Although he had a little bit of down time this summer for friends and family, Flyers winger Porter Martone knows that he still has a lot to prove. And in proving his value, he needs to put in the work. It’s something he’s not hesitant to dive into.
“Yeah I think for me, I got a taste of it last year and kind of went away in the summer with still a lot of work to do,” Martone said after the first practice Friday afternoon at the Flyers rookie camp in Allentown. “For me I think the main thing in coming back here, and playing at rookie camp, is the shortened preseason this year. I’ve never done an NHL training camp, so just trying to get in those reps so when the regular season does start — and hopefully I do crack the lineup — I’m ready to go, and I’m ready to be successful.”
Martone, who dazzled the Flyers and the league for a spell at the end of 2025-26 and well into the playoffs, said he shut things down for a month after representing Canada at the World Hockey Championships. He spent time with family and friends “just to be a kid again.” But from there, he was all business, returning to his alma mater Michigan State to train for three weeks to a month. After another two-week stretch back home, Martone made tracks to Philadelphia where he’s been the last three weeks.
The training schedule and regimen is something that both he and Flyers general manager Danny Briere were on the same page from the start. “It’s going to make me ready for game one,” Martone says. “I’m excited to be here, I’m excited to be here with all these other prospects. And see what they have to show and can offer.”
Martone looking to hone different parts of his game
Hearing Martone speak Friday, one got the sense he’s got his feet firmly on the ground. He hasn’t been resting on the laurels of the success and impact he had last year with the Flyers. Although there are a few things on the ice he’d like to get better at, he also says the training and conditioning is something he knows is also vital to a great season.
“I think for me just getting back into the gym, I think I still have a lot of ways to go there, a lot of work I can put in,” he says. “I think for me just working on a lot of the little things on the ice. I got to see last year in the playoffs and my time in the NHL like wall play, making like five-area plays. It’s so crucial to the game, it’s something that I worked on a lot. Hopefully I’ll see it pay off this year.”
As well, Martone is also eager to keep putting in the work that has gotten him this far. He isn’t going to shy away from it, and is open to any and all suggestions to take his game to the next level. Despite the initial tear he went on after his career at Michigan State concluded, Martone seems to realize what the bigger picture is all about.
“I think for me I’m always someone who believes that every day is a new day, it’s something I can get better at that day,” he says. “So I think for me just not really look too far ahead, and just come to the rink every single day and focus on getting better. As cliche as it sounds, I think it’s something where if you want to be successful hockey player and be a successful player in the NHL, that’s what you have to do. It doesn’t matter if I have the best game in the world the night before or the worst game, you reset after that. You come in and you work on things you want to get better at.”
Although Martone says he’s received advice from a few veterans on how to approach training camp, the 13-day camp after this current rookie camp is unchartered waters for a lot of players. They usually have a few days to get into the swing things. But with this camp a full week shorter, there isn’t a lot of time to work the rust off. Martone says the players are happy to be back in Philadelphia, and are eager to start playing games again.
Ideally, if the team (and Martone) can replicate that stretch run during most of the 2025-26 season, then a playoff spot should be well within their grasp. But they have some road to go before becoming a contender like Carolina, the opponent who swept Philadelphia in the second round on route to winning the Stanley Cup. Martone says he learned and took something from that series, and particularly how well Carolina executed.
“Just how connected they were,” Martone said regarding how the Canes approached each shift. “I felt like whenever you broke them down, there was always somebody there to back them up. And just how they played as a team. You can look at that team and they’ve got a lot of great players and they work so well together. That’s something you got to do to win a Cup, what you got to do to be successful.
“It was cool to go against them, they’re a really good team. There’s a reason why they won, hopefully we can learn from that and build into the future here with our group.”
