Martone makes Simmonds smile, has mindset of making Flyers' lineup in October originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

VOORHEES, N.J. — Wayne Simmonds watched Porter Martone around four to five times last season scouting the OHL for the Flyers.

He came away impressed.

Did he think the 6-foot-3, 98-point forward would drop to No. 6 in the 2025 NHL draft?

“I didn’t, personally,” Simmonds said with a laugh. “For us, we got lucky. We’ll take that one, we’ll definitely take that one.”

No doubt, the Flyers were happy to see Martone wearing a white and black practice jersey, with an orange No. 94, as development camp kicked off Wednesday. Just five days ago, they were scooping him up at sixth overall.

The 18-year-old was the first winger taken last Friday night and some public scouting services had him pegged as the third-best player in the draft.

“He’s a great player, big body, owns the net front and the boards,” Simmonds said. “Tremendous competitor.”

A beloved former Flyer, Simmonds is now in a consultant role with the club’s hockey operations department. He’s helping coach the prospects this week at development camp, getting a chance to see Martone again after watching him on the scouting trail. But apparently Simmonds had met him well before this year.

It was after a practice when Simmonds was playing for the Flyers. Martone even has a picture of the two together from that day. Back in the same facility, Martone reminded Simmonds about the moment.

“That was the first thing he said to me and I’m like, ‘Oh my God,'” Simmonds said. “In my mind, I’m like, ‘I’m that old?’ It was honestly really cool, it was really cool to hear.”

Martone, who is from Peterborough, Ontario, and once went to a Flyers game for his birthday, can still recall meeting Simmonds.

“We had, like, 50 kids just banging on the glass the whole practice,” Martone said. “Him and a couple of others took time out of their day to come say hi to us, take a couple of photos. I think that’s a big thing as an NHL player, being able to give back to the community, give back to little kids who look up to those footsteps. Now that I’m here, I want to make sure I do that to kids, try to make everyone’s day a positive, a little bit better.”

He could see more kids at Flyers Training Center come the fall if he makes the big club. That’s not outside the realm of possibility. Martone has a pro-style game and played with NHLers at the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, suiting up twice for Team Canada.

“For me, my mindset is playing in the NHL next year,” Martone said when asked about his plans for 2025-26. “If the management staff here thinks otherwise, that’s when you kind of have a talk [between] my agent and me. But right now, my goal is to make the NHL, have a big summer, really gain some strength in the lower body and then come into camp and try to earn my spot. For me, I want to play a full regular season in the NHL next year.”

With uncertainty surrounding Tyson Foerster’s status because of an arm injury, general manager Danny Briere didn’t hesitate to mention Martone’s name as a candidate to fill any void on the wing.

“When you come into camp, you’re going to have to earn your job,” Martone said. “You’re not just going to get it given to you. If I get the opportunity to come in, I’m going to give it my all and try to earn my spot in the opening-night roster. If I do, that’s a dream come true to play with the Flyers’ organization.

“But that doesn’t come without the work that needs to be put in, I still have got to do some stuff throughout the summer to get me ready for training camp in September and get me ready to play in the NHL next season.”

Riley Armstrong sees some of Foerster in Martone.

“He reminds me a lot of Tyson when I was coaching him with the Phantoms,” the Flyers’ director of player development said. “He has that little bit of swag to him, like he knows that he’s a good player. And I think that’s a good thing, you want a player that has that, that confidence within himself.”

And if Martone needs to pinch himself being around Simmonds, that’s not a bad thing, either.

“It’s pretty cool when you get to see people you idolized when you were kid,” Martone said, “and now you’re working with them.”