F Porter Martone - Mississauga Steelheads, OHL (2025 Draft)

[Anardil]

I know that this person is largely 'Persona Non Grata' around here, but McKagg, just released his latest Recrutes Podcast, where he states that Martone is not a lock for a top 5 pick.

He brings up many issues that Steve mentions.

Regardless, he is my hope for this draft for the Habs, if the season continues down its current path. The Habs need his size and skill in the top 6. I don't care that he isn't a center.

 

[frontsfan67]

Relax, chief. Bulldogs are 6-8-2, 17th out of 20 overall and 16th in GF. They are literally one of the worst teams in the league.

Had a bad start but I’d be willing to bet a lot of money you see them really jump up by the deadline (Jan 10th)

As I said they had players out.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Physical came but sloppy.

Had a bad start but I’d be willing to bet a lot of money you see them really jump up by the deadline (Jan 10th)

As I said they had players out.

That's neither here nor there and I don't care how they finish. The fact is that Martone is a top prospect facing a struggling team that can't score. They have seven shots on goal through 27 minutes.

And as I type that, Bulldogs score on the PP to take a 2-1 lead. Now let's see if Martone can lead a comeback for a team playing three in three nights.

 

[frontsfan67]

I know that this person is largely 'Persona Non Grata' around here, but McKagg, just released his latest Recrutes Podcast, where he states that Martone is not a lock for a top 5 pick.

He brings up many issues that Steve mentions.

Regardless, he is my hope for this draft for the Habs, if the season continues down its current path. The Habs need his size and skill in the top 6. I don't care that he isn't a center.

I put a lot more weight in what guys like bob mckenzie are saying over him. Everywhere I see him listed as a top 5 pick with elite prospects being the only one ranking him 5. Every other one 2-4.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Two more turnovers on one shift, one at the side of the Bulldogs net and another in the NZ, but I did like his delay at the line and high to low that almost connected for a secondary assist. He isn't playing with jump and isn't starting/stopping. Considering his team is struggling and he had the night off, I expected a better effort.

Martone might get another major -- So he gave another dirty hit near the boards and was given a 5 and is in the box, but they're reviewing it.

Refs just checked it and gave him a 2 instead of five and game. Dangerous hit near the boards but there was a fight afterward. So 2 and a 5 for fighting for Martone.

EDIT: The Refs really screwed this up but Martone made it complicated because he delivered a dirty hit that was called a major and then fought right after. It should have been a 5 for blindside hit and 5 for fighting, but instead it was 2 for blindsiding, 2 for roughing, and it looks like a 10-minute misconduct.

 

[frontsfan67]

Stupid stream cut out and I just missed the whole thing that just happened

Two more turnovers on one shift, one at the side of the Bulldogs net and another in the NZ, but I did like his delay at the line and high to low that almost connected for a secondary assist. He isn't playing with jump and isn't starting/stopping. Considering his team is struggling and he had the night off, I expected a better effort.

Martone might get another major -- So he gave another dirty hit near the boards and was given a 5 and is in the box, but they're reviewing it.

Do you count every turnover that Hagens gets?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

Button said last night during the U17 finals that Martone is the best player in the upcoming draft.

It's so funny how most on this site label Button a buffoon....unless it suits their agenda

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Stupid stream cut out and I just missed the whole thing that just happened


Do you count every turnover that Hagens gets?

Yes always.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Not Martone's afternoon. Was gifted a loose puck on the doorstep for a clean look and lost the puck trying to make a move. I'd call that a turnover and he didn't even get a shot attempt. Even his own announcers said it was surprising he missed such a chance.

EDIT: Turnabout is fair play as Jake O'Brien wires a left-circle wrister off the post and in for a 3-2 lead. This game is doo-doo, but at least it's physical.

 

[Alberta tough]

It's so funny how most on this site label Button a buffoon....unless it suits their agenda

What agenda do I have? Please show me where I called Button (or anyone else that is involved in scouting a buffoon). I was merely stating what was said last night on tv.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Bro, another Martone turnover late in the period and Bulldogs counter and score but the goal is waved off with four or five seconds left in the second period. That might have been his worst period of the season.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Ok, here we go -- Brampton trailing 3-2 after 40 and Martone has had a shit game. Let's see if he can piece together a consistent effort and lead his team like any top prospect would.


EDIT: ANOTHER Martone turnover, this time off the opening draw with a simple breakout pass that didn't connect. Brantford scores the next sequence and it's 4-2.

Snipe show O'Brien. Now 5-2. Scored twice just 49 seconds into the third. This game isn't helping Ivankovic's resume either.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Martone took a hit at center ice and went down like he was shot. Could be serious as he laid on the ice for an extra second or two. Nothing was called. Maybe he was trying to draw a call.

Edit: even more concerning was a 50/50 battle against a smaller PK forward to keep the puck in and he lost a physcial battle outright outright for a clear. He's skating in mud.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Some partisans going after Steve, but I have to say that it really does seem like there's a big push this year from Canadians and the Canadian media to get one of their guys over the line as 1OA. It's almost like a control freak thing where they can't accept that for one year they might not have the best draft prospect.

By all means, if Martone or Schaefer or Misa are better prospects, they should go first. But is that really what neutral people believe? Put it this way, if your job depended on getting 1OA right (you were scouting for the team that holds the first overall pick), who are you taking? It seems like the people who work in the NHL and work in trying to figure this out without some sort of partisan angle seem to believe by a large percentage (not unanimous, but still a pretty convincing margin) that Hagens is the best player in the draft.

I think everyone should always be open to their mind changing, but it does seem like there are a lot of people putting on a real campaign to make sure Canada has the first overall pick in 2025, regardless of whether the best player is Canadian. Shouldn't be that way. If you're a hockey fan, you should just want the best player to go 1OA. Otherwise, you just come off like a strict partisan.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Martone back and promptly turns the puck over on the PP by trying a look-off to the right circle but it's intercepted and cleared

 

[frontsfan67]

Some partisans going after Steve, but I have to say that it really does seem like there's a big push this year from Canadians and the Canadian media to get one of their guys over the line as 1OA. It's almost like a control freak thing where they can't accept that for one year they might not have the best draft prospect.

By all means, if Martone or Schaefer or Misa are better prospects, they should go first. But is that really what neutral people believe? Put it this way, if your job depended on getting 1OA right (you were scouting for the team that holds the first overall pick), who are you taking? It seems like the people who work in the NHL and work in trying to figure this out without some sort of partisan angle seem to believe by a large percentage (not unanimous, but still a pretty convincing margin) that Hagens is the best player in the draft.

I think everyone should always be open to their mind changing, but it does seem like there are a lot of people putting on a real campaign to make sure Canada has the first overall pick in 2025, regardless of whether the best player is Canadian. Shouldn't be that way. If you're a hockey fan, you should just want the best player to go 1OA. Otherwise, you just come off like a strict partisan.

I don’t care if they’re from Canada or Kazakhstan.

This is Martones worst game of the season so far from what I’ve watched. I’m sure there’s a game Hagens has had a game that wasn’t so great either. Point is it is a long season.

I have forever thought Hagens will go first and I still think this now but it’s a closer race than I originally thought. I thought Hagens would be the clear cut #1 going into the year and everybody else fighting for #2 but based off his numbers clearly Hagens hasn’t been great enough to get everybody on board with that. Just looking at his numbers vs the other top American draft guys from other years- eichel, Fantilli, celebrini etc… probably a little disappointing output from Hagens thus far.

Again though- too early to tell. 7/8 months until the draft lots of things will change.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Martone keeps waiting for the puck to come to him instead of anticipating to be first to the puck and use his size and reach to keep the play alive. He does this a lot and he just lost a battle in the corner that eventually led to a Lardis breakaway and PP from Brantford.

The silver lining is he had a good effort on the ensuing PK, but there’s under six to go in the game. Shouldn’t have taken him that long to make his presence felt, and even then it was basic/minimal.

 

[FLAMESFAN]

Some partisans going after Steve, but I have to say that it really does seem like there's a big push this year from Canadians and the Canadian media to get one of their guys over the line as 1OA. It's almost like a control freak thing where they can't accept that for one year they might not have the best draft prospect.

By all means, if Martone or Schaefer or Misa are better prospects, they should go first. But is that really what neutral people believe? Put it this way, if your job depended on getting 1OA right (you were scouting for the team that holds the first overall pick), who are you taking? It seems like the people who work in the NHL and work in trying to figure this out without some sort of partisan angle seem to believe by a large percentage (not unanimous, but still a pretty convincing margin) that Hagens is the best player in the draft.

I think everyone should always be open to their mind changing, but it does seem like there are a lot of people putting on a real campaign to make sure Canada has the first overall pick in 2025, regardless of whether the best player is Canadian. Shouldn't be that way. If you're a hockey fan, you should just want the best player to go 1OA. Otherwise, you just come off like a strict partisan.

Sure seems to me that it is more like a couple Americans are getting upset that their boy might be challenged.
And this scout is sure looking pretty immature, and driven by an agenda.

 

[Mathieukferland]

This and the Hagens thread have been legendary today, keep up the good work guysI’ll be in person in Ottawa for their game against each other on December 31 so I’ll be sure to report back with a full breakdown

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Sure seems to me that it is more like a couple Americans are getting upset that their boy might be challenged.
And this scout is sure looking pretty immature, and driven by an agenda.

A detailed shift-by-shift analysis is “immature”?

 

[LeProspector]

A detailed shift-by-shift analysis is “immature”?

I think you’re doing great work in this thread. Some people look at warranted criticism and think you’re attacking a player, those people are SOFT.

NHL teams do exactly what you’re doing in this thread, worse if anything. people need to wake up.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t care if they’re from Canada or Kazakhstan.

This is Martones worst game of the season so far from what I’ve watched. I’m sure there’s a game Hagens has had a game that wasn’t so great either. Point is it is a long season.

I have forever thought Hagens will go first and I still think this now but it’s a closer race than I originally thought. I thought Hagens would be the clear cut #1 going into the year and everybody else fighting for #2 but based off his numbers clearly Hagens hasn’t been great enough to get everybody on board with that. Just looking at his numbers vs the other top American draft guys from other years- eichel, Fantilli, celebrini etc… probably a little disappointing output from Hagens thus far.

Again though- too early to tell. 7/8 months until the draft lots of things will change.

Seriously, what’s been wrong with Hagens play this year? Literally the only people pushing this are partisans hoping someone else goes first.

Nothing wrong with saying others have been very good and that’s giving Hagens real competition, but you are twisting things about Hagens play.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Sure seems to me that it is more like a couple Americans are getting upset that their boy might be challenged.
And this scout is sure looking pretty immature, and driven by an agenda.

I do find it upsetting that Canadian fans can’t let us have this one.

If Hagens wasn’t the best player in the draft, I would not advocate for him as such. I advocated for Wright in 2022 and Clarke in 2021. Was never advocating for Beniers (2021) or Luke Hughes (2021) or Cooley (2022) as 1OA. In fact, I was one of the first people saying that Eiserman (2024) is not real competition for Celebrini (and others Canadians like Catton).

Some of us aren’t as partisan as you are. I will advocate for the best player to go first. I hope it is a player of my nationality, but of course you have to live in the real world and that’s not always the case that you’ll get things the way you want.

So yes, I do find the rhetoric a little disappointing from some people. I don’t like it one bit. It comes off very controlling.

 

[frontsfan67]

Seriously, what’s been wrong with Hagens play this year? Literally the only people pushing this are partisans hoping someone else goes first.

I do not care if James Hagens goes first or some Joe blow out of Italy. Canada has had more than this fair share of first overalls I don’t care if a Canadian goes first at all. Just saying based off the stats he put up the past couple of years it appears he isn’t being as effective as some previous top college players in eichel, fantilli and Celebrini. No need to get all upset as I don’t watch very many college games I am just checking the stats and I’ve mentioned both of these points before.

Nothing wrong with saying others have been very good and that’s giving Hagens real competition, but you are twisting things about Hagens play.

How am I twisting things? Based off PPG he isn’t lighting it up as much? Again. I don’t watch many college hockey games just pointed out my observation. No need to get all flustered about it.

I’ve had this guy as the #1 pick since him and eiserman lit up the international competition I believe a year ago. Just surprised he isn’t producing more- that is all.

Not turning it into a stupid Canada vs America thing and not talking down about any players so don’t treat it that way.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I do not care if James Hagens goes first or some Joe blow out of Italy. Just saying based off the stats he put up the past couple of years it appears he isn’t being as effective as some previous top college players in eichel, fantilli and Celebrini. No need to get all upset as I don’t watch very many college games I just am checking the stats and I’ve mentioned both of these points before.

How am I twisting things? Based off PPG he isn’t lighting it up as much? Again. I don’t watch many college hockey games just pointed out my observation. No need to get all flustered about it.

I’ve had this guy as the #1 pick since him and eiserman lit up the international competition I believe a year ago. Just surprised he isn’t producing more- that is all.

I already explained this on the last page.

We’re only 7 games into the season, so it’s probably a bad time for comparisons, but these are the three notable seasons he’s chasing

Fantilli: 1.81 PPG
Eichel: 1.75 PPG
Celebrini: 1.68 PPG

Hagens: 1.57 PPG

But to show you how manipulative this small sample can look, if you add two more points to his total he ends up at 1.86 and one more point is 1.71. Hagens is shooting 6% right now. That won’t last. If you add two goals (17.6%) or 1 goal (11.7%), the stats paint a slightly different picture. If you normalize the shooting percentage, he’s doing a great job.

And also consider on his own team he has 4 more points in the same number of games than a top 10 pick that is a year and a half older than him and 1 less point than a first round pick that is a year and a half older than him and probably the best player in college hockey, so his stats certainly are not shabby. But we’re talking about 7 games. Too early to make anything of that.

Too long didn’t read version, his numbers are right in line with all the other comparables. He’s lacked a little puck luck, so maybe like one or two points lower than the others. But we are literally 7 games in. Making anything of the sample when we are splitting the difference between 1 or 2 points is ridiculous.

Not flustered. Just not buying this whole orchestrated effort against Hagens from any of the people pushing it. No one who seriously watches him play has voiced concerns about his play.