After signing their 2025 first-round draft pick Sunday afternoon, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere hinted that if everything lines up and the necessary documentation is complete then Porter Martone will make his National Hockey League debut Tuesday night against the Capitals.

Prior to the start of Sunday evening’s game against Dallas, Briere spoke with the media over the recent signing. And it sounds as if he’s just as giddy as the fans and followers of the team seeing Martone in a Flyers uniform.

“It’s exciting, it’s exciting for the organization to have him signed, to join our team coming down the stretch here where we’re playing meaningful games and having a chance to be around that and see how the guys prepare, what it’s like, how the intensity is playing meaningful games. And we’ll see where it goes,” the Flyers general manger said.

Danny Briere on when he expects Porter Martone to make NHL debut

As for an exact game when Martone would start, Briere said they “aren’t closing down the window for Tuesday assuming everything goes according to plan.” The general manager cited different paper work that needs to be done as well as doctor appointments.

“We’re hope Tuesday could be a game but we’ll see,” Briere said. “I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. Right now we have a big game tonight against Dallas and we’ll go from there.”

Although Briere didn’t say exactly how Martone felt realizing his dream of an NHL career after losing in overtime in the NCAA playoffs a day earlier, Briere thanked Michigan State University and the coaching staff for Martone’s development over the past season. He also stated that Martone and the Flyers came to an understanding at the start of his season of Michigan State that when his NCAA season concluded, the Flyers would be signing him.

As for the player himself, Briere said the biggest change was in Martone’s growth and size.

“Physically, the way he’s developed physically, that was the biggest reason for encouraging the move to NCAA this season, to have a kind of stepping stone from the OHL to the NHL, developing his body, getting stronger,” Briere said. “I think the amount of time he spent in the gym, you can see in his body how he’s changed. It’s almost going from a teenager to a man. And his play on the ice spoke for itself. We’ve all seen what he’s done and how dominant he was. He took a step too because playing against men in the NCAA there’s a lot of strong players who are much older than the 16 and 17-year-olds in the CHL. It was a good stepping stone for him and we feel he’s developed both physically and mentally. He’s very close to being ready to be in the NHL and we’ll see in the next few weeks.”

Martone not seen as savior this season

One thing Briere stressed is that Martone’s arrival isn’t the saving grace the Flyers need to get into the playoffs.

“The guys are realistic,” he said. “We’re not expecting Porter to come in and be a savior, far from that. For us it’s giving him a chance to grow and get the experience of playing some meaningful games down the stretch the same way it is for guys like Barkey, Bump, Matvei, even guys like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale who’s never had the chance to really play in those type of games. So it’s a tremendous experience for all our players. So for the Bumps, and Barkeys and now adding Porter to that group, it’s really good for the growth of this team.”

Earlier today, prior to tonight’s game against Dallas, Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was non-committal as to when Martone would play his first game. Tocchet said Briere would be the one to speak to regarding it which he did. But the head coach was happy that the team was going to have Martone in the lineup for a few good reasons.

“Well the expectations are just the way he plays the game,” Tocchet said. “Just having a guy like that instilled in our lineup. I’m not going to put the tag on him but somebody was talking about a Corey Perry type, those type of guys. Those (guys) are hard to find. So I’m excited to have a guy like that.”

The only other Martone-related topic Tocchet addressed was seeing Martone lose in the NCAA playoffs. “I feel badly for them losing, that was a team that I thought would go far, so I hate to see him, it sucks when you lose, and that team was really good so I feel bad for him.”

With a new challenge down the stretch, it’ll be exciting to see how Porter Martone embraces the remainder of the Flyers’ schedule. And where it might be heading.