June 27, 2025

Porter Martone looked up to past Flyers as a kid. Now he looks to be a big part of the team's future.

Martone, who went sixth overall, looks to become one of the Flyers' next stars, after looking up to Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds growing up.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Kirby Lee/Imagn Images

Brampton winger Porter Martone shakes hands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after his name was called as the sixth overall pick to the Flyers in the draft Friday night in LA.

Porter Martone walked up to the stage to get his Flyers hat and jersey Friday night in LA, and it was almost like it was meant to be.

After the 18-year-old right winger out of Brampton was made official as the sixth overall pick in the NHL Draft, he was brought up to the mic and monitor toward the back of the stage with the Flyers' front office, stationed at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City, waiting on the other end.

General manager Danny Brière welcomed Martone to Philadelphia, then relayed that he had heard the newest Flyer already had some orange and black memorabilia growing up.

Martone, a Peterborough, Ontario native, replied that he has a Claude Giroux poster up on the wall in his basement back home. He later told the local media over another video call back to AC that he went to a Flyers game at the Wells Fargo Center as a kid for his birthday, and had his name up on the scoreboard over center ice for the occasion.

He also talked about how he used to look up to Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, both members of the old Flyers core, and how playing with current Flyers Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Tyson Foerster for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships in the spring shaped his view of where the organization is headed.

And then there's the part where the 6'3" power forward plays like a Flyer, too, with an aggressive game off the wall and a fierce shot he can unleash toward the net the second he turns the corner in from it.

It felt like it was meant to be. It is now.

Martone is a Philadelphia Flyer, and, the team hopes, one of the next great ones – a star that will be on the poster of another draft hopeful, someday.

"Looking back on it, you never thought about the day you'd be drafted to the NHL, let alone the Philadelphia Flyers," Martone said, reflecting on that trip to the Wells Fargo Center all those years ago. "I'm pumped, you know, I'm very excited."

But he knows the work he has to do is only getting started.

Martone plays a big game already, having barreled his way through to 37 goals and 98 points this past junior season in Brampton. He also got the benefit of an early look at the pro game's pace and physicality thanks to that aforementioned run with Canada at Worlds.

He's strong now, at his current level, but has to get stronger – faster, too.

"It's kind of cliché to say, but if I do want to make the jump to the NHL, I do need to put on some more weight in the gym and just continue to work," the 204-pound Martone said. "I'm going every day trying to get better. I'm gonna enjoy this right now and then get back to work. Just kind of take it step by step at a time.

"I do want to go into training camp next year and try to crack the lineup. I think if I have a big summer, I'll be able to do that. So it's cliché to say get bigger, faster, stronger, but that is what I need to do."

The jump just likely won't be made that fast, though.

Most junior prospects typically need an extra year of development at that respective level following their selection, maybe some AHL or college minutes, as well.

There's also a bit of a logjam at right wing when it comes to how the Flyers are stocked right now, both at the NHL level and in the prospect pipeline below.

An opening needs to be there for him.

But if Martone can put in the work and translate his game to the pros, and become a key piece to the rebuild that the Flyers are now banking on, they'll find a way for him when the time comes.

Friday night, with Martone becoming a Flyer, it felt like it was meant to be. And if he eventually becomes a star for them, so will that, too.

"I definitely think I can excel there at that level one day," Martone said. "But I'm just gonna continue to get better every single day, and when it is my time to play my first game with the Flyers, I can't wait. It's gonna be really special."