Porter Martone said he "hopped onto a moving train" when he joined the Philadelphia Flyers late this season. Early in the playoffs, he's powering the train.
The best late-season acquisition in the NHL this year wasn't the Los Angeles Kings trading for Artemi Panarin or the Colorado Avalanche bringing back Nazem Kadri.
It wasn't the deadline deal that sent John Carlson from the Washington to Anaheim. Nor was it the Winnipeg Jets trading defensemen Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn to the Buffalo Sabres.
It wasn't even a trade.
Instead, it was the Philadelphia Flyers signing Porter Martone to an entry-level contract on March 29.
Martone, who graduated to the NHL after finishing his freshman year at Michigan State, has been a better fit than anyone else Philadelphia acquired at the trade deadline.
So far, he's been a better fit than anyone could have imagined for someone who is just 19 and had never played professionally.
Jumping into the fire of a first-round series against the rival Pittsburgh Penguins, Martone scored the game-winner in Game 1. Two nights later, he scored the game-winner again in Game 2, as the Flyers took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series.
It was the first time in NHL history that a teenager scored the game-winning goal in each of his first two playoff games.
"It's pretty impressive," Flyers right winger Travis Konecny told reporters after Monday night's 3-0 win. "There's not a lot of guys that can come in and make the impact that he has — especially in the games leading up to making the playoffs. Like, how important those were and for him to be able to jump in, I think it just speaks to not just his hockey ability but how he wants to learn. He listens.
"When we talk in the room and talk about little plays, you go out there and you see it, it's a switch the next shift. He learns quick. You're not duplicating mistakes… he's a good player."
Indeed, Martone showed glimpses of why he was selected sixth overall in last year's draft in the final three weeks of the regular season. He scored four goals and 10 points for a Flyers team that snatched a playoff spot from the New York Islanders and Columbus Blue Jackets after going 18-7-1 since the Olympic break.
But it's been his performance in these playoffs that has fans really excited for what the future might hold.
In a 3-2 win in Game 1, Martone sprinted down the right side of the ice before putting on the brakes and circling around the faceoff circle, before sniping a wrist shot that cleanly beat Pittsburgh's Stuart Skinner.
Two nights later, the 6-foot-3 and 214-pound Martone backhanded in a rebound on what his coach called "a goal-scorer's goal."
"That goal, I call it scooter skating to get yourself in position," Flyers coach Rick Tocchet told reporters. "I know people think that maybe it's easy, but it wasn't because he had to scooter, the timing, all that stuff, on his backhand. That's what he does. He's a hockey player."
Martone, who captained Team Canada to a bronze medal at the world juniors earlier this year, is not just a hockey player. He's a potential franchise stud. And for the Flyers, he is part of a future that includes Matvei Michkov, Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras, all of whom are 25 or younger.
At Michigan State, Martone led the Spartans with 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games. He ranked tied for second in the nation in goals. And while Michigan State ended up getting eliminated in the regional final, the Spartans loss has been the Flyers' gain.
Philadelphia still might have qualified for the playoffs without Martone. But two games in, the teenage phenom has jumped on the "moving train" and is the reason why the Flyers are two more wins away from advancing to the second round.
"I think I got to give a lot of credit to the guys in this room. They've taught me a lot, not just on the hockey side but the life side," Martone told reporters. "I made the jump because I thought I was ready, and I thought I could come help this team. And they did a lot this year.
"They went through a lot of ups and downs, and when I came here, they were really rolling. So I kind of hopped onto a moving train, and it's been good ever since. But I think there's still a lot of work to be done."
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