Martone Moments Add To Buzz About His Future As Flyers Sweep Rookie Series

Martone moments add to buzz about his future as Flyers sweep rookie series originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Flyers’ top prospects were as advertised Sunday night.

They put together a 4-1 win over the Rangers at PPL Center in the second of two rookie games this weekend.

Porter Martone (one goal, one assist) and Denver Barkey (one goal, one assist) each had multiple points. Martone iced the game with the Flyers’ second empty-net goal. Noah Powell had the first.

Brek Liske also found the back of the net. Oliver Bonk, Jett Luchanko, Maksim Sokolovskii and Spencer Gill all had an assist.

The Flyers took the first matchup, 3-2. Alex Bump led the charge and then received the night off for Game 2.

• Martone just oozes with leadership qualities. You can see why he was a captain in the OHL and at world juniors.

In the second period, the 19-year-old winger tried to regroup offensively for another rush. But two Rangers converged on him and forced a turnover that resulted in Liam Greentree’s game-tying 1-1 goal.

But Martone responded. And he was also accountable. The Flyers went into second intermission with a 2-1 lead after Martone helped orchestrate Liske’s goal. After the horn sounded on the period, Martone found his goaltender Marek Sklenicka and apologized for his earlier mishap.

“I went up to him and just said, ‘That’s on me, we’ll get you back here,'” Martone said. “He played awesome for us coming in there. It’s probably tough with one of his first shots being off a backdoor pass. … I made a mistake there, but I had to bounce back in the third and get the win. He came up big for us down the stretch.”

The Flyers have loved Martone’s maturity. He didn’t dwell on his previous play and instead made the next one.

“That’s what good players do,” John Snowden, the AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach, said. “Short memory, things happen.”

In the second period, Barkey absorbed a heavy hit from the Rangers’ 6-foot-7 forward Dylan Roobroeck. Martone made sure to find Roobroeck after the whistle for a get-together.

“He doesn’t have to do that, I don’t want to see him doing that stuff,” Barkey said with a smile. “I’ve got to keep my head up, too, at the same time. But it’s obviously super cool to see someone of that caliber have the guts to go do that to a guy like that, and not back away. It means a lot and it goes a long way when you know someone’s got your back like that.”

• It didn’t take long for the London connection between Barkey and Bonk to be on display.

The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period when the former Knights teammates executed up ice.

“We played for four years in London together,” Barkey said, “so I guess we know where each other is quite often.”

Barkey made a strong move in close after Bonk joined the rush and found him. Bonk, a 21-year-old defenseman, is pushing for the Flyers. The 2023 first-rounder keeps the puck out of his net and his offensive instincts are good.

“He’s very, very smart,” Snowden, who runs rookie camp, said. “He’s surgical on his decisions and when he jumps up into the play. He’s really good at kind of hiding himself in those situations and just hitting with a burst, jumping into a spot at the right time.”

On Barkey’s goal, Luchanko ignited the sequence with a subtle but impressive play along the boards while under pressure. The 2024 first-round center had a pair of helpers over the weekend.

“I think a lot of his things go unnoticed,” Martone said. “Just winning defensive battles in the O-zone, kind of starting the play. I think he’s going to have a big year this year. You can see his vision, too. He makes small, little plays around the ice that kind of get the offense started.”

• Powell was highly noticeable in both games because of his hard-nosed, bottom-six brand. The 2024 fifth-round winger knows that will be his ticket to the NHL. The front office had to take notice.

He was a pest all weekend and dropped the gloves in Game 2.

“Hockey’s a violent game,” Powell said. “I’m not saying I’m a violent person, but when I get out there, I definitely do like to play a violent, vicious style of hockey. Kind of get out there and make sure that it’s known.”

• The Flyers went with their Czechia goalie tandem from this summer’s draft.

Martin Psohlavec, one of the Flyers’ two second-rounders, started and made seven saves.

Sklenicka, a fourth-rounder, played the back half of the game. He converted eight saves.

• The Flyers are scheduled to have two more days of rookie camp. Main training camp begins Thursday.