Porter Martone, the 18-year-old winger selected by the Philadelphia Flyers as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, will play for Michigan State in the upcoming 2025-26 season according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
Martone played in the 2024-25 season for the Ontario Hockey League’s Brampton Steelheads, where he put up 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 games played. There had been questions about whether Martone would play college hockey in the United States or continue his career on the junior circuit.
The addition of Martone is a big pickup for the Spartans, who lost forward Isaac Howard on July 8 after the Hobey Baker Award winner signed an entry-level contract with the Edmonton Oilers. Howard was originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 31st overall pick in 2022, but was traded to the Oilers following his junior season at Michigan State.
Unlike in the other major North American professional sports, players drafted to an NHL team are allowed to continue their college careers while their professional team retains the player’s draft rights.
The Spartans won their second consecutive Big Ten title in the 2024-25 season, beating Ohio State 4-3 in double overtime in the Big Ten championship game with Howard scoring the winning goal. However, the No. 2 overall seed Spartans lost to Cornell 4-3 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, which was eventually won by Western Michigan.
Players from one of the three Canadian junior hockey leagues (Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, Western Hockey League, OHL) were originally banned from playing NCAA hockey since the NCAA previously considered them professionals, eliminating their amateur status. However, the NCAA ruled on Nov. 7, 2024, that some players from the Canadian junior leagues would be eligible to play NCAA hockey.