Star Philadelphia Flyers prospect Porter Martone has all-world skill, and that's why he was made a top draft pick, but there are other elements of his game that should be talked about more.
Martone, 19, is developing the physical element of his game as he ages, matures, and grows into his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame, which is complemented by a sniper's shot and some elite playmaking.
Physicality, in the way of throwing hits and controlling small areas, is a surefire method to annoy opponents and establish himself as a hard-to-play-against player, but, lately, we've been shown signs that Martone has much more in his toolkit than that. We're talking about mind games, here.
In his first game of the 2026 World Junior Championships, Martone potted an empty-net goal to secure Canada's 7-5 win over Czechia and added an unusual wrinkle to his celebration.
On his way over to the bench, the Flyers' No. 6 overall pick opted to give Czechia forward Adam Novotny a sarcastic pat on the rear. "Nice job letting me score," or something to that effect.
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Martone was issued a formal warning by the IIHF for his actions and drew the ire of Czechia captain Petr Sikora, who also said Martone had "no respect" as Canada's captain.
According to the IIHF, the warning "can be used in further disciplinary cases involving Martone to determine the potential level of sanctioning for any other actions."
The Flyers prospect and the Canadians caught further flak from the national media after more and more people caught on to the fact that the two nations didn't shake hands after the game.
Martone and Canada both apologized for the incidents, and that was that... right? Well, Martone is still going out of his way to be a pest, just in a more tame manner.
On New Year's Eve, Martone and Canada squared off with Finland; the 19-year-old picked up an assist and an opponent's glove.
The assist went in the net, of course, while a Finland player's glove was thrown into the Canadian bench. Brad Marchand-esque, one might say.
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"Oh man, I didn't think anyone saw that," Martone joked after the game, as quoted by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects.
The Flyers have quite a few agitators in their ranks already, headlined by Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, Nikita Grebenkin, and Denver Barkey, and they'll have another one join them soon once Martone makes the leap to the NHL.
Like Michkov, Martone will have to learn to pick his spots against bigger, stronger, older adults at the NHL level, but he's well on his way to mastering the art of getting under his opponents' skin, following in the footsteps of Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Marchand.