The Philadelphia Flyers are being represented by six prospects at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships in Minnesota this week and the first day was highlighted by Porter Martone being the perfect little agitator in a big win for Canada over Czechia.
It was a tough game for Canada as they faced the very team that caused that entire nation heartbreak a year ago, as they exited the tournament earlier than expected and millions of hockey fans started to question the decision making of those in charge of the Under-20 team. It was a back-and-forth affair as there were four total game-tying goals in the eventual 7-5 win for Canada.
Sure, Calgary Flames defenseman prospect Zayne Parekh scored two goals as revenge for not making last year’s team, or Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage earned three points, or projected top pick for next year’s draft Gavin McKenna finished with two assists — but the real star of the show was our own Martone as he ended the game in hilarious and contentious fashion.
The Flyers top prospect managed to score the empty-net goal to put Czechia to bed and after knowing that his team was going to walk away with a win, Martone went by the opposing bench on his way to celebrate with his teammates, and tapped the rear end of Czechia forward Adam Novotny. It was a perfect little way to get under the skin of the opponent but unfortunately, Martone was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and got his second minor penalty of the game.
Porter Martone was called for unsportsmanlike conduct following his empty net goal. #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/EDcGHM8AHY
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 27, 2025
God, it’s just so good. Something that makes you stand up and point and shout “That’s my f–king guy!!” To show that level of being able to just ruffle some feathers on the biggest stage of his young career so far, is something we can all be proud of.
The Flyers are obviously notorious for players being able to do this and while this season has gone on surprisingly well in terms of wins and (overtime) losses, the main contributor to these extra curriculars in Travis Konecny, has not been focusing a whole lot on that aspect of his game. Maybe Martone potentially joining the Flyers later this season, or at the very latest at training camp next fall, will really make this team the most annoying team to play against once again.
Outside of the game-finishing cheeky tactics, Martone played a more subdued game. He led Canadian forwards in ice-time by over two minutes and only goal-scorer Parekh was able to equal Martone in his five shots on goal. But still, there’s a sense that there could be so much more coming from the Flyers top prospect and that should be a little terrifying for every other team in the tournament.
Martone will get another chance to be a little bit of an agitator and score some points against Latvia on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, we won’t be getting the infamous Canada vs. United States game on New Year’s Eve this year as the two nations are in different groups for some reason. Let’s hope that they meet in the final for some outstanding fireworks.
