It didn’t take long for the Flyers to scoop up and sign their top prospect to his entry-level contract after exiting the NCAA tournament. A true game-changing young player is coming to Philadelphia.
According to multiple reports on Sunday morning, the Flyers will be signing winger Porter Martone to a three-year, entry-level contract. More specifically, will be getting it done by the afternoon. The day after the 19-year-old winger was knocked out of contention for a national championship with Michigan State, he has put pen to paper and is joining the NHL.
According to a source, Porter Martone’s entry-level contract with the #Flyers should be done this afternoon.
— Jackie Spiegel (@jackiespiegel93) March 29, 2026
Martone was selected by the Flyers at sixth overall in last year’s 2025 NHL Draft after captaining the OHL’s Brampton Steelheads and being one of the best players in junior hockey.
Less than 24 hours ago, Martone was playing in the NCAA regional final trying to will his Spartans past the underdog Wisconsin Badgers. Unfortunately, Michigan State came up short and let their opponents come back from a two-goal deficit to then win it very quickly in overtime and Martone’s college career was cut a couple games short.
Flyers sign top prospect Porter Martone to ELC
Martone had one of the best college seasons for a player his age in some time. He finishes his time in Michigan State as a one-and-done player but managed to score 25 goals and 50 points in just 35 games. His 1.43 points per game is fourth among all skaters in college hockey this season and only a handful of players in their Draft+1 seasons managed to produce at a higher rate since the 2010-11 season. We’re talking about the likes of Clayton Keller, Kyle Connor, and Will Smith — and frankly, none of those players had the feel of being as NHL-ready with a massive 6-foot-3 frame and lethal tools as Martone. Simply put, the Flyers top prospect had one of the best college seasons in the modern era at his age.
In the middle of that great freshman year, Martone went to the World Juniors to go be the captain of Team Canada. They ultimately finished short but the Flyers prospect led the entire tournament with six goals in addition to earning nine total points in six games.
While it was unfortunate for Martone and enjoyers of seeing the best players play deep in the NCAA tournament, an early exit now means that the Flyers can bring in the top prospect for a much longer stay in the NHL. If Martone and MSU won on Saturday and booked their ticket to the Frozen Four, the earliest that this signing could have likely happened is April 10. Now, instead of potentially just three games to get Martone’s feet wet, he could potentially play as many as nine if he were to make his NHL debut Tuesday in Washington against the Capitals.
Now with his entry-level contract signed, it confirms that there won’t be a patient approach considered with Martone. There won’t be the classic route of a college player signing their rookie deal to start the following season and then wrap up the year on an amateur try-out in the AHL to get ready for a big summer of training. That kind of path is reserved for older players like Alex Bump or (no offense) to lesser prospects like Cole Knuble — as we’ve seen with the Flyers in recent years.
Martone is now ready to make his NHL debut in the coming days. A prospect that most likely could’ve at least had a decent rookie year at 18 years old if he were to make the jump immediately, has now taken one year in the NCAA (thanks to the new agreement between the CHL, NCAA, and NHL) to develop his strength and skill and play in a much higher-pace environment than the OHL. A year later, he has looked like a much more complete and ready talent compared to where he finished in Brampton.
Now, he just needs to make that next step of making his NHL debut and we’re sure we’ll find out exactly when he’s going to do that very soon.
UPDATE: Flyers make it official
On Sunday afternoon, after just a few hours of rumors leaking through, the Flyers made it official that they have signed Martone to his three-year, entry-level contract.
OFFICIAL: We have signed forward Porter Martone to a three-year entry-level contract. https://t.co/dODZsHdwhf
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 29, 2026
The Flyers also made it official that he’s joining the NHL team for the remainder of the season, not bothering with any AHL nonsense for the former sixth-overall selection.
Martone is the first prospect from the Flyers’ 2025 draft class to sign a contract but is the fifth prospect to ink a deal within the last month and turn pro.
There is no official word on when he will be making his NHL debut with the Flyers but it all depends on how much of a priority they think easing him into the big-league schedule is. While it’s not official yet, it is extremely unlikely that he will be lacing up for the Flyers Sunday night against the Stars. But, he could certainly be making his debut Tuesday in Washington against the Capitals. With the team not practicing Monday, it just depends if they want him to get in a practice or not. If they want to take a patient approach, back home in Philadelphia on Thursday against the Red Wings is the most likely date for a debut.
Either way, Martone will be getting a minimum of eight games with the Flyers. This is all too exciting.
