Martone can be Canada's inside man at World Juniors

Hockey Canada's World Juniors hopefuls defeated a team of U Sports players 5-2 at TD Place in Ottawa on Thursday.

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Canada's World Junior hopefuls trailed a team of U Sports players 2-1 early in the third period on Thursday when the line of Brampton Steelheads winger Porter Martone, Spokane Chiefs centre Berkly Catton and Medicine Hat Tigers forward Gavin McKenna rushed up the ice. Martone headed straight to the front of the net where Catton found him for a quick shot and the tying goal.

"I'm a big body and I like to use my frame well," said Martone, who stands 6-foot-3, 208 pounds. "I like to do a lot of my damage in front and get inside and that was a nice pass."

Martone's goal sparked a third-period comeback in what ended up being a 5-2 win.

"He wins all his battles," gushed Catton, who was selected eighth overall by the Seattle Kraken in June. "He's always at the net. He's a guy you need on every line. He puts that one home and got us rolling. He's great everywhere he seems to go."

That includes the Ontario Hockey League where Martone, who wears the 'C' for the Steelheads, is second in scoring this season with 54 points in 26 games.

"Aside from all his skills and his size, he just wants to win," said centre Carson Rehkopf, who is Martone's linemate in Brampton. "He's a winner and he's shown that at all levels."

It's a big reason why the 18-year-old is a top contender to go first overall in the 2025 NHL draft. In fact, Martone is No. 1 in the recent rankings released by TSN director of scouting Craig Button.

Martone captained Canada to gold at the under-18 World Championship in Finland last spring. He finished the event with 17 points in seven games. He also helped Canada win gold at the 2023 Hlinka Gretzky Cup while serving as an alternate captain.

"There's a lot of good hockey players in the world, but you need to go a little bit more and beyond to win," he said. "I just want to go out there every night and give everything I can to give an advantage to my team. If I do crack Canada's lineup I would do anything to win a gold medal."

With cuts looming on Friday night following another game against U Sports, Martone appears well on his way to locking up a roster spot despite being among the younger players at the camp.

"He competes every shift," observed Hockey Canada head scout Al Murray. "He's at the net. He's in the paint. He's in the corners. He's always a big part of the action. It's a great combination to have a big guy who's got hands and skill, hockey sense and a high level of compete."

It's no surprise that Martone lists Florida Panther Matthew Tkachuk, Ottawa Senator Brady Tkachuk, and Edmonton Oiler Corey Perry as his hockey role models. All three of those guys thrive in net-front battles.

Martone thinks playing box lacrosse while growing up in Peterborough, Ont. helped refine his play in the tight, hard areas.

"He's really, really good laterally," said Oshawa Generals winger Beckett Sennecke. "He can get his hands far away from his body and pull it all away across his body really well, which is pretty hard for defenders to play against. And then he's got that grit and compete that you don't usually see in that skill guy, so he's got the whole package."

Sennecke starts laughing as he peers beyond the group of reporters and sees a smiling Martone lounging on a nearby couch while awaiting his turn in front of the cameras.

"He's looking at me over there," Sennecke said with a chuckle.

The pressure of playing in his draft year and pursuing a World Junior roster spot doesn't seem to be bothering Martone one bit.

"I feel like I've handled it good," he said. "You get to live this draft year once in a lifetime. I've had the opportunity to be in a lot of cool events. I'm trying to have fun with it. It's once in a lifetime and I'm going to make the most of it."

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Hockey Canada management made it clear from Day 1 of camp that the five returning skaters from last year's disappointing fifth-place finish would not simply be handed roster spots again this year. They would have to earn it.

Rehkopf, who had two goals and two assists in five World Junior games in Sweden last year, responded the right way with a three-goal effort on Thursday.

"Our line was good on the forecheck," said Rehkopf, who has scored 20 goals in 27 games this season in the OHL. "We created a lot off of turnovers and had good support so that was definitely the key to it."

Sennecke set up two of the tallies.

"He's always in the right spot and he puts the puck in the net so that's a pretty nice player to play with," Sennecke said. "Yeah, I hang out with him a lot in the summer, and we found that chemistry today."

"Carson knows how to score," said Catton. "Him and Beckett clicked really well. Beckett's super smart and Carson knows where to go."

The duo's ability to use their size – Rehkopf is 6-foot-2, 202 pounds and Sennecke is 6-foot-4, 195 pounds – and play a grind game while remaining patient impressed Team Canada head coach Dave Cameron.

"I thought that line was really good with the puck," Cameron said. "I was more interested to see what they were like without the puck, the compete and all that, and I liked that line."

Hockey Canada staff emphasized the need for players to up their compete level during the first meeting of the camp.

"That's something I wanted to bring for sure," said Rehkopf. "Show that I can play up and down the lineup and play heavy and create offence in ways other than just shooting the puck on the power play. I thought I did a good job of that."

It was also a much-needed performance by Anaheim Ducks prospect Sennecke, who was only added to the selection camp roster as a late call-up.

"It's not something you try and think about too much," the third-overall pick in June's NHL draft said. "You try and take control of things that you can control whether that's on the ice, off the ice, and try to have fun with it. We're here with all these guys that are elite players, and the margins are so thin separating us, but you just got to try and have fun with it."

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Not all the returning players are under pressure at this camp. Lethbridge Hurricanes centre Brayden Yager sat out Thursday's game. His spot on the team appears to be assured.

"I want to bring leadership and be a guy that can be leaned on," he said.

Yager, who was a first-round pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, learned a lot about leadership from spending time in the orbit of Sidney Crosby.

"He was unbelievable with me, and I texted him lots," Yager said. "He was great. Everything I ever needed I could just ask him. It's pretty crazy how starstruck you are with a guy of that calibre, but he just treats you like you're just another guy. It's pretty cool to be treated well by somebody like that."

Yager appreciated how responsive Crosby was even during the NHL season as he captained a Penguins team that was struggling to stay in the playoff race.

"It's crazy," the 19-year-old said. "I would text him lots and he would text back and talk to me about the season and all that stuff. World-class guy and one of the best leaders in the game. He's taking the time to talk to a prospect when he's got his own game and his teammates to worry about. He takes the time to make everybody feel like they belong."

In late August, the Penguins traded Yager to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for fellow forward prospect Rutger McGroarty, who captained Team USA to gold at the 2024 World Juniors.

"He texted me right away," Yager said of Crosby. "We talked about it a little bit. He wished me the best and said Winnipeg would be a great spot for me and all the boys there will treat me awesome, which they did."

The fans treated him well too.

"The first pre-season game was almost sold out," Yager noted. "It was unbelievable. So passionate."

McGroarty made his NHL debut this fall, but was sent down to the American Hockey League before the Penguins visited Winnipeg in October which led Jets fans to chant, "Where is Rutger?" and "Yager's better."

"Everybody was sending it to me," Yager said with a smile. "Obviously it's cool to see. I mean, I don't think too much of it, but it's cool to see they're right behind me."

Being part of a Canadian NHL team's prospect pool has given Yager a taste of what the atmosphere will be like in Ottawa.

"It's a huge honour to wear the Maple Leaf, but to do it at home adds even more excitement to it," the Saskatoon native said. "The crowds will be insane, and we can't wait to hear them buzzing."

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Saskatoon Blades defenceman Tanner Molendyk made Team Canada last year, but suffered an injury in a pre-tournament game against Switzerland.

"They dumped a puck in, and I went to go back," he recalled. "I put both my fists up [to brace for impact] and they hit the dasher, and one just went backwards and stayed there. It didn't feel like it was broken. It just felt like it was just jammed up a little bit, but didn't end up that way."

The 19-year-old from McBride, B.C. was devastated.

"No one should go through that," he said. "I wouldn't wish that upon anyone."

Molendyk's parents had already arrived in Sweden to watch their son play on the biggest stage in junior hockey.

"It was one of the hardest parts of my career," the Nashville Predators prospect said. "It was tough but, looking back on it, it made me go through a learning curve and get better as a person, better as a player, so it helped me in the long run."

Molendyk feels like a mentally stronger person and player now as he gets a second chance with Team Canada. He watched every second of every game last year and was taking notes. What stood out?

"Maybe a little bit of the speed," he said. "That's kind of my game is playing fast and always being up in the rush and that's something that can help."

Hockey Canada plans to take full advantage of Molendyk's smooth stride.

"He's an elite skater and defends so well," said Hockey Canada management group lead Peter Anholt, who is the general manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. "He denies entries into zones because of how well he skates. That was a big loss for us last year and we really look forward to him being a big, big part of this year's team. His character is second to none too."

"Man, he's such a good skater," said Yager. "Everybody knows that. You see on the power play, when he's breaking into the zone it's like a free entry for him. Great guy. Great guy in the room."

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Lines in Thursday's game:

McKenna - Catton - Martone
Barkey - Luchanko - Gauthier
Cristall - Heidt - Wood
Pinelli - Rehkopf - Sennecke
Beaudoin

Dickinson - Gibson
Mynio - Parekh
Price - Allen

Bjarnason
George

Ratzlaff & Ivankovic played for U Sports

Not dressed for Canada on Thursday:

Forwards: Cataford, Cowan, Howe, Nadeau, Ritchie, Yager

Defence: Akey, Bonk, Molendyk, Schaefer