While the 2026 World Junior Championships went awry in a hurry, this top Philadelphia Flyers prospect is taking his revenge out on the NCAA.
Standout youngster Porter Martone, who captained Canada at the World Juniors, saw his nation bounced at the hands of a 6-4 thriller that ultimately went to Czechia, but Canada did at least manage to win bronze by defeating Max Westergard, Heikki Ruohonen, and Finland by a score of 6-3.
Martone led the World Juniors in scoring with his six goals, finding the back of the net in five of his seven games.
Having returned back to Michigan State University playing in his first NCAA campaign, though, the Flyers' No. 1 prospect is continuing the mission.
Martone returned to collegiate action on Friday and wasted no time getting back on the score sheet, casually dropping two goals, two assists, and four points in a 6-2 thumping of Ohio State.
Ohio State did fight back and earn themselves a 2-1 win over Martone and Co. the next day, but Martone, who had Michigan State's only tally in that contest, finds himself on a five-game scoring streak dating back to a one-goal, one-assist performance in a 7-1 win over Slovakia on Jan. 2.
Injuries have started to hit the Flyers at the NHL level, with Bobby Brink and Travis Konecny going down with their bumps and bruises in addition to Tyson Foerster's (presumably) season-ending injury.
Should Martone carry this momentum through the remainder of his season over the course of the next 90 days, give or take, there is little doubt we could be seeing the 2025 No. 6 overall pick making his NHL debut for the Orange and Black in the spring.
It helps, of course, that the Flyers find themselves squarely in a playoff spot, which makes the possibility all the more exciting.