Just as everyone expected, top Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone has elected to go the college route, committing to Michigan State on Monday. But, what's next?
Rather than potentially risk having to return to an OHL Brampton Steelheads team mostly devoid of talent outside of himself, Martone, 18, will now get to test his hand against the bigger, stronger, older powers of the NCAA.
It helps, too, that Michigan State will effectively be the inverse of the Steelheads, packed to the brim with talents like goalie Trey Augustine, top 2024 draft pick Cayden Lindstrom, draft classmates Eric Nilson and Ryker Lee, and fellow Flyers prospect Shane Vansaghi.
The best thing for the young Martone is the NCAA, of course, which is why he went this direction. With the age disparity and a greater concentration of NHL-caliber talents, we can consider the NCAA a stepping stone at a level between CHL junior hockey and the AHL.
And, if all goes according to plan in the next year, Martone won't be seeing the AHL anyway.
The Flyers' No. 6 overall pick was already somewhat drawing consideration to compete for an NHL roster spot, but he and the team, obviously, settled on the NCAA instead of deciding a path after training camp, the preseason, and all those auxiliary processes.
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The 2025-26 season is going to be all about routine, forming and honing pro habits, and putting on weight for Martone.
Remember, he's already 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, but he's also still a teenager. There's room for more there when it comes to play strength and, perhaps most importantly, explosiveness, which can come with stronger legs.
Then, looking ahead, Martone will be 20 years old next October and should, ideally, be ready to make the jump into NHL competition by then.
We'll see if fellow first-round pick Jett Luchanko, who probably would've been much better off taking the NCAA route himself, will also be ready by then.
Players like Christian Dvorak, Nick Deslauriers, and Bobby Brink are all on the last (or only) years of their respective contracts, which will invariably open the door for some of the young guns to join the Flyers and swipe a roster spot.
Whether one of those spots goes to Martone remains to be seen, but the timeline and development path seems to indicate the Flyers believe this will be the case in 14 months.