Flyers draft: The Orange and Black pass on center in favor of high-scoring power forward Porter Martone

BUFFALO ― Porter Martone walked into the restaurant of the Marriott in upstate New York during the week of the NHL scouting combine and sat down to chat. He was sporting a suit, much like he did the whole week when meeting with NHL executives.

Why? Martone is all business.

“Since you’re a little kid, you dream of your draft day, and it’s really coming. It’s getting close,” he said. “Coming into this season, it’s so far away, and now we’re at the combine here. It’s like the second-to-last thing before the draft. So it’s exciting. You get to meet with teams, get to see what they have to offer, and you get to talk with them for one last time before they’re going to make the decision on who they pick.”

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The right winger represents an interesting option for the Flyers at No. 6. The long-standing thread has been that Philly needs high-end talent down the middle, and, with this class being top-heavy with quality centers, the prevailing thought was that the Flyers would jump at the chance to grab a quality one at No. 6. But does the acquisition of Trevor Zegras on Monday flip the switch?

Possibly. While Flyers general manager Danny Brière wouldn’t confirm that Zegras would be a center — he’s leaving it up to new coach Rick Tocchet — he did say, “We constantly need to keep improving, we’re still far away. … If there’s a chance to keep improving while fitting into the plan of growing with our young guys and giving them the chance to grow together, we’re going to seriously consider it, but we’re never stopping there, if there’s a chance to improve the team.”

Adding Martone would represent acquiring a big asset, literally. He is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds — and would join a right side that currently has 5-10 Matvei Michkov, 5-9 Travis Konecny, and 5-8 Bobby Brink. Garnet Hathaway, who plays right wing on the fourth line, is 6-2, and while Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster technically are right wings over 6 feet, both primarily have played left wing the past two seasons.

“I think Porter, obviously, the size is a big component,” FloHockey NHL draft analyst Chris Peters told The Inquirer in Buffalo. “He is a power forward, but he probably could stand to be more physical. He is physical — it’s not that he’s not — it’s just, I think that at his size, he’s going to be forced to play a certain way.

“But I think that, at his heart, he’s a playmaker. He’s more of a skill, hockey sense, passing, scoring kind of player, which I think is a great thing and why a lot of teams are very interested in him. … I think that he does a lot of things well. Very mature.”

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As Peters said, “You can’t build a team with all small players, you have to find size, and I think he’s an option for that,” for the Flyers.

Martone brings that, and then some, as he uses his body to create time and space for his linemates.

“I’m a big 200-foot power forward who definitely has a very high hockey IQ, can make plays, can set up teammates,” said Martone, who compares his game to the Tkachuk brothers and the ultimate pest, Corey Perry. “I feel like I’m a threat from different areas on the ice. I definitely have a bit of an edge, and I feel like I’m a little pest on the ice.”

Although he needs to work on his skating and quickness, the 18-year-old has some of the high-end skills “The Worm” was known for in his prime. This past season, while captaining Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League, Martone tallied 37 goals and 98 points in 57 regular-season games, tying another possible Flyers pick at No. 6, Jake O’Brien, for seventh on the OHL scoring charts. He added nine points (four goals, five assists) in six playoff games.

Martone was one of just three members of this draft class named to Canada’s World Juniors squad; Gavin McKenna, the projected top pick in next year’s draft, also was on the roster for a country that notoriously skews older when selecting its team.

He scored a goal in three games and then suited up in two games for the Canadians at the 2025 IIHF World Championship after Bo Horvat got hurt. Originally invited to participate in pretournament games and practices, unlike previous players in his role, he stuck around and was called into action.

“I don’t know how you couldn’t. You have those guys there. You have [Sidney] Crosby. You get to be surrounded by the best players in the NHL,” he said with a gleam in his eye, adding he wasn’t nervous and slept like a baby the night before his first game.

“I just wanted to go, and I wanted to learn. I wanted to get better, and I think I did.”

And he also played with three members of the Flyers.

“One day, Travis Konecny took me golfing in Sweden,” Martone said. “Foerster’s very great, kind of around my age, I sat beside him in the room. And then, [Travis] Sanheim, too. They’re all unbelievable people. And one thing I could tell is what it means to be a Flyer. And they really value that. They’re very tight, tight, tight people, and they really enjoy playing for the Flyers.”

And the consensus is that Martone would look good in Orange and Black, too.

“I think on fit, Martone is a great fit for the Flyers. He adds size to the organization when they need it,” The Athletic’s NHL draft analyst Scott Wheeler told The Inquirer. “He’s got legit, dynamic skill for a 6-foot-3 forward. He’s been a leader, he’s worn the ‘C’ for Hockey Canada [the gold medal-winning squad at U18s], all of that. But I do wonder whether they’ve got enough right-shot wingers and, just like taking Jett Luchanko a year ago, whether the priority is still to build through the middle.”

Martone’s connections to the Flyers also run pretty deep.

Aside from the World Championship trio, he knows Tippett, as his billet family in Brampton billeted the Flyers forward when he was a Steelhead. Tippett sometimes swings by for dinner when he’s in town to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs, so it’s no surprise that Flyers games always are on in the house, and Martone keeps a close eye on his fellow power forward.

And then there’s the quintessential Wells Fargo Center moment.

“I went to Philly, I was 8 years old, for a hockey tournament,” he said. “It was my birthday time, so me and my dad went to the Flyers game. My name was up on the Videotron for my birthday. It was amazing to go see the Flyers and to be able to watch a game at the arena.”

Maybe after Friday, the countdown will be on to when his name is on the scoreboard welcoming him to the Flyers.

“It’s a dream of playing in the NHL ever since I was a little kid,” he said. “I’d be excited, and I’d be happy to be drafted by anyone, but, yeah, it’s pretty cool, the Flyers are such a great organization.”