A little more than three weeks go, Porter Martone was still playing hockey at Michigan State when the Spartans suffered a devastating 4-3 NCAA regional final loss to Wisconsin on March 28.
Today, he's the talk of the NHL after his stunning first 11 games with the Philadelphia Flyers.
After signing with the Flyers the day after that MSU loss to the Badgers, the 19-year-old Martone has burst onto the NHL scene, scoring 10 points in the final nine regular-season games to help lead Philadelphia into the playoffs. And he's only gotten better in his first two playoff games.
Martone is the first teenager in Stanley Cup Playoff history to record the game-winning goals in his first two postseason games, helping the Flyers grab a massive 2-0 series lead with two road wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins as the series now heads to Philadelphia.
WHAT A SHOT 🎯PORTER MARTONE RIPS ONE HOME IN HIS FIRST EVER GAME IN THE #STANLEYCUP PLAYOFFS! 🇺🇸: @espn🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/OyGrs7AgrV
Martone's outstanding start to his pro career has brought invaluable positive attention to the MSU hockey program. Martone has given MSU's staff, in particular coach Adam Nightingale, a ton of praise for the role they played in his development when he led the Spartans, who won their third straight Big Ten regular-season title, in points with 25 goals and 25 assists and was a First Team All-American.
“I think I really found my identity as a player and who I needed to be to be successful,” Martone said in a press conference after signing with the Flyers. “I think (Nightingale) really forced me to play below the hash marks, play in front of the net. He told me when I got to (MSU), which is the truth — if I want to play at the NHL level, I’m going to have to play at a faster pace. That’s something that I really worked on there.”
Despite playing at MSU for just one season, Martone has described himself as a "Spartan for life." He joined MSU after playing three seasons in the OHL and was named as MSU's Most Outstanding Rookie and Most Outstanding Offensive Player at the team awards gathering on April 16.
“I look back, and I guess the best decision I ever made [was] to go in there to Michigan State,” Martone said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I have a ton of thanks to Adam Nightingale and the whole staff there. They did a tremendous job developing me, and I really learned what it’s like to be part of a winning culture and winning team there.”
Before Martone joined the Flyers, Philadelphia General Manager Danny Briere was complimentary of the MSU program as well, saying the decision to encourage Martone to play a season at the NCAA level was the right move.
“The amount of time he spent in the gym, you can see in his body how it’s changed," Briere said before Martone's debut. "It’s almost going from a teenager to a man. It was a good stepping stone for him. We feel he’s developed nicely physically and mentally, and almost close to being ready to be in the NHL. We’ll see in the next few weeks.”
That statement proved to be more prophetic than Briere or anyone else could have imagined.
Martone and the Flyers play the Penguins in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff series at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 22.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State hockey earns praise after Porter Martone's blazing NHL start