Sources: Flyers first-round pick Porter Martone commits to Michigan State

Rather than try to make the NHL roster out of training camp, the sixth pick will join one of the nation’s top college programs.

Porter Martone, #94. Flyers development camp workout, Skate Zone, Voorhees, NJ, Thursday, July 3, 2025.Read moreAlejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer

by Jackie Spiegel

Published July 21, 2025, 10:52 a.m. ET

Porter Martone is taking his talents to East Lansing.

Martone, selected sixth overall by the Flyers in the 2025 NHL draft, has committed to play hockey this season at Michigan State, multiple sources confirmed. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman was the first to report.

“We are aware of the reports surrounding Porter and will support what he decides to do,” Flyers general manager Danny Brière told The Inquirer when reached for comment.

Martone had two options come September: try to make the NHL or head to college hockey. There was a third option for him, to return to Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League, but that would have only come if he had not made the Flyers out of training camp.

At development camp, the 6-foot-3, 208-pound right winger sounded pretty determined to crack the roster.

“Obviously, when you come into [training] camp, you’re going to have to earn your job, you’re not just going to get it given to you,” Martone said earlier this month. “If I get the opportunity to come in, I want to give it my all and try to earn my spot in the opening-night roster, and if I do, that’s a dream come true to play with the Flyers organization.”

He did look big and strong and was good off the puck, popping off a wicked shot, while making several key defensive plays that showcased his high hockey IQ at development camp. But while Martone looked good — and has experience playing with NHLers like Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Tyson Forster at the 2025 IIHF World Championship for Canada — the consensus was that he did not stand out enough to guarantee him an NHL spot.

The Ontario native will now join a stacked Spartans roster that includes Flyers second-round pick Shane Vansaghi, top NCAA goalie Trey Augustine, who also led USA Hockey to back-to-back gold medals at World Juniors, and incoming freshman defenseman Cayden Lidstrom.

This past season, the Spartans were one of the top teams in men’s college hockey, winning back-to-back regular-season and Big Ten tournament titles. They were upset by Cornell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Flyers forward Karsen Dorwart, who signed as a free agent in March, played for Michigan State last year.

Martone will compete against fellow Flyers draft pick Cole Knuble and Notre Dame, and the expected No. 1 pick in 2026, Gavin McKenna, who recently committed to Penn State.

Both McKenna and Martone will leave the Canadian Hockey League to play college hockey. Martone is coming off a 37-goal and 98-point season in 57 regular-season games as the captain for Brampton. He tied Jake O’Brien, who was selected at No. 8 by the Seattle Kraken, for seventh on the OHL scoring charts. Martone added nine points (four goals, five assists) in six playoff games.

“To see his maturity, he handles himself around the group and around you guys [the media], and he’s a pretty comfortable kid as far as that. So I think, once he gets with NHL players, he’s going to stand out that much more,” assistant general manager Brent Flahr said on the final day of development camp. “I think he’s a player that, he’s always looking around, learning. I think the pace of his game is going to have to pick up, but you see the hands, the vision, the ability to make plays, and very few guys, even on our big team, can make.

“There’s a process. He’s a young guy. We’re going to be patient, but we’ll see what he can do.”

Patience is a virtue. And now that patience will have to last at least a year. Because he is committed now to college hockey, Martone will not attend the Flyers rookie camp in September or the main training camp. He could sign his entry-level contract once his season is over at Michigan State.