The Philadelphia Flyers have plenty of reasons to feel good about where this is headed, and Porter Martone sits right at the center of it.
After a rebuild that stretched over several years, Philadelphia is coming off a playoff season that carried all the way to the second round. The mood around the team is upbeat, and while Trevor Zegras and Dan Vladar have both drawn more attention, Martone is the name fans seem most eager to watch next.
The 2025 first-round pick didn’t exactly tiptoe into the picture. He made his pro debut late last season, finished the regular season on a point-per-game run, and then added five points in 10 playoff games. That’s a small sample, sure, but it was enough to leave Flyers fans wanting more once he gets a full season’s worth of runway.
The buzz around Martone got louder in The Athletic’s latest prospect rankings, where scouts placed him in the second tier - the group reserved for top-30 players in the league and the best players on a contending team. The comparisons that came with it were the kind that make fan bases lean in.
"Martone's excellent freshman year and, maybe even more importantly, his strong play in the NHL at the end of the regular season in particular, really sold the league on his status as one of the game's future top power forwards," The Athletic writes. "Mikko Rantanen and Jason Robertson, who are both Tier 2 wingers in Player Tiers this year, feel like attainable - if a little lofty - projections for Martone."
That Robertson comp is the one that jumps off the page for Flyers fans. It’s easy to see why. Robertson has developed into one of the league’s premier young scorers, and his production keeps climbing.
He led the NHL with 11 game-winning goals in 2021-22, then made his first All-Star Game the next season and posted a career-high 109 points in 82 games. This past season, he finished with 96 points, including 45 goals and 51 assists, in 82 games.
Robertson also found himself in the middle of trade chatter this offseason. He was a restricted free agent while the Stars talked with other teams, and the St.
Louis Blues and Seattle Kraken both made offers. Robertson turned down both deals, stayed in Dallas for another year, and is now headed toward unrestricted free agency, where he’ll be one of the biggest names available.
If Martone ends up anywhere near that offensive level, the Flyers may have found a franchise cornerstone for the long haul.
There’s also another layer to the optimism: Calder Trophy talk. The Flyers are bringing back a roster that looks a lot like last season’s, and they’re counting on their young players to take another step. Martone is part of that group, and The Athletic’s Top 20 Calder candidates list has him as the early favorite.
If he delivers on that hype, Martone would have a chance to become the first Flyers player to win the Calder Trophy. Given what he already showed in limited action last season, that doesn’t sound like a wild idea.
Put him in top-line minutes and on the top power play unit, and the offense should follow. For a Flyers team trying to keep climbing in the Metropolitan Division, that kind of jump could matter in a big way.
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Chris Pronger recently put the task in stark terms, noting how hard it is to assemble a true Cup contender without elite draft help, even if it can be done. For Danny Briere, the challenge is making sure the Flyers do not rush the process, which is why cap flexibility remains part of the plan as they look for the right moment to keep improving without boxing themselves in. [Read more 🡒]