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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Flyers Draft Porter Martone: Pick Grade, Instant Reaction
The Flyers passed on a center, taking Porter Martone sixth overall. (Photo: Kirby Lee, Imagn Images) The Philadelphia Flyers hit a home run Friday night, picking winger Porter Martone sixth overall atop the 2025 NHL Draft. Martone, 18, featured alongside future Flyers teammates Travis Sanheim, Tyson Foerster, and Travis Konecny whilst playing for Canada during the 2025 World Championships last month. Advertisement But, playing with and against NHL caliber players wasn't Martone's only feat of excellence on the international stage recently. The Flyers' newest top prospect stood out to Danny Briere and the Philly brass at the 2024 U18 Men's World Championships last year, scoring five goals, 12 assists, and 17 points in seven games, captaining his nation to a gold medal and finishing third in the tournament in scoring behind only James Hagens and teammate Gavin McKenna. The 18-year-old scored 37 goals, 61 assists, and 98 points in 57 games with the Brampton Steelheads this season, also captaining the OHL outfit. Martone is a sniper, a natural leader, and a developing, skilled playmaker with room to grow, literally and figuratively. NHL Draft 2025: Can (or should) the Flyers draft Porter Martone? NHL Draft 2025: Can (or should) the Flyers draft Porter Martone? With a guaranteed top six pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers have an array of potentially franchise-altering options at their disposal. But is Porter Martone, a winger in the purest sense, one of them? Advertisement At 6-foot-3, Martone brings the size the Flyers lack, especially at the winger position. Konecny, Matvei Michkov, and Bobby Brink are all shorter than 6-foot, though it's reasonable to assume someone will eventually have to move to make space for Martone in the NHL lineup. Grade: A Martone is a big, sometimes physical player who plays a lot like Michkov and Matthew Tkachuk in terms of his playmaking and the way he sees the game. The dreaded Flyers power play is a major factor as to why they had such a high pick to begin with, and Martone, even at his current age, would provide a massive boost there alongside fellow newcomer Trevor Zegras. Advertisement He'll shoot, pass, take one-timers, and get to the front of the net all the same, and the Flyers have too many players who do only one of those things. Martone will have to get bigger, stronger, and meaner to live up to the Tkachuk comparisons, but the skill level is already so high. The logistics complicate things, but Martone turns 19 on Oct. 26, shortly after opening night. Conceivably, he could be an NHL player with the talent, maturity, and size he has. But should you do it because you can? The Flyers will answer that in due time, but with the sixth pick in the NHL Draft, they landed the best winger, and one of the best offensive talents, by far.
CBC
04-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Canada cruises to 2nd straight U18 world men's hockey title for 1st time
Brady Martin scored twice, netminder Jack Ivankovic stopped 28 shots, and Canada whipped Sweden 7-0 in the under-18 world men's hockey championship gold-medal game on Saturday at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. Xavier Villeneuve, Jackson Smith, Ethan Czata, Braeden Cootes and Jack Nesbitt also scored for Canada, which led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 heading into the third. Ben Kindel chipped in with a pair of assists. Fourteen players registered at least one point for the champions. The victory gave Canada consecutive gold medals at the under-18 championship for the first time. And Ivankovic, who played this season for the Brampton Steelheads of the Ontario Hockey League, went 144 minutes 53 seconds without allowing a goal in Texas. He finished with back-to-back shutouts. Sweden, which was coming off an emotional 4-3 semifinal win over the United States on Friday, didn't appear to have much left in the tank for the aggressive Canadians, who blanked Slovakia 4-0 in Friday's other semifinal. "What a great feeling," said Canadian head coach Cory Stillman. "[It's been a] long season for these guys and you always want to finish the season with a championship with your club team. If that doesn't pan out, you get to represent your country and that's pretty special. "We got better as the tournament went on. Tonight, was the best game we played, and we came out winners." Jackson Smith, who played for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League this past season, was thrilled to win the gold medal. "This was one of the closest teams I've ever been on," said Smith. "We came together quick, didn't have a ton of time to get to know each other but that didn't matter. It showed out there with how we played tonight, we are truly a team. This is an incredible feeling. "There is nothing better than winning gold for Canada, and to do it twice [2024 Hlinka-Gretzky] is extra special. Hopefully, this is just the start for me and these guys." Ivankovic and Martin were named to the tournament all-star team, an award voted on by the IIHF and tournament directorate. Ivankovic was also named best goaltender of the tournament. Ben Kevan OT hero for Americans Ben Kevan's goal at 5:37 of overtime lifted the United States to a 4-3 victory over Slovakia in Saturday's bronze-medal game. Jan Chovan of Slovakia scored with 6:47 left in the third period to force the extra session. Blake Fiddler, Jacob Kvasnicka and Cole McKinney also scored for the Americans, who led 1-0 after the first period but trailed 2-1 heading into the third. Michal Svrcek scored twice for the Slovakians, who were outshot 33-26.
