the head coach of the Allen Americans in the Central Hockey League. His teams once again had immediate success winning the 2013 and 2014 Ray Miron President's Cup for the CHL's playoff championships. The Americans joined the ECHL in 2014 and continued to have success, winning the league championship Kelly Cup after their first two seasons, in 2015 and 2016. Martinson’s contract was not renewed by Allen following the 2021-22 season. Over his multi-stop coaching career Martinson won a total of ten championships in four North American ice hockey leagues, including five with the San Diego Gulls (1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003) in the West Coast Hockey League, four with the Allen Americans in the Central Hockey League (2013, 2014) and the ECHL (2015, 2016), along with one with the Rockford IceHogs in the United Hockey League (2007). Martinson is the first American-born coach to win 1,000 games as a head coach, having completed the 2021-22 season with 1,123 wins. Career statistics Regular season and playoffs References External links 1957 births Living people Adirondack Red Wings players American men's ice hockey right wingers Birmingham South Stars players Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey coaches from Minnesota Ice hockey players from Minnesota Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Canadiens players New Haven Nighthawks players People from Minnetonka, Minnesota St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey players San Diego Gulls (IHL) players San Diego Gulls (WCHL) players Sherbrooke Canadiens