Martone setting tone for Canada at world juniors before New Year's Eve clash with Finland

Porter Martone stood up and faced the music.

The Canadian captain at the world junior hockey championship was issued a warning by a disciplinary committee for crossing the red line in warm-ups ahead of a feisty opening-night rematch against the Czech Republic, the team that eliminated his country at the quarterfinal stage of the last two tournaments.

Martone then took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after sealing a 7-5 victory with an empty-net goal. Hockey Canada was also subsequently forced to apologize when the team didn't take part in the post-anthem handshake line.

The 19-year-old from Peterborough, Ont., took full responsibility and promised to be better.

That bumpy road now in his rearview mirror, Martone has found his rhythm and is poised to lead Canada into a New Year's Eve clash against Finland (8:30 p.m. ET) with first place in Group B on the line.

"One bad day doesn't define a person," star forward Gavin McKenna said from Minneapolis. "There's a reason he was named captain. Guys fall behind him."

Martone credits his parents, Angela and Mike, for qualities that have often pushed him to the head of a pack.

"I was given this gift to play hockey, and it's what you can do with this," the No. 6 overall pick at the 2025 NHL draft by the Philadelphia Flyers said of the message growing up. "It's not always about the skill you have on the ice. It's what you can do to make people around you better and people in the community better."

Martone, whose dad was a fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1996, had the opportunity to further hone his leadership qualities in the spring at the men's world championship watching Sidney Crosby go about his business.

"It was pretty crazy," Martone said. "Five years ago, you never would believe it, right? You walk in that room, you see Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Marc-Andre Fleury, a bunch of great NHL players. They made me feel like one of their teammates. These guys are your idols.

"And you still stay in touch with them up to this day."

Canadian defenceman Kashawn Aitcheson said Martone, who he's dropped the gloves against in junior and bunked up with at the NHL's draft combine, holds both himself and teammates to a high standard.

"Likes to speak up and hold others accountable, and taking accountability himself," Aitcheson said. "You saw in the media, that's not an easy thing to do. It shows his character."

Canadian assistant coach Misha Donskov said that character has stood out, especially over the last week.

"He's an everyday-er," Donskov said of the forward playing this season with Michigan State in the NCAA. "That's what you expect out of your captain."

Canada, which is craving a podium return after a pair of disastrous fifth-place results, has opened the men's under-20 showcase with three victories.

The squad got revenge against Czechia and then bested Latvia 2-1 in overtime -- an unconvincing performance versus an opponent that stunned them 12 months ago in a shootout -- before thumping Denmark 9-1 on Monday.

The Canadians will be looking for more payback against Finland after falling 6-3 in a heated July exhibition game.

"It was a bit chippy," said Martone, who has three goals and an assist at these world juniors. "We have that in the back of our minds, for sure."

With a roster that includes Canadiens prospect Aatos Koivu, the son of former Montreal captain Saku Koivu, the Finns have given up a tournament-low four goals through three games and sit a point back in the standings heading into Wednesday.

"We've been saying that we're the dream killers," Canadian forward Cole Beaudoin said. "We come into every game and want to kill every team's dream. We're going to go into that game and play hard, play our game.

"And play the Canadian way."

Hockey Canada will unveil the rest of Canada's roster for the 2026 men's Olympic hockey tournament Wednesday in Minneapolis at 12 p.m. ET.

Among the potential picks are two players still eligible to play at the world juniors — Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer.

"It's going to be exciting," McKenna said. "They're going to choose the right guys."

McKenna has dealt with plenty of noise this season for what has been an underwhelming performance, at least on the scoresheet, to date in his first NCAA campaign with Penn State.

Once the slam-dunk No. 1 pick at June's NHL draft, the Whitehorse product's stock has been questioned in some circles, with the reigning Canadian Hockey League player of the year having registered 18 points in 16 games after putting up 129 across 56 contests in 2024-25 in junior.

McKenna's teammates have consistently come to his defence whenever talk shifts to the draft, especially after a hat trick against Denmark put him atop the points race.

"We're a tight group," McKenna said of the support. "Knowing I've got them behind my back, I really appreciate it."