Michigan State Professional Athletes

The Calder Case Gets Complicated — Then a Little Less So

Porter Martone arrived at the 2026–27 season carrying serious hardware expectations. The Michigan State product was the odds-on favorite to win the Calder Trophy before a single puck dropped, and the hype made sense: the Philadelphia Flyers winger had all the tools to make an immediate impact at the NHL level.

Twelve games in, reality has been less cooperative.

Through the early stretch of the season, Martone managed just two goals and one assist — a pace that would make any Calder conversation awkward at best. The Flyers as a team weren't helping his cause either, opening the season with nine consecutive losses, a franchise record, before finally breaking through with a 3–1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

That win, as it turns out, had Martone's fingerprints all over it.

Signs of Life in Philly

Paired with Matvei Michkov, the Flyers' most dynamic offensive threat, Martone delivered a goal and an assist in the Senators victory — the kind of multi-point performance that had scouts buzzing about him before the season began. It wasn't just a stat-padding night against a soft opponent; it was a glimpse of the player the Flyers believed they were getting.

Per game logs from the week, Martone also picked up a goal and an assist in the Flyers' Saturday contest against the Ducks (a 4–5 loss), finishing with a plus-1 on the night. That gives him consecutive multi-point performances to close out the Oct. 18–24 window, a stretch that will do something to quiet — if not silence — the growing chorus of doubters.

The broader context still matters, though. A torrid two-game finish doesn't erase a sluggish 12-game stretch, and the Calder race is long. But for Michigan State fans watching their man try to find his footing in the league, there's finally something to point to.

The Rest of the Spartan Contingent

Martone isn't the only MSU alum skating in the NHL this fall, though he's commanding the most attention. The Flyers also carry Jack Studnicka on their roster, giving East Lansing a two-man foothold in Philadelphia. Elsewhere around the league, Mason Appleton is playing for the Red Wings, Torey Krug continues his veteran run on the Blues' blue line, and Jeff Petry is logging minutes for the Wild — a quiet but steady presence on a squad with playoff aspirations.

Rod Brind'Amour remains behind the bench in Carolina, where his Hurricanes are annual contenders and a perennial reminder of what MSU pedigree can build into over a career.

For now, though, all eyes stay on Martone. The Calder window is still open — barely — and two strong games suggest the real version of him may finally be showing up.

Michigan State Alumni in the NHL: Week of Oct. 11–17

It was a week that doubled as an accidental Michigan State reunion on NHL ice — and one moment in particular belongs in the Spartan highlight reel.

Johansson's First NHL Goal Has an MSU Twist

Anton Johansson — not an MSU alum himself, but the central figure in a very Spartan story — scored his first career NHL goal Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers in a fashion that only hockey could script. The Red Wings defenseman was serving a two-minute minor for interference on Flyers forward Porter Martone when the penalty expired. The moment Johansson stepped out of the box, he scored.

Yes: a Michigan State alumnus took the penalty. A Michigan State alumnus was on the ice when it ended. And the goal that resulted made headlines across the league. The Flyers lost that game 2–1, and Martone's name was literally the one written on the penalty that set the sequence in motion.

Martone Bounces Back Saturday

If Martone wanted to wash the taste of that penalty out of his mouth, he did it convincingly two days later. In Philadelphia's 3–1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the MSU product put up a goal and an assist — his best statistical night of the young season. After a quiet stretch earlier in the week (no points in losses to the Kraken and Hurricanes), Martone picked the right moment to remind everyone why the Flyers are high on him.

It was the kind of performance that keeps a young player in the lineup and out of the coach's doghouse, particularly after a week that included a penalty directly tied to an opponent's first NHL goal.

Studnicka Stays Steady

Flyers center and fellow MSU alum Jack Studnicka played in three of Philadelphia's four games this week, logging a minus-1 in the Thursday loss to Detroit but otherwise staying on the ice without a statistical blemish. Studnicka didn't find the scoresheet, but his presence alongside Martone means the Flyers are carrying two Michigan State products in their lineup — a quiet but meaningful footprint for the Spartan program in the NHL.

The Bigger Picture

It's early in the 2026–27 season, and Michigan State's NHL footprint is broader than just Philadelphia — Torey Krug is in St. Louis, Jeff Petry in Minnesota, Mason Appleton in Detroit, and others are scattered across the league. But this week, the Flyers were the MSU epicenter. Martone's goal and assist Saturday show legitimate two-way upside. And whether he'd prefer to forget it or not, his name will forever be attached to Anton Johansson's first NHL goal — a genuinely unusual piece of hockey history with a very green-and-white footnote.

Michigan State Alumni Report: NHL Week of Oct. 4–10

It was a week of contrasts for Spartans in the NHL — one finding his footing, another losing his.

Martone Ends the Drought

Porter Martone had not made life easy on himself to start the 2026-27 season. The Philadelphia Flyers winger was one of the more scrutinized young players in the early going, drawing attention for all the wrong reasons as his struggles were highlighted across hockey media. But on Saturday against the Boston Bruins, the Michigan State product answered back in the most direct way possible.

Martone wired a snipe top-corner — the kind of shot that needs no asterisk — for his first goal of the season in what ended up a 1-5 Flyers loss. The tally didn't change the outcome, but it changes the conversation. For a player still establishing himself at the NHL level, shaking off an early slump with a clean, confident finish is exactly the kind of moment that carries weight heading into a long season. Fellow Spartan and Flyers teammate Jack Studnicka (C) is also on Philadelphia's roster, giving East Lansing a small but notable footprint on Broad Street.

Appleton Shelved in Detroit

The other Michigan State headline from this week wasn't so encouraging. Mason Appleton, the Red Wings' center, is among a wave of Detroit players sidelined through the first stretch of the season. The Red Wings have been hit hard by an injury crisis through their opening two games, with Appleton joining Marco Kasper, JT Compher, and Jacob Bernard-Docker on the shelf — forcing Detroit into significant lineup reshuffling. No timetable for Appleton's return was specified, but the situation in the Motor City is one the Red Wings' front office is clearly treating with urgency.

The Rest of the Spartan Landscape

Beyond Martone and Appleton, Michigan State alumni are spread across the league in various capacities. Torey Krug remains with the St. Louis Blues on the blue line; Sean Behrens is with Colorado; Jeff Petry is in Minnesota; Mackenzie MacEachern is in Vancouver; and Karsen Dorwart is with Florida. None generated notable individual coverage this week, but the depth of Spartan representation across the NHL — six active skaters across six franchises — underscores the program's continued pipeline to the professional game.

The week belonged to Martone, though. One goal in a loss isn't a redemption arc — but for a young player who needed a spark, it was a start.