Philadelphia Flyers winger Porter Martone saw his 2025-26 playing season officially conclude Sunday in Switzerland as Canada played Norway in the bronze medal game. Canada was down 2-0 with under two minutes to go but stormed back to tie the game in the dying seconds with a pair of goals by Robert Thomas, the last with eight seconds to go. Norway won the game in overtime 3-2. Although Martone didn’t register a point in the bronze medal game, he made his mark early in the competition with a goal and four assists in the first few games of the round robin segment.
However, Martone was moved off the top line, with the winger placed on the fourth line for most of the remainder of the tournament and elimination games. He never hit the scoresheet after that early run of points and was nailed for an embellishment penalty in the tournament. Overall, Martone proved at his still tender age that he could play against the world’s best. He was also on the ice for a shift in the final 76 seconds in the bronze medal game as Canada cut the deficit to 2-1 thanks to a Robert Thomas goal before Thomas struck again to tie things up. A 10-minute 4-on-4 overtime session with Norway’s Noah Steen potting the winner at 3:32 of the extra session.
Martone found himself on a line with San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby early in the tournament. And the chemistry between the trio seemed spooky at times. Martone earned a pair of assists against Sweden but saved his highlight reel assist for the ensuing game against Italy. With Canada up 2-0, Martone carried the puck behind the Italian net and looked to be limiting his chances going towards the blueline away from the net. However, with all five Italian players focusing on Martone, he rifled a ridiculous cross-ice pass to a waiting Celebrini who got all of the puck to make it 3-0. Canada won the game 6-0 and remained unbeaten.
THE CAPTAIN MACKLIN CELEBRINI WITH A ROCKET TO MAKE IT 3-0! 🇨🇦🚨 #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/6QJBxDcBEz
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 16, 2026
There was some speculation that Martone’s move down the lineup was due to injury or he was possibly banged up a bit, but nothing was confirmed by Team Canada during the tournament. However, Martone was on the line with Crosby and Celebrini again to start the game against Norway on Sunday.
Heading into the game Sunday, Martone averaged 9:25 of ice time and had 11 shots on goal over that time for a shooting percentage of 9.1. He was also a +5 in terms of plus/minus, most of which was garnered while on the line with Celebrini and Crosby. For a good portion of the rest of the tournament, Martone was with center Fraser Minten and Connor Brown on a fourth line that provided some energy and generated some chances, but not much else offensively. Martone’s ice time was also the lowest of all Canadian forwards who played every game in the tournament heading into the bronze medal game, and a full 3:30 below that of Minten. As well, Martone wasn’t quite able to get under the skin of many opponents. Yet, given the wider ice surface, and the fact a round-robin, single-elimination playoff tournament is far different than creating animosity against a rival over a seven-game series, it wasn’t seen as a huge negative in his overall play.
Whirlwind season for Martone
The World Hockey Championship capped off a remarkable season for Martone, representing Canada twice while also playing for Michigan State in the NCAA and the Flyers. He scored 50 points in 35 regular season games with the Spartans before their season ended in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Wisconsin in overtime.
Shortly thereafter, Martone signed with the Flyers and started his National Hockey League career, scoring four goals and adding six assists in nine games. He added two game-winning goals in the playoffs to go with three assists, giving him 15 points in 19 games with Philadelphia. And in the World Junior Championships Martone had six goals and three assists for nine points in seven games. Although the loss in the bronze medal game might sting a bit, Martone’s skill and presence should bode extremely well for the Flyers heading into 2026-27.
Can anything be taken from his performance for Team Canada at the Worlds?
The fact Martone played against elite competition on an international stage not once but twice this past season should be a feather in his cap. It should give him the confidence to know he can hang with some of the best in the world. Whether that translates into a great start into 2026-27 might be a stretch considering how one season can be vastly different than another, particularly for a young player who doesn’t have 20 National Hockey League games under his belt. It’s far better to see that Martone was used in every game and wasn’t a healthy scratch. But it might be a jump to suggest he hits the ground running as well as he did during the homestretch of the Flyers’ season simply from this international tournament.
Stats courtesy of IIHF.com and hockeydb.com.
