Anthony Mingioni’s Flyers blogs on Hockey Hot Stove are powered by Phans of Philly, by Lights On Electric, by New Balance of Mount Laurel, by Cover All Exteriors, and our newest sponsors, The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles.
Whether they expected him this early is an open question. But the Philadelphia Flyers showed no hesitation in making sure top prospect Porter Martone was signed, sealed, and delivered when he became available on Sunday. The team announced their 2025 first round pick (sixth overall) locked in his three year entry level contract.
Following Michigan State’s surprise 4-3 elimination loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals on Saturday evening, speculation ran wild as to how quickly the Flyers would secure the 6’3, 208lb winger.
As it turned out, with all deliberate speed.
Unsurprisingly, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere expressed excitement in getting Martone on board for the stretch run.
“It’s exciting. It’s exciting for the organization to have to have him sign and join our team coming down the stretch here, where we’re playing meaningful games,” Briere said. “It gives him the chance to be around that. See how they guys prepare, what it’s like, how the intensity is, playing meaningful games, and we’ll see where it goes.”
Martone is the first player from the Flyers’ 2025 draft class to sign his entry-level deal. He’s the fifth prospect to sign with the Flyers in March, joining fellow draftees Noah Powell, Cole Knuble, and Alex Ciernik, along with free agent Riley Thompson.
The Road To Philadelphia
Before joining Michigan State, Martone played three (3) seasons with the Brampton Steelheads and the Sarnia Sting, prior. As team captain for Brampton, he was team captain and notched 98 points (61 assists), which was seventh in the Ontatio Hockey League.
Joining Michigan State this season, Martone picked up 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games played for the Spartans. During the NCAA Tournament, he scored three points (one goal, two assists). He was the third leading points per game first year player in college hockey (1.42) behind Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach and Penn State’s Gavin McKenna.
As a result, he was the only freshman selected to the All-Big Ten First Team and earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors.
In addition, Martone captained Team Canada in the 2026 World Junior Championship. He finished first among all tournament skaters with six goals en route to a Bronze Medal finish.
When Will Martone Play?
By signing Martone to his entry level contract now, the Flyers are burning through the first year of it. With 10 games remaining, it’ll be interesting to see how many games that he’ll draw in. Philadelphia plays the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, followed by back to back games against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders on Thursday and Friday.
Briere kept the door open for the possibility of a Tuesday debut. However, with the team coming off a back-to-back this weekend, the team won’t have a practice on Monday.
“Right now, we’re going through, you know, facing tonight’s game (against Dallas),” Briere said. “We’ll see after, and we’re not closing down the window for Tuesday, assuming that everything you know goes according to plan. There’s paperwork to be done. There’s doctors visits to be done as well. We’re hopeful that Tuesday could be a game, but we’ll see. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself right now.”
How Might Martone Be Deployed?
Martone is joining the Flyers at a critical juncture of the season. It isn’t often that a team gets a potential upgrade with only 10 games remaining. But it’ll be interesting to see where he could find action in their lineup. While a natural right winger, it’s entirely possible that he could line up at times on the left pending his linemates.
Here’s how the Flyers lined up on Sunday:
Denver Barkey-Trevor Zegras-Owen Tippett
Carl Grundstrom-Christian Dvorak-Travis Konecny
Alex Bump-Noah Cates-Matvei Michkov
Sean Couturier-Luke Glendening- Garnet Hathaway
The view from here is that we’re likely to see some kind of forward rotation between Martone, Grundstrom, and Hathaway. If Grundstrom draws out, then Martone might slot on the right or left of Dvorak. It’s also possible they could opt to “dip his feet in the pool” by playing him with Glendening and Couturier, with Hathaway drawing out of the lineup.
Tocchet could also opt to play with him with Cates and possibly move Michkov back to the left wing. Or vice versa.
It’ll be fascinating to see where he might end up and how much ice time he’ll garner.
One thing is for certain: another piece of the Flyers future has arrived. But we’re also about to see how much he’s going to contribute to their present, as well.
