PHILADELPHIA \u2014 First-round draft picks usually come to the NHL with a lot of hype but don\u2019t always live up to the hope.<\/p>\n
In the case of Porter Martone, the Flyers believe the player will be worth the publicity.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, one day after Martone\u2019s Michigan State was eliminated from the NCAA tournament, the Flyers signed the Peterborough, Ontario, native to a three-year entry-level contract.<\/p>\n
Prior to Sunday night\u2019s game against Dallas, Flyers general manager Daniel Briere was all smiles. This kid could be a game-changer for now and the years ahead, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting for the organization to have him signed,\u201d Briere said. \u201cTo join our team coming down the stretch here where we\u2019re playing meaningful games. Give him a chance to be around the guys and see how they prepare and how the intensity is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briere wouldn\u2019t commit to when Martone might make his NHL debut. It could come as early as Tuesday\u2019s game in Washington, but there are several matters to get completed before he can play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not closing down the window for Tuesday,\u201d Briere said. \u201cAssuming that everything goes according to plan, paperwork to be done, doctors\u2019 appointments to be done as well. We\u2019re hopeful that Tuesday could be a game but we\u2019ll see. I don\u2019t want to get too far ahead of myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just a year ago, Martone had to decide whether to dip his toe into NHL waters or try his hand at NCAA hockey after a strong career in junior hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, it was exciting for us to get him on our side,\u201d Briere said. \u201cI want to say how thankful we are to Michigan State, the coaching staff and how Porter embraced the role of going there and how much he developed there this year. We give Michigan State credit for that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think he\u2019s pretty close to being ready to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briere was asked how the Michigan State experience benefited Martone, who recorded 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games as a Spartan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s the way he developed physically,\u201d Briere said. \u201cIt\u2019s the biggest reason for encouraging the move to the NCAA this season. It\u2019s kind of a stepping stone from junior to the NHL. Developing his body, getting stronger. The amount of time he spent in the gym. Almost going from a teenager to a man.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis play on the ice spoke for itself. We\u2019ve seen how dominant he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said he wasn\u2019t sure when Martone might be ready to dress for his first NHL game. But when he does get in, good things are bound to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the way he plays the game,\u201d Tocchet said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to put a tag on him, that he\u2019s the (NHL veteran) Corey Perry type. Those are hard to find. Excited to have a guy like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeel bad about them (Michigan State) losing (to Wisconsin) because they were a team picked to go far. They were a really good team, I feel bad for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
A right wing, the 19-year-old Martone has been successful throughout his junior and collegiate careers. The 6-foot-3, 204-pounder was a proficient scorer at the junior hockey level. Playing for Mississauga and Brampton, he posted seasons of 33 and 37 goals. In the latter campaign, he wound up with 98 points.<\/p>\n
Martone served as the captain for Team Canada in winning gold at the 2024 Under-18 World Championship. He won bronze with Canada at the World Junior Championships this year.\u00a0 At one point in his junior career, Martone was projected to be a No. 1 overall pick.<\/p>\n
People throughout the Ontario Hockey League liked what they saw.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was not scared as a 16-year-old,\u201d one OHL executive said. \u201cI think it was his first pre-season game as a 16-year-old with Sarnia in London, he was trying to fight guys. It was one of those things where you thought, this guy is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Martone makes an impact, it will enhance the Flyers\u2019 playoff chances these last couple weeks. But Briere doesn\u2019t want to set the bar too high.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe players are realistic,\u201d Briere said. \u201cThey\u2019re not expecting Porter to come in and be a savior. Far from that. For us, giving him the chance to grow. Get the experience of playing some meaningful games.\u201d<\/p>\n
Briere said playing in meaningful games so late in the season can be beneficial for all the team\u2019s young players, including Alex Bump, Matvei Michkov and Denver Barkey.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a tremendous experience for all our players,\u201d Briere said. \u201cI think it\u2019s really good for the growth of this team, preparing them for the future.\u00a0 At the same time, we hope we can keep climbing, surprise people and sneak our way into the playoffs. That would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHILADELPHIA \u2014 First-round draft picks usually come to the NHL with a lot of hype but don\u2019t always…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5112],"tags":[1468,5,4,1467,56,5205,43,5094],"class_list":{"0":"post-530670","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-flyers","8":"tag-flyers","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-flyers","13":"tag-philadelphiaflyers","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-top-stories-mer"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116316730572463492","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}