Patrick Sharp and John LeClair both saw Porter Martone at Michigan State.<\/p>\n
And both were impressed.<\/p>\n
But the club’s hockey ops advisors did not expect the 19-year-old to do what he did when he joined the Flyers.<\/p>\n
“He was well-prepared for pro hockey,” Sharp said this month at development camp. “But for him to step in in the middle of a playoff chase and be an impact player right away with the great players we had on the Flyers, to be counted on in the playoffs was, I think, really special. It’s hard to do. You don’t see that very often.”<\/p>\n
After a standout freshman season with the Spartans<\/a>, the 2025 sixth overall pick signed his entry-level contract and made his NHL debut at the end of March. It didn’t come on a team playing out the string; the Flyers were in crunch time of a postseason push. Martone was unfazed, putting up 10 points (four goals, six assists) over the club’s final nine games as the Flyers snapped their five-year playoff drought<\/a>.<\/p>\n “I don’t think anybody realized there would be that big of an impact, but I knew Porter was a pro,” LeClair said in June on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Flyers Talk podcast<\/a>. “He was going to have some kind of an impact; the impact he had was tremendous. I don’t think it’s a fluke at all, I think he’s just going to keep building on that.”<\/p>\n The Flyers are eager to see what Martone can do in a full season<\/a>. In a way, the 6-foot-3 winger is like an offseason addition for Danny Briere. The general manager didn’t make a huge splash this summer, despite taking a swing at Leo Carlsson<\/a>. The Flyers gave their youngsters opportunities last season and were rewarded for it. They’re hoping to continue that this season, especially with Martone.<\/p>\n By giving some of the prospects a shot at full-time roles, Briere has stashed the team’s cap space for now. The Flyers have to sign two more restricted free agents, but they have almost $15 million, per PuckPedia.com<\/a>. It’s money they could use down the road when they feel the situation is right.<\/p>\n “There are things that we’re constantly looking at and trying to improve,” Briere said a little over two weeks ago. “We worked hard to get this cap space. You remember three years ago, how we were in a really bad shape there. We worked hard. And what we want to make sure is that we can use it in a proper manner where it’s going to help the team moving forward.”<\/p>\n In the playoffs, the Flyers had three rookies combine for nine points. Martone delivered two goals and three assists, Alex Bump scored a pair and Denver Barkey collected a goal and an assist.<\/p>\n All three players were in development camp this summer with the organization’s prospects. Prior to taking the ice, the Flyers showed a highlight reel of Martone, Bump and Barkey from the postseason.<\/p>\n Not a bad way to motivate the camp.<\/p>\n “It shows that the process works and every year these kids are getting better when they come back to camp,” Sharp said. “In the case with those players, they played a huge role for us with the big club down the stretch and in the playoffs. So that’s pretty inspiring for our draft picks and the guys that are returning.”<\/p>\n