VOORHEES, N.J. — Michigan State University left an indelible impression on Porter Martone. Speaking on Monday afternoon, Martone thanked coach Adam Nightingale and his staff numerous times, called attending Michigan State the “best decision I ever made” and, despite being there for just one season, declared himself to be a “Spartan for life.”
Following Michigan State’s 4-3 overtime loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Martone flew back to East Lansing to spend time with his teammates. “I felt like we really created a brotherhood there at Michigan State,” he said.
Martone, crushed, eventually went to sleep.
And then he woke up Sunday.
“(I got) thinking to, what’s the next step?” said Martone, who officially signed a three-year, entry level deal with the Flyers shortly after breakfast. “To have the opportunity to come here with the Flyers and help them with a playoff push was a no-brainer for me, and I’m really excited to be here.”
It was a no-brainer for the organization, too.
Martone, 19, will join a Flyers team that’s currently among the hottest in the NHL. Sunday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Dallas Stars was their eighth in 10 games (8-1-1), putting them in the thick of the playoff race. On a team that has often had trouble capitalizing on scoring chances and getting traffic in front of the net, and is still on the smaller side up front, Martone could give the Flyers some needed size and finish.
Speaking on Sunday after Martone’s deal was finalized, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere gushed over the organization’s top prospect, who has taken what he believes were massive steps in his development. The Flyers were initially excited for Martone to attend Michigan State rather than return to his Canadian junior team in Brampton because it offered the power winger an opportunity to play against older players, and to train off of the ice throughout a season in which there are fewer games.
That seems to have paid off. The 6-foot-3 Martone, who isn’t afraid to use his ample frame, pointed out that he gained approximately 12 pounds, putting him at 210, and lost three percent body fat throughout the course of his time at Michigan State. It allowed him to be more effective for longer stretches.
“The way he’s developed physically, that was the biggest reason for encouraging the move to NCAA this season,” Briere said. “The amount of time he spent in the gym, you can see in his body how it’s changed. It’s almost going from a teenager to a man. … It was a good stepping stone for him. We feel he’s developed nicely physically and mentally, and almost close to being ready to be in the NHL. We’ll see in the next few weeks.”
Martone said that Nightingale stressed with him a need to be effective down low, and to also play with more pace. He believes he improved in those areas of focus.
“I think I really found my identity as a player and who I needed to be to be successful,” Martone said. “I think Coach Nightingale really forced on me to play below the hash marks, play in front of the net.
“Another thing he told me when I got there, which is the truth: If I want to play at the NHL level I’m going to have to play at a faster pace. That’s something that I really worked on there.”
Martone was also in constant communication with the Flyers while at college. He had weekly video sessions with director of player development Riley Armstrong, and estimated that the Flyers made trips to see him about 10 times, including staffers Patrick Sharp, John LeClair and Anthony Stewart spending time with him.
It was still unclear as of Monday afternoon whether Martone would debut in the Flyers’ game in Washington on Tuesday night against the Capitals, or if it would instead be Thursday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. While a team source confirmed that all of the necessary immigration paperwork was finalized, making Martone an option for Tuesday, coach Rick Tocchet may prefer for Martone to get in at least a couple skates with his new teammates before throwing him into the fire. Martone skated on Monday, but it was only with the handful of Flyers players who aren’t expected to play on Tuesday. Everyone else had off after the back-to-back games this weekend.
Regardless, the fact that the Flyers aren’t simply playing out the string at this stage of the season could help Martone get acclimated fairly quickly if he can handle the intense environment. Because it’s not just Martone’s goal-scoring and play-making ability that makes him such a highly regarded prospect — it’s his willingness and penchant for getting his nose dirty when the temperature is turned up that makes Flyers brass believe they have a player that should be able to rise to the occasion in the most important moments.
“Just having a guy like that installed 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 are hard to find,” Tocchet said on Sunday, before the Stars game. “I’m excited to have a guy like that.”
If the young Martone has a proverbial bullseye on his freshly-stitched No. 94 Flyers sweater, he indicated he’ll know how to handle it.
“I think I learned how to be on that fine line,” said Martone, who had 78 penalty minutes to go along with his 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games with the Spartans. “I felt like I had a target on my back a lot in college this year. You’ve just kind of got to manage your emotions.”
Martone mentioned that on Sunday he received a call from new teammate Travis Konecny, as well as text messages from Travis Sanheim and Tyson Foerster. Those three played with Martone at the IIHF World Championships on Team Canada last year.
There was no word on what the messages were from his new teammates, but considering how much longtime Flyers Konecny and Sanheim are fed up with missing out on the playoffs, and that a postseason berth might be necessary for the currently injured Foerster to return to action, it’s safe to assume that they’re all looking forward to the potential boost a guy such as Martone can give them.
“It’s exciting to have him around,” captain Sean Couturier said after the Stars game. “To have a young, talented guy like that that’s going to help us in the future, and can help us right now is huge. … It’s good as far as his experience to go through this playoff race.”