1st Rounder Scored 98 Points for OHL’s Brampton Last Season
by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor (@chn-adam-wodon)
Porter Martone, the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft, by the Philadelphia Flyers, has decided to attend Michigan State this fall.
For the Spartans, it fills a hole left when Isaac Howard, last year’s Hobey Baker Award winner who was originally going to return, signed with the Edmonton Oilers after an NHL trade.
For college hockey, it’s yet another interesting development in the ever-evolving landscape.
Martone played in the OHL last season for Brampton, where he had 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games. At Michigan State, Martone will be joining another Flyers 2025 draft pick, Shane Vansaghi.
The Flyers have a number of ex-college players in their front office. General manager Daniel Briere did not, though he was being heavily recruited at the time, and his son did play college hockey.
“It was Porter and his family and his agent making the decision,” Briere told The Athletic on Tuesday. “The cool part is we were involved in the process. They included us. We had long discussions. It’s not like we told him one way or the other. We shared kind of the positives and the negatives of each side. They made the decision. So we told him we’d be very supportive of whatever the decision would be. It’s not like there’s a wrong or right answer here.”
With Major Junior prospects now eligible to play NCAA hockey, the players have flowed in. At first, it wasn’t clear whether this would include blue-chippers, but it has, punctuated by Gavin McKenna’s recent commitment to Penn State.
But McKenna hasn’t been drafted yet. Others who were drafted this year, had already decided to go to the NCAA before the draft.
Martone is different, because he’s the first to decide to head to the NCAA since being drafted in the first round just a few weeks ago.
A number of the players were considering it, but they also want to make the NHL roster. To do that, they need to attend NHL camp in September, and it would be too late to enroll in college if they don’t make it.
But even most first rounders won’t make the NHL team this year. For Major Junior players, that usually means going back to their junior team.
If a Major Junior player doesn’t make the NHL roster,…
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