Flyers’ Porter Martone still learning, keeping open mind during rookie season
The Philadelphia Flyers may not have gotten off to start they were hoping for this season, but they’ve been able to turn things around somewhat, putting up a 4-3-1 record after a winless first nine games of the season.
A big part of Philadelphia’s improvement has been the play of rookie forward Porter Martone, who has seven points over his last eight games after managing just one point over the Flyers’ nine-game winless streak.
It should come as no surprise that the 20-year-old Martone took some time to find his game, given this is first season as a full-time NHLer.
Martone spoke to Daily Faceoff‘s Jonny Lazarus on Thursday, and discussed the process of getting used to life in the NHL.
“I’m still learning every single day,” Martone said. “I’m still a young guy in this league. I’m learning from all the older guys in this room and how they take care of themselves, how they prepare themselves.”
The Peterborough, Ontario native burst onto the scene for Philadelphia late last season after finishing up his collegiate campaign with Michigan State University. In nine regular season games, he registered four goals and six assists for 10 points, before contributing two goals and three assists for five points in 10 playoff games.
Despite his impressive showing last season, Martone knows he still has a lot to learn as he builds experience in the NHL.
“I think I’m getting adjusted and I’m getting more comfortable,” he said. “For me, I’m trying to keep an open mind and keep on learning because these guys have been here for a long time, whether it’s from [the] coaching staff to all the players on this team, they’ve been around. I’m figuring out some things that works for me, but also just continue to keep on learning. It’s a long season, and there’s going to be plenty of ups and downs.”
Martone also discussed the adjustment required to physically survive the grind of an NHL season.
“I think I knew what I was getting into,” Martone said. “But you play a lot of hockey games. How do you take care of your body? I think that’s something I learned last year going to college, how to kind of fit my schedule, being able to work out and still be able to play.”
Selected sixth overall by the Flyers in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, Martone is part of a young core, including forwards Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, and defenseman Jamie Drysdale, among others, that Philadelphia hopes will spearhead success in the coming years.
