Payne was a Cyclones assistant from 2018-21 following a 14-year minor league career as a forward and defenseman.
ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin said Wednesday's coaching matchup reflects the evolving face of hockey.
"There's a movement across the board in terms of hockey is for everyone and we're becoming more diverse, unfortunately, that doesn't happen overnight, but it's progressing in the right direction" Crelin said. "These are two phenomenal guys who have been around our league for a long, long time and worked their way up to head coach. To see that is pretty cool."
Payne and Martin are each members of the NHL Coaches' Association's BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) program, an initiative that aims to support coaches in several areas, including skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, and networking. Martin also participated in the Boston Bruins Diversity and Inclusion Scouting Mentorship Program last season.
"Jason and Joel are paving the way for Black coaches at all levels of the sport," NHLCA president Lindsay Artkin said. "It's incredibly exciting to see. They've both been members of the NHLCA BIPOC Coaches Program since day one. The main objective of our program is to develop a pipeline of diverse coaching talent who are ready to make the move to the NHL level, and these guys are there. I've got no doubt we'll see them behind the bench in the NHL soon."
Payne and Martin are among seven Black coaches in North American men's pro hockey history. Dirk Graham became the NHL's first Black coach when he led the Chicago Blackhawks for 59 games in 1998-99.
John Paris Jr. became the first Black coach to win a professional championship when Atlanta of the old International Hockey League won the Turner Cup in 1994.
The others are Shawn Wheeler (Charlotte, ECHL, 1998-2000), Graeme Townshend (Macon, Central Hockey League, 1999-2001, Greensboro, ECHL, 2001-02) and Leo Thomas (Macon, Southern Professional Hockey League, 2018-19).