Porter Martone
2025 NHL Draft Eligible
Position: RW, Shoots: R
H/W: 6-foot-3, 207 pounds
Date of Birth: 2006-10-26
Stats to Date: 52 GP - 31G - 60A - 91PTS
Porter Martone entered the year as a likely top five pick, and it was apparent why. He fell just four points short of Michael Misa (with seven less games played than the Saginaw standout) for the league lead in 2023-24 DY-1 scoring. While Misa has pulled further ahead of Martone, he still boasts the second highest point totals among draft year OHL’ers.
At times, it’s clear that Martone is the most dominant puck carrier in the draft. His on-puck skills are poised to make a significant impact at the NHL level. Martone is able to achieve success with his quick passes and set himself up for return feeds in dangerous positions. For a bigger guy, Martone has solid skating, and when he gets a head of steam, he can beat defenders to the outside with his fakes and hands. When Martone looks to make a stretch pass, he is nearly flawless, placing pucks perfectly on his teammates’ sticks.
However, like all prospects, Martone isn’t perfect. Too often, he’ll slip a check with a swift deke, break into the offensive zone, and drive deep behind the net… only to blindly throw the puck to the slot where nobody is. Through the 19 Martone games I’ve watched so far throughout the year, I haven’t seen a huge jump in development. Although this could have been expected given he is a pretty physically mature October birthday, the main issues I’ve had with Martone are his wavering off-puck impact and his inconsistencies when passing. That being said, Martone undoubtedly remains in my second tier of draft prospects, behind only Schaefer, Misa, and Hagens.
If Martone can learn to refine his playmaking game and continue learning how to use the elite tools he possesses effectively, he can be a top-line skill winger in the NHL and earn power play usage.
Skating
Skating is a category where Martone is solid but doesn’t necessarily excel. Martone’s skating is greatly aided by his incredible hands, which allow him to fake defenders out and cut around them. Porter’s hands are in turn complemented by his ability to accelerate quickly through his crossovers. This is the only part of his skating could truly consider to be near elite. Sometimes, it’s almost like he hits a speed boost when he drives into his crossovers and as a result can easily beat defenders if they aren’t able to get a body on him.
While Martone, standing at 6-foot-3, 207 lbs, certainly can look speedy for his size, his skating doesn’t quite have that second gear to beat defenders by itself. The top speed is around average and is enough to allow him to maintain separation on breakaways and odd man rushes but isn’t quite proficient enough to create them.
Martone’s skating after starting from a standstill is also relatively poor compared to other top prospects, as his first few steps lack swiftness when moving in a straight line.
Martone’s stance when not building speed can be fairly upright, which negatively impacts his stability and puck protection. Since Martone’s center of gravity is higher off the ice, it enables opponents to throw him off balance and prevents him from building as much speed compared to if he were lower to the ice.
One move that Martone executes well with his feet is a lateral step when attempting a toe drag. Porter starts in a wide stance and cuts to the side, pulling the puck into his feet and establishing body positioning between the defender and the puck. That being said, he could further improve his edge work and mobility in small spaces to complete moves quicker.
Martone would benefit from working to make his stride quicker and more explosive, but it isn’t a huge blemish on his overall profile.
In this clip, Martone turns on jets with a cross-over acceleration to build good speed in just a few strides. If Porter could work on incorporating this level of speed more often when entering the zone, he could attack the middle more rather than getting forced to the outside.
Here, Martone attempts a cut back to beat the forward in the neutral zone but lacks the immediate burst of speed needed to box out the Barrie forward.
In this clip, he starts from a near standstill position, and we can see that his feet are a little on the slow end when accelerating.
Here, Porter makes a nice toe drag move at near top speed to make the defender lunge before hooking back around and setting up a scoring chance. This is a good example of Martone using his feet to create space.
Overall, while I have been critical of Martone’s skating, he is above average in this category (especially for his size) and I expect he makes the tweaks needed to become a well-rounded skater given he'll be a top pick and have high-level training staff at his disposal.
Grade: 52.5
Shot
Porter Martone has 31 goals in 52 games this year, placing him third in the OHL among first time draft eligibles behind Michael Misa and Jake O’Brien. However, when evaluating these totals, it’s important to break them down further to understand where Martone excels as a shooter and where his shot still needs refinement.
Below is a map overlaying the historically most dangerous shooting locations (High-Danger Area, HDA) with Martone’s goal locations. Notably, all but seven of his goals have come from within this high-danger zone.
To analyze this further, in reviewing all the available goals, and categorizing them into three distinct types (unfortunately, video footage was unavailable for one goal located at the top of the crease due to broadcast issues):
- Not Shooting-Action Goals - This includes deflections, tap-ins, batted pucks, wrap-arounds, and deke finishes where the puck isn’t elevated.
- Goals from High Danger Areas - This includes all goals with any type of shooting motion (slapshot, wrist shot, snapshot, etc.) taken from within the red rectangle.
- Goals from Outside High Danger Areas - This includes any goal involving a shooting motion taken from outside the red rectangle.
From the breakdown, around 80% of Martone’s goals come from within the HDA. While it’s expected that most goals will be scored from prime scoring areas, Martone is particularly reliant on generating offense closer to the net, utilizing his quick reflexes rather than beating goaltenders from distance with explosiveness and power. He thrives on scoring off the rush, positioning himself well for tap-ins, and using his quick release to finish in high-danger spots. The latter method of scoring will very likely translate well to the NHL due to Martone’s snappy, powerful release and deception.
When Martone does score from beyond the HDA, his most effective weapon is his toe-drag release. This shot has been deceptive and effective, and with further refinement, it could become a legitimate tool at the NHL level. Throughout my viewings, I’ve seen Martone repeatedly freeze goaltenders with this move.
A player who found early success with a similar move was Toronto Maple Leafs’ captain Auston Matthews. While Martone’s version isn’t quite on that level, it’s no stretch to say he could regularly beat NHL goaltenders with this shot. By increasing the speed of his lateral pull-in, this move could become a signature weapon in his shooting arsenal.
As a whole, Martone’s understanding of lateral movement to make life tough for opposing goalies makes him that much more dangerous. He loves to readjust angles on goalies using his superb hands.
While Martone’s curl-and-drag release shows promise but wouldn’t count on him to score from distance unless a few changes are made. When given time and space, Martone generates above-average power on his shot. But too often, he fires a weaker shot that is harmlessly absorbed by the goalie. By consistently maximizing the power behind each attempt, he could find more success from outside high-danger areas.
Martone could also improve his efficiency by refining his shot selection. Many of his attempts come from difficult angles where even elite shooters struggle to score. When driving toward the goal line, he needs to be more selective and cut down on low-percentage shots from angles that historically have a shooting success rate of 2% or lower.
I believe by the time Martone establishes himself as an NHL regular, his shot will be confidently above average at a grade of 57.5, given he makes a few of the previously mentioned improvements.
What makes this shot so dangerous is the lateral movement combined with a disguised release. Martone begins with the puck at a wide angle, quickly pulls it in close to his feet, and fires from a difficult-to-read position. This motion serves two key purposes:
- It forces the goalie to track both the puck’s lateral movement and the shot release at the same time, increasing the chances of a misread.
- It helps Martone sidestep defenders, making it harder to block compared to a standard wrist shot.
In this clip, Martone shows off his ability to receive difficult passes and finishes the play by ripping a perfectly placed shot past the goalie. Martone’s shot off the rush is lethal.
Blink and you’ll miss this absolute laser by Martone. He kicks his leg up and puts everything into this perfect shot.
This shot is very effective and probably should have netted Martone a few more goals, as throughout my viewings I’ve seen Martone freeze goaltenders with this move only to narrowly ring it off the post/crossbar.
Martone switches up the angle on the goaltender with a curl and drag and a sidestep to get a grade A scoring chance.
Grade: 57.5
Skills
Martone’s best assets are his incredible skills, which allow him to beat opposing skaters and goalies alike. Martone’s top-end talent is what has elevated him into the considerations for a top five overall selection.
One of the first things that stands out when watching Brampton play is the sheer raw ability Martone possesses with the puck. Whether he’s cutting off the wall into the middle of the ice or attacking through the heart of the ice off the rush, his hands are elite and give him the ability to create offense in various ways.
As previously noted in the skating section, Martone’s hands do a good job at masking his average skating… but on the other hand, his skating does hurt the effectiveness of his skill moves. The most dangerous puckhandlers at the NHL level execute skill plays at high speeds, which creates greater separation and forces defenders to react later than they would against slower-moving attackers. As players rise through the ranks of junior hockey and reach the NHL, many face difficulties executing the moves they once could in the slower pace of junior hockey. I know Porter Martone can execute his moves at a higher level of speed, as I’ve seen during quite a few viewings; however, he needs to show it more often and attack with explosiveness.
In terms of passing skills, Martone has a variety of releases he likes to use, and for the most part, his passing accuracy is pretty good. If Martone has a pass knocked away or misses his target, it usually is an error in decision-making or a teammate mistake.
Overall, I expect Martone’s skill to become even more impactful as he refines his offensive approach and plays with more pace. His natural ability with the puck is among the best in this draft class, and with further refinement, he can develop into a top-line, high-skill forward at the NHL level.
A nice drive to the right with conviction by Martone here; he executes this move with strength, cutting past the defender and opening a lane to shoot.
In this clip, Martone showcases his slick hands after building up speed through the neutral zone. As he enters the offensive zone, he quickly shifts laterally, attacking the open ice in the middle before firing a shot.
Under pressure while stationary, Martone displays his creativity and poise. Instead of forcing a play, he taps the puck through the defender’s legs, steps around him, and dishes a pass. This is a great example of his ability to evade pressure from a standstill using deception and quick hands.
Here, Martone combines his skills and smarts to create a dangerous opportunity for his teammate. He enters the zone and executes a super quick move to open a passing lane deeper into the zone. He then completes the pass perfectly with both speed and precision.
Although this play doesn’t result in a goal, it highlights a move Martone frequently uses to create offense. His lateral cut helps him escape a defender’s reach and opens shooting or passing lanes. As mentioned earlier, this move becomes even more effective when executed at a higher speed, reinforcing the need for Martone to attack more aggressively with his skating.
Martone’s one-timer slapshot doubles as an effective pass disguise, as seen in this assist. He sells the one-timer prior to receiving the puck before delivering a perfectly placed pass to set up the scoring chance.
Martone slips by both Oshawa players with a pivot and dishes a flip pass to his teammate to ice the game. Martone shows off his quick chip release to ensure the pass gets through.
This play shows off Martone’s beautiful pass timing. Martone barely has time to see where his teammate is, yet still delivers a perfect pass under the defender’s stick.
A skilled and composed finish from Martone as he sneaks behind the defense, cuts across the net, and forces the goaltender to bite before tucking in a smooth backhand goal. This play demonstrates his ability to recognize gaps in coverage and utilize his skills to finish the play.
Grade: 60
Smarts
Porter Martone is a smart hockey player and will be a creative NHL’er that finds ways to get to dangerous areas. He finds ways to attack the middle of the ice and get into high-danger areas when he has the puck in the offensive zone. Whether it’s with a toe drag to slip past a defender and fire on net or by driving in from the point and faking out an opponent, Martone can effectively get to the net in many different ways. He understands how to manipulate defenders to allow him to slip by untouched. In fact, Martone’s understanding of how to win man-on-man rush offense drills is what helps him overcome the slower pace at which he attacks these situations. Martone’s pass timing (aside from no-look passes) is impressive. His mental clock allows him to find the right time to stop up inside the blue line and find his teammates breaking in with accurate passes.
Martone’s smarts in transition don’t end there, though. Porter has a knack for working the give and go in small spaces. To do this, Martone dishes off a pass to a teammate and seeks out a lane for a return feed where he poses as an offensive threat. This ability is very translatable when advancing through the ranks of hockey, as it’s used more and more to evade pressure and move the puck at a faster pace.
Martone does have clear weaknesses when discussing his smarts, however. Too often, he dives down into the zone with the puck and beats his man to the outside with a deke and pushes towards the goal line, only to spin and fire a pass to the slot without looking. If you were to spin and fire a no-look pass anywhere, the best place would be the slot. However, he does this at a rate that I’m a little concerned about. Again, one of Martone’s best tricks is drawing defenders in and kicking out a no-look pass to give his teammate an advantage. Being able to do this is the sign of a very skilled player who elevates those around him. But when he throws these passes in a rushed fashion, often without scanning, it’s counterproductive and often results in turnovers.
Another minor thing it would be remiss to mention is the typical high turnover rate of a star junior player trying a bit too much. Yes, Martone has a ton of turnovers from trying creative plays, but in this case it doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Prospects need time to figure out what works and what doesn’t and refine how they execute the former. As far as I’m concerned, Porter should continue to be encouraged to try new things, as it’s apparent he has a flair for creative plays.
On the defensive side, Martone’s intelligence is above average. He recognizes when a threat is left unguarded and switches off to neutralize them. He does a solid job of using his reach to pressure defensemen but lacks the explosive first few steps to truly make them scramble. During board battles, Martone uses his IQ well, regularly circling around the player and attacking the puck from the opposite side. He has a high win rate when trying to take the puck off attackers due to his strength and body positioning. On the forecheck, Martone knows how to use his long reach to take away lanes for a passing breakout and to put pressure on the defenseman.
Very nice assist here by Martone. For 99% of prospects, this is a simple no-brainer shot, but Martone executes a nice pass for the tap-in. This no-look pass is yet another tool in the enormous arsenal of Porter Martone.
In this clip, Martone is attentive and reads the eyes of the defender well while staying in coverage on his man. He picks off the pass and pushes it ahead for his teammate. However, once he gets the return feed, Martone tries a backhand pass that is nearly impossible. He loves these long lateral in-zone passes, but this is not one that would get completed in the NHL.
In this clip, Martone is backtracking in his own zone. He opts to try to push a backhand pass to his teammate while under pursuit and commits a giveaway. In this case, Martone needs to be a bit more patient and either maintain control and circle around his net or make this a bank pass off the boards to the same teammate.
Every action in this clip, Martone moves with conviction and intention, bouncing out to the line and pivoting to open a lane and then wiring the puck down to his teammate for a high-danger scoring chance.
Martone’s usage of the lateral pass to move play to the open side of the ice is displayed in this clip, where he shifts the play to the far side and back to give his teammate room to operate.
Grade: 57.5
Physicality/Compete
Unlike many other scouts' opinions on Martone, I don’t believe he will develop into a gritty, physical power forward like Matthew and Brady Tkachuk. While he certainly has the potential to be as skilled as they are, I just don’t see the same relentless pursuit of loose pucks, the eagerness to throw big hits in open ice, or the constant engagement in play. I understand why many want him to be the next high-skill power forward or Canada’s answer to the Tkachuk brothers; however, he would be much more of an off-puck threat if he learned to use his frame and effort more effectively. That said, I don’t believe this is the style of game Martone plays or even wants to play. This is not necessarily a criticism of him, but rather my perspective on the style of game he is likely to play at the next level. I believe he will thrive as a skilled forward at the top of an NHL lineup, using his body effectively to win puck battles while showing flashes of high compete when needed.
Porter Martone isn’t a guy who’s regularly going to be a bruiser, crushing opponents into the boards. But, at his large size, he’ll definitely be able to hold his own in the NHL. Martone usually opts to stop up before his hits and pushes his opponents into the boards. When he does try to gear up for a larger hit, he often loses balance after, but this is bound to be resolved as he transitions to the pros. Martone doesn’t engage in contact a ton when trying to break to the inside. He prefers to let his skills take control, so he doesn’t need to lean on defenders.
What Martone lacks in bone-crushing hits, he makes up for in peskiness and definitely has a mean streak. Whether it’s shoving a player to the ice, getting involved after the whistle, or getting opposing players to take shots at him, he has shown an affinity for pest-like behaviour. There’s definitely a good shot he ends up being an infamous instigator in the NHL, similar to guys like Brad Marchand and Corey Perry. As of mid-March, Martone has drawn 35 penalties and taken 37, definitely not a bad ratio. A lot of times when Martone is getting under the opponent’s skin and setting the tone for the game, he baits them into taking a retaliatory call.
Martone often does this move where he just gives the puck carrier a little shove to knock them off balance. It’s usually a passive move to get back at the player rather than directly trying to get the puck.
Here, we see Martone refusing to be pushed around after the whistle with a whack on the opponent’s shins and a crosscheck.
Following in that theme, here’s Martone taking a big swing to the leg of an Oshawa defender on the backend of a frustrating game. It’s plays like this that show he’s got a mean streak.
Martone pulls a UFC move here, delivering a hip drop that slams his opponent’s head into the ice before firing the Colts player’s helmet back at him. Moments like this will make his future team’s fans love him… and the rest of the league hate him.
This play is a very good example of Martone using his physicality effectively. He puts backward pressure on the forward and knocks him over, causing him to lose control of the puck. As previously mentioned, Martone sometimes loses his balance when trying to make physical plays in motion. Here he loses control and falls.
Martone’s compete level is solid, but the main qualm is his inconsistent intensity. At times, he shows impressive engagement, tracking back on the rush and disrupting opponents with well-timed stick pokes. However, he doesn’t rely on a high-energy defensive game. Instead, he plays with an opportunistic approach.
One of his strengths is his ability to pickpocket attackers in transition. He has a knack for lifting sticks at the right moment to turn play the other way in an instant. His quick hands and strong anticipation allow him to create turnovers without playing an overly physical style. However, while Martone is effective in these situations, he isn’t particularly active in board battles. He can hold his own but doesn’t consistently seek out those battles or use his frame to impose himself defensively.
Given his high-end skill set, Martone doesn’t need to be a high-motor, relentless defensive forward, but it would be good to see a more consistent level of defensive engagement from him. He has shown flashes of strong effort when needed, but the frequency is lacking. I will for sure be watching to see if he elevates his compete level when the stakes are higher in the OHL playoffs. If he can bring this urgency on a regular basis, it would add another layer to his game and make him more well-rounded.
This is a good example of Martone watching for the long zone exit pass attempt and attacking as soon as the pass hits the opponent’s stick. Martone executes this play frequently and generates lots of opportunities going the other way as a result.
This clip is a common occurrence where Martone skates to get involved on the forecheck but doesn’t quite have that level of intensity to put pressure on the skater trying to break out the puck. This same situation happens in the defensive zone where Martone is there and ready to engage but doesn’t quite drive into the battle with enough purpose.
Again here, Martone pursues a forechecking opportunity and tries to cut off a pass. With a little more intensity, he likely gets to this puck and can make a play. This very well could be related to the fact that it’s the OHL regular season and the Steelheads have been a playoff lock since the preseason. It will be interesting to assess the level of compete we see come playoff time.
This clip starts off with Martone losing the puck on a breakout. He then half chases the forward into the zone before gliding over to the next puck carrier. Again, good intent; just going bit faster would be amazing to see. He makes a nice play after covering the Sudbury player going to the net.
Martone demonstrates strong backchecking intensity, a consistent aspect of his off-puck game. He frequently tracks back, lifting the opponent’s stick to disrupt possession, allowing a teammate to regain control and transition play with a lead pass.
Overall, for physicality and compete combined, you have to place some level of trust in Martone to improve this aspect as he transitions to pro hockey and playing with men. It’s a given he’ll get stranger considering his frame, and he’ll only grow more comfortable in physical play. Although it may rub some people the wrong way, not all skill players who have been top five locks the whole season and whose teams have comfortably been in playoff position the whole season are going to be killing themselves charging in on the forecheck every play. What will be more telling is Martone’s compete during the OHL playoffs and during NHL camps next year as he tries to earn a spot. A physicality/compete rating of 55 is fair all things considered, even if at the moment it seems high.
Martone’s effort vs. Sudbury on Feb 12th was noticeably different from some of his other recent performances from that time. This game may be a more realistic image of what Martone’s compete will look like at the NHL level. In this clip he isn’t charging guys into the boards and exploding towards them; instead, he’s putting in effort to disrupt the power play unit’s breakout using his length and uses his body positioning to gain control of the puck and toss it back to his teammates.
Grade: 55
OFP: 56.375
A note on the 20-80 scale used above. We look at five attributes (skating, shooting, puck skills, hockey IQ and physicality) for skaters and six for goalies (athleticism/quickness, compete/temperament, vision/play reading, technique/style, rebound control and puck handling). Each individual attribute is graded along the 20-80 scales, which includes half-grades. The idea is that a projection of 50 in a given attribute meant that our observer believed that the player could get to roughly NHL average at that attribute at maturity.