Au revoir, Olivier. Thanks for the memories!

Martin tweeted on Saturday that he would be sitting out the 2014 Australia Ice Hockey League season. “Calendar empty from April to Sept now. What shall I do now?” he Tweeted.

It prompted a furore of response from shocked AIHL fans, both on Twitter and Facebook, and many questions asking why.  Like many AIHL players, who are not paid to pursue their on ice passion, career and hockey became a delicate balancing act for Martin. After relocating to Sydney for work, and currently in the process of becoming an accredited architect, Martin knew he could not commit 100 per cent to the North Stars this year.

“Hockey is something that I have played all my life and what I love doing most,” Martin said. “There will be an adjustment period and I will miss it, unfortunately some drastic decisions had to be made for my future. Being a goaltender makes it that much harder to not be committed 100 per cent and it would be unfair for the organisation, my teammates and the fans who come to support us [if I played].”

The decision did not come lightly or easily to the goaltender who said he began thinking about departing during the 2013 season. Push came to shove and early last week Martin informed North Stars coach and general manager Garry Dore of the decision, Tweeting his departure. “The responses I got on Twitter and Facebook were overwhelming and probably made my decision even harder,” Martin said. “I knew it would create some discussion but not the extent it did. I do want to thank everyone who reached out, it does mean a lot.”

While he considered playing for a team closer to his new home in Sydney, Martin said similar reasons for not playing with the North Stars stopped him. “With my new job I could not commit to anyone not knowing what my work commitments are,” he said.

While he said it was unlikely he would return to the AIHL “at this stage”, he would not forgo the game altogether.  “I have an urge to score some goals,” Martin said. "You might see me playing drop in once in a while.”

Tweets by @eurohockey