Flyers' Porter Martone makes most of hockey's unique pipeline timing

Flyers' Porter Martone makes most of hockey's unique pipeline timing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

This doesn't happen in any other sport.

But in hockey, a player can appear in an NCAA game and then an NHL playoff game less than  a month apart. And the Philadelphia Flyers sure are glad it works that way, because Porter Martone is already shining under the bright lights.

Martone was a star at Michigan State, which wrapped up its season not long ago.

Now, he's already a star for the Flyers, scoring a goal during their win over the Pittsburgh Penguins to open the playoffs on Saturday night.

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"College hockey is wild because Martone was playing at Michigan State three weeks ago, now he's scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs," wrote The Athletic's Chris Vannini on X.

The Flyers had made Martone a first-round pick, No. 6 overall, in the 2025 NHL Draft. But players don't have to sign right away.

That allowed Martone to play a final season with the Spartans before coming to the professional ranks.

His stock only grew with how impressive he was in the 2025-26 college hockey season, and the Flyers knew they wanted him when he was done.

So as soon as MSU concluded its campaign, the Flyers gave Martone his contract and he came to the NHL.

He scored four goals with six assists in nine games to close out the regular season, and now he's already on the playoff scoresheet.

It has to feel like a bit of a whirlwind for Martone, but what a start to his NHL career -- he hasn't wasted any time showing what he can do.