Porter Martone is walking into his first full season with the Flyers carrying real buzz, and for good reason. Philadelphia has spent years trying to build this thing through the NHL Draft, banking on a young core that can grow together and eventually chase a Stanley Cup. That process has already started to show some life, with the Flyers getting back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, knocking off the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round, then getting swept by the eventual champion Carolina Hurricanes.
Even with that ending, the mood around the team stayed upbeat. The run gave a young roster a taste of what matters in the spring, and Martone was right in the middle of it.
The 2025 first-round pick made his debut late in the season and wasted little time fitting in. He brought edge, skill and a little bite, including the kind of pest role that made him stand out against the Penguins in the playoffs. Now the real test begins: a full season, bigger expectations, and a chance to show whether the hype matches the production.
That hype is very real. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked Martone third on his top 100 prospects list released weeks after the draft, putting him among the elite young players in the sport.
Wheeler wrote, "...he has a lot of attributes: size, strength, power, shot, playmaking, puck skill. He’s going to score goals, make plays and be able to impose himself in the NHL when he really comes into his own," writes Wheeler.
"He has the talent to become a high-end point-producing winger. The skill and hockey sense are real, and the consistency of his effort level and toughness have developed over time, too.
He’s one of the top forward prospects in the game. I debated ranking him No.
2."
Ahead of Martone in Wheeler’s rankings were Ivar Stenberg of the San Jose Sharks at No. 2 and Gavin McKenna of the Toronto Maple Leafs at No. 1.
Martone’s brief NHL audition was hard to ignore. He played the Flyers’ final nine regular-season games, a stretch when the team was chasing both a playoff spot and third place in the Metropolitan Division.
In that span, he scored four goals and added six assists. Philadelphia decided to bring him up shortly after Michigan State’s season ended, even though it cost him a year on his rookie contract, and the move gave him a crash course in pressure hockey.
He didn’t fade when the games got heavier, either. In the playoffs, Martone posted two goals and three assists in 10 games. For a rookie with limited experience, that’s a strong start, and it only adds to the anticipation around what he might do when he settles into a full-time role.
That role should land him on the Flyers’ top line, and if his short stint was any indication, Philadelphia may have a real weapon on its hands. Flyers fans have every reason to be watching closely.
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Pittsburghs decision to keep Evgeni Malkin around only sharpens the storyline for a home opener that will carry more edge than most season debuts. The Flyers have also been busy, adding Joseph Woll behind the starter and working toward extensions for Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, while the Penguins have tried to reshape the roster with a trade for Nicholas Robertson and some departures elsewhere. For a team that just knocked out its old playoff foe, the first game of the new season will not feel like a routine checkpoint. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Risk Another Painful Blue Line Mistake Fans Saw Coming
Rasmus Ristolainens future has become one of the more awkward little decisions hanging over the Flyers blue line. He has one year left on his current deal, and while trade chatter has followed him before, Philadelphia has not moved him anywhere yet. Now the bigger question is whether the team wants to keep him around longer, even with a veteran defenseman carrying a meaningful cap hit and a roster that already has plenty of young defenders trying to break through.
That creates the kind of crunch the Flyers have spent years trying to avoid but keep running into anyway. David Jiricek, Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill, Carter Amico, Luke Vlooswyk and Brek Liske are all part of the crowd pushing for space, and a new commitment to Ristolainen would only make the path narrower. For a team still sorting out its long-term identity on defense, this is exactly the sort of move that can look sensible in the moment and regrettable not long after. [Read more 🡒]