As far as hockey players go, Danick Martel is a rather unassuming sort of guy.

At 5-8 and 166 pounds, Martel isn't a guy who is going to be known for his brawn, although he's not afraid of contact and physical play.Martel signed a three-year entry level contract with the Flyers last March and played in five games with Lehigh Valley, scoring one goal and chipping in with two assists in his short opportunity. The 20-year old worked hard over the offseason to prepare for his first full-season shot at professional hockey and is looking to carve out his place among the Phantoms.In the season opener, Martel had a first of sorts, scoring his first goal with a goalie in the net. Last year's goal came on an empty netter, sort of giving him two chances at a first goal."Yeah, this one was a little tougher," laughed Martel after the opener. "This was just a case of battling through and eventually there was an opening and I took it and got the goal."What Martel may lack in size and strength, he makes up for in speed. He's one of the faster guys on the Phantoms and uses that speed to help his game along. He often finds himself tangled up with bigger players, but uses the speed to help level the playing field."He's got speed, and when he gets that going, he's going to have an impact," said Lehigh Valley first-year coach Scott Gordon."We'll have pretty goals, but we're going to have to work hard around the net getting shots and rebounds, that's the way the game is today. We just need to be able to bury our shots around the net," said Martel.Martel again used his speed and scrappiness to score his second goal of the season, this time a game-winner last Friday at Springfield in a 4-1 win. Unfortunately, Martel also suffered an injury in the win over Springfield and missed the game the following night against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Gordon is hopeful that Martel will return sometime this weekend, which would give the team a needed boost in a period where they play three games in three days, starting Friday.PHANTOM FACTS: Martel isn't the only Phantom hobbled with an injury. Defensemen Andrew McDonald and Robert Hagg also missed the game against the Penguins and forwards Cole Bardreau and Michael Parks went down with injuries in the game at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Parks could miss a couple weeks, but the rest are due back as early as this weekend. The most severe of the injuries was one suffered by Collin McDonald in the season opener. McDonald hasn't played since that game and is still a couple weeks from returning. The Phantoms have not released details of the injuries ... Depending on how the injured players heal, there could be some reinforcements coming from the Reading Royals for the three games this weekend ... Goalie Jason LaBarbera had a short stay with the Flyers, filling in for Steve Mason, who was out due to family reasons. Martin Ouellette was temporarily added to the Lehigh Valley roster from Reading, but was returned before playing in a game. LaBarbera is off to a slow start for Lehigh Valley, going 0-2 and allowing 10 goals in two games ... The Phantoms play their third straight road game Friday night in Providence in the first of a home-and-home series, with the Bruins coming into the PPL Center Saturday night, followed by Toronto on Sunday.