It was a tough year for everyone on the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks], especially Connor Bedard. While Bedard’s 23 goals and 67 points in 82 games throughout the 2024-25 season isn’t a sophomore slump to the extent of some previous Calder Trophy winners, there are obvious concerns with the Blackhawks’ current roster that need to be addressed in order to get his upward trajectory back on track. This off-season will be pivotal for the Blackhawks, and it all starts with the draft. While GM Kyle Davidson has stacked the team’s defensive pipeline with Artyom Levshunov, Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski, they don’t have another true top-tier forward prospect on the way. Will any of the top-five teams in the NHL draft trade their pick? With the third overall pick this year, it’s crucial that they take one of the elite offensive players to give Bedard someone capable of elevating his game. Porter Martone [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-draft-prospect-porter-martone-impresses-team-canada-staff-at-world-championship]’s combination of size, skill and hockey sense makes him a one-of-a-kind prospect in this year’s draft, and also makes him the perfect complementary piece to do just that. WHAT MAKES PORTER MARTONE SPECIAL? Starting with the offensive production, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound hulking winger led the Brampton Steelheads [https://thehockeynews.com/ohl] in scoring throughout the regular season with 37 goals and 98 points in 57 games. He then added four goals and nine points in six playoff games before being eliminated by the Oshawa Generals. While the pace of play is often the biggest concern for a player with Martone’s physical build, his unique blend of playmaking, vision and overall hockey sense makes the shortcomings with his footspeed much easier to overlook. In the offensive zone, Martone is extremely dynamic. He’s just as dangerous of a distributor as he is a shooter, and has a knack for making touch passes into tight windows of space that defenders are unable to adapt to. He’s able to read and react quickly to the positioning of oncoming defenders as well as his teammates and makes good decisions when it comes to his off-puck rotations. He processes offense at an extremely high level, consistently finding lapses in defensive coverage and utilizing his teammates as an alternative way to push the pace of play. Martone can make defenders pay in every area of the offensive zone, whether it’s beating them one-on-one with his reach, scoring from distance with his powerful and deceptive release, or his quick stickhandling in the net-front area. Martone has also taken major strides in improving his defensive game this season. His willingness to track down opposing players on the rush and effectively use his reach to stop transition offense has shown how strong of a competitor he can become at both ends of the ice with the proper development. If he can consistently leverage his size in the defensive zone the same way he does offensively, he will be a much more complete two-way player. Porter Martone (Terry Wilson / OHL Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/880b7ad3-9b7d-4e64-9077-8bf2b3bd55cc.webp] Porter Martone (Terry Wilson / OHL Images) While Martone possesses a skill set that no other prospect in this draft has, he operates at a significantly slower pace than the top-end forwards in this class. He’s sometimes too reliant on his linemates when it comes to generating transition offense. Considering he plays with two high-end players in Luke Misa and Carson Rehkopf, he can be too comfortable deferring rather than being the primary puck carrier on zone entries and exits. Speeding things up and being more physically engaged in the defensive zone will be the biggest points of emphasis as Martone develops at the NHL level, but he has the foundation to become a top-line playmaker and power forward similar to Corey Perry, Mark Stone or even Blake Wheeler. WHY SHOULD THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS DRAFT PORTER MARTONE? It’s difficult for rebuilding teams to consistently hit on every selection they make at the draft, but Martone possesses the safest set of tools that the Blackhawks can bet on with the third overall pick this year. There are a few clear developmental paths that Martone will ultimately take as he turns pro, and all of them could end up benefiting the Blackhawks. If he ends up being a high-motor forechecker that can leverage his physical advantages on puck retrievals to become the ‘go get the puck’ guy for Bedard, then the Blackhawks would take that all day. If Martone turns into a power-play specialist while being a threat to shoot or thread passes through tight spaces, then the Blackhawks should also be on board with that. Even if he ends up being a middle-six winger with the IQ and skillset to elevate the linemates he plays with, that would still be a very valuable addition to this roster. There’s also the possibility that he becomes both of these things, and more, at the NHL level. With his floor being so high, the Blackhawks should be more than willing to bet on Martone, considering their positional and organizational needs, even if it takes longer for him to adjust to the speed of the NHL. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
