'He's a weapon' Porter Martone leads way for Canada ahead of World Juniors semifinal

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Porter Martone keeps getting asked to carry more.

More responsibility. More minutes. More expectations. 

And now, as Canada heads into the semifinals, he’s being asked to lead the nation to their first World Junior gold medal in three years. 

After a dominant quarter-final win against Slovakia on Friday night, Martone didn’t dance around it. With four goals and seven points in five games playing a top-line role, the Canadian captain summed it up simply:

“It’s gold medal or nothing.”

That's how it always is for Canada at this event. The pressure and expectations could not be higher, and Martone is relishing the opportunity. He isn’t floating through this tournament on talent alone. He’s been constantly searching for any edge to help his team win, with the puck or without it; during play, or after the whistle. 

That pattern didn’t start here.

Martone has been doing this for years with Hockey Canada. At the 2024 U18 World Championship, he captained the team to gold while putting up 17 points in seven games. Across his U18 Worlds career, he racked up 23 points in 14 games, the most by any Canadian ever at the event. 

He was asked to lead and deliver, and he did just that. 

Last spring, that trust escalated again. Martone was included on Canada’s men’s World Championship roster, skating in practices and games alongside a bevy of NHL superstars. For a teenager, that kind of exposure is rare. For Martone, it became another step in a steady climb upwards.

Team Canada associate coach Gardiner MacDougall saw how he handled it.

“He was around some of the best players in the world,” McDougall said. “That experience sticks with you.”

It shows in how Martone carries himself now. The pace doesn’t surprise him, and the expectations don’t overwhelm him. He’s already been forced to meet them.

That experience also framed the biggest decision of his development path.

After being selected sixth overall by the Philadelphia Flyers, Martone had options. He could have signed an entry-level contract immediately and tried to win a roster spot out of camp. Instead, he chose the long game. When NIL rule changes opened the door for CHL players to move into the NCAA, Martone opted to head to Michigan State. The Flyers gave him the freedom to make that choice, trusting the process rather than rushing the timeline.

The question was simple.

“What’s going to make me the best player in five to ten years?” Martone said earlier this season.

Michigan State offered that answer.

Adam Nightingale runs a demanding program. Practices are hard. Strength work is built into the week. Details matter. Players earn minutes, or they sit. It’s an environment that exposes weaknesses quickly.

Sixteen games into his freshman season, Martone has responded well.

His 11 goals and 20 points in 16 games place him among the NCAA’s U20 scoring leaders. Perhaps more important than the numbers is how they’ve come to be. Net-front finishes. Second-chance goals. Touch plays in tight. He’s not hanging out on the perimeter or waiting for plays to develop. He’s creating chances and finishing them.

Physically, the change has been noticeable. Martone has added close to ten pounds since arriving on campus while improving strength and body composition. That shows up in puck protection and contact sequences. He’s harder to move. He absorbs pressure and keeps plays alive.

“He wants the team to be great,” Nightingale said. “He’ll do a lot of things that help the team win hockey games outside of just producing points.”

An NHL scout put it even more succinctly.

“He’s a weapon. Great hands, and his vision is underrated. He sees the play extremely well. You don’t see true power forwards too often, but he’s one of them.”

That blend has translated at the World Juniors.

Heading into the final weekend of games, Martone sits among the tournament's top 10 scorers, but his production only tells part of the story. He’s been engaged away from the puck. He tracks back and supports low. He’s willing to take or create contact to extend possessions. When he isn’t scoring, he’s still impacting shifts.

He’s also walked the line between edge and control.

Martone has been something of pest at this event.  Against Czechia on opening night, he took an unsportsmanlike penalty for tapping a player on the backside as he headed to the bench after scoring. A few nights later, after a scrum against Finland, he picked up a loose glove, casually skated it to the Canadian bench and tossed it. None of it felt reckless. It felt calculated.

After that game, Martone laughed when asked about the glove: “Oh man, I didn’t think anyone saw that.”

What matters is that the edge hasn’t come at the expense of leadership.

When Canada was up big against Slovakia in the do-or-die quarter-final match, Martone was the one reinforcing restraint. In the second intermission, the message was clear.

“Just be really smart,” he said. “We don’t want to lose anyone for the semifinals. No suspensions, we don’t need that. Just be responsible, be respectful and just finish out that game.”

That balance is why he keeps earning trust.

“He’s a prototype Hockey Canada captain,” McDougall said.

There’s good situational awareness to his game. He plays with edge without letting it spill over, and that balance carries onto the bench.

There are still areas to refine. His pace remains the swing skill. Not on raw speed, but how quickly he moves pucks and makes decisions. It was the main question mark in his draft-eligible season, and early on with the Spartans, there were moments where Martone slowed things down too much, trying to hold plays instead of advancing them.

Those moments are becoming less frequent.

The college schedule has helped, with fewer games, more structured training, and more time for recovery. The result is a player sustaining pace deeper into games and handling physical matchups more consistently.

Martone doesn’t need elite speed. He needs enough to support everything else. His willingness to engage physically bridges the rest. He creates space. He absorbs pressure. He makes defenders uncomfortable.

“He’s constantly finding himself around the net front,” an NHL scout shared. “That’s where he creates problems.”

Now, Canada heads to the semifinals with Martone right at the forefront of it all.

He’s been involved, trusted in situations where the game can swing, and expected to manage them properly. There’s always an edge to how he plays, but it hasn’t bled into mistakes. When it was time to settle things down, he was a part of that message, too.

Nothing about this tournament feels new for him, with the added attention and responsibility. He’s been in these rooms before and handled himself the same way.

And Canada is comfortable leaning on him again now.