After a short adjustment period, Porter Martone was one of the best players for the Philadelphia Flyers during their playoff push, and head coach Rick Tocchet quickly took notice.
Martone, 19, scored only one point–an assist–in his first three NHL games, though he did fire off 15 shots on goal. The 2025 No. 6 overall pick was due for positive offensive scoring regression, and it was all up from there.
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The prized Flyers prospect scored all four of his first NHL goals and added another five assists in the final six games of the season, and during that six-game point streak, the Flyers went 5-1-0, securing their first playoff berth since 2020.
Suffice to say, Martone has impressed Tocchet early on.
“He’s just a hockey player, right? Yeah, he’s got some things to improve on or whatever, and he’s really worked on his skating. You can tell he’s improved over the year. He knocks pucks down, he goes to the dirty areas, he’s got a hell of a shot. He’s got a hell of a hockey IQ,” Tocchet said of Martone on the NHL Network’s “NHL Now” segment.
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“We were playing Carolina the other night. Their PK’s really good. It’s a pressure PK where they just fly out everywhere. We practiced it in the morning, we talked about ‘Hey, you gotta be ready’. If you look at the tying goal, he knew. He beat pressure, he knew where [Trevor Zegras] was, he threw it, great pass, and we end up getting the goal.
“That’s his hockey IQ. Him taking the information that day and applying it in a pressure situation. So, for a 19-year-old, gotta give him a lot of credit.”
The stakes were high for Martone, Tocchet, and the Flyers on Monday night; it was a win-and-in situation against a Carolina Hurricanes team resting several of their top players.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy game, and the Flyers went down 2-0 early, but Matvei Michkov started the comeback, and then Martone and Trevor Zegras combined to tie the game.
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A pivotal moment, too, as the Flyers required a shootout to seal the deal and reach the postseason.
Now, just imagine the next level Martone can hit for the Flyers once he gains more NHL experience and comes into a season fresh.
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