Homecoming for Mike Matheson

This article was originally published on December 4, 2022 in the Canadiens digital magazine in La Presse Plus.

MONTREAL - One perk of being traded to your childhood team is getting to spend Christmas in your childhood home.

SHOP: Canadiens Christmas stocking

Mike Matheson has fond memories of spending the holidays in the West Island.

Like many kids on Christmas morning, the Pointe-Claire native woke up before the crack of dawn, anxiously waiting to open his gifts.

"I just kind of remember going down and staring at the tree at 4:00 a.m. for two hours until it was 'late enough,' in quotation marks, to wake people up. It was like six in the morning," he recalled.

The level of excitement would begin to build on Christmas Eve as per family tradition. Matheson's parents would allow Mike, his brother Kenny and his sister Kelly to open one present each, which would naturally leave them wanting more.

Hockey was a common theme for gifts in the Matheson household. Mike remembers getting hockey sticks he'd set his sights on and rod hockey [table hockey] that would bring endless hours of joy to him and his relatives, among other gifts.

The family's lives revolved around Canada's pastime, so much so that after spending time at home on Christmas morning and heading to their grandparents' house two doors up the street, they would hit the ice for an afternoon game of shinny on the outdoor rink in their backyard.

"I always ended up playing hockey," said Matheson, chuckling.

Flash forward to present day.

A husband and father himself, the 28-year-old looks to rekindle the holiday magic from his youth for his family today. Although now, when his son unwraps a Canadiens jersey with "Matheson" stitched on the back on Christmas morning, he won't be playing pretend.

Funny how things work out.

"I learned how to play hockey watching Montreal Canadiens games," said the eight-year NHL veteran during his first media availability after being traded from Pittsburgh. "I was a huge, huge fan. Our whole family would sit down and watch every game, so to think that I'll be able to pull on that sweater and play in the Bell Centre every night is really special. It's a crazy feeling that's pretty hard to describe. It almost feels surreal."

Now that his daily office is just a quick drive from his childhood home, Matheson and his young brood will spend most of their holidays with his family. It will certainly be a welcome change of pace, even though they'll have to adapt some of their traditions this time around.

Most of their belongings, including their holiday decorations, are packed in storage. His wife Emily, an Olympic gold medal defenseman with Team USA, explained that many of their ornaments came from cities they've visited or lived in, serving as nice reminders of past experiences.

"We'll probably get a real tree, which in the past we didn't," she added. "So, we're excited about that, and I feel like we'll make do with what we have and still be in the Christmas spirit."

Both Mike and Emily share the same passion for the holidays and want to create long-lasting memories with their one-and-a-half-year-old son Hudson. They immersed him in the Christmas spirit last year when they left treats for "Santa" on his behalf and wrote a letter from Saint Nick addressed to Hudson, who was only six months old at the time.

Got to start them young, right?

Matheson's face lit up as he reminisced, as it did when he spoke about how his parents kept the spirit of Christmas alive throughout his childhood, even going so far as to wrap "Santa's gifts" with a different wrapping paper from their own. Matheson said that he strives to reach that level of commitment with his family today. He certainly has an even greater appreciation for his parents' sacrifice of sleep on Christmas morning, especially since he was already an early riser to begin with.

"Now that I'm a parent, I'm paying for it because my son wakes up early," he said with a smile.

Holiday traditions also provide an opportunity to feel a deeper connection to home. While Matheson's familiar with his surroundings, Montreal has served as an offseason destination for the defenseman for several years.

Honing his craft on the rinks of the West Island, he played for the Midget AAA Lac St. Louis Lions before packing his bags and moving over 1,800 kilometers southwest to Iowa to play for the United States Hockey League's Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2011-12.

From that point onwards, Matheson's career kept him away from Montreal, with stops in Boston (NCAA), San Antonio and Portland (AHL), and Florida and Pittsburgh (NHL). He and Emily would come to Montreal to train in the offseason.

In many ways, their transition back to the 514 has been relatively seamless; it's easier to adapt to a city you're already familiar with. But Matheson admitted that it's taking him some time to switch his perspective of the city from seasonal pitstop to homebase for the foreseeable future.

"I grew up here, idolizing the Canadiens and watching every game," he shared when we interviewed him on November 12, one week prior to his regular season debut with Montreal. "So, even once I made the NHL and was kind of coming back here to train, it was always, 'Oh, this is where I am in the offseason.' So, to be here during the season for an extended period of time and being with the Canadiens has been weird. I feel like until I actually start playing, it won't settle in as normal."

He took a step towards establishing a greater sense of normalcy when he pulled on his bleu-blanc-rouge threads for his first regular season appearance as a Hab against the Philadelphia Flyers during the team's annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the Bell Centre on November 19. He marked the occasion with a goal in a thrilling 5-4 shootout win.

It can't get sweeter than that.

"It's definitely special," he said during his media availability following the win. "It's a moment I won't soon forget. It's hard to describe, but it was really special."

That night will likely remain etched in Emily's memory as well. She attended the game with Hudson and shared a tender moment with her husband as she sat by the glass during warmups with their son in her arms.

Hudson isn't likely to remember, but Matheson's better half thinks he might be able to recognize his dad on the ice this season.

"It's been a lot of fun watching Hudson [at games]," she said. "He loves the anthems, and he loves the music, but he has also really gotten into hockey, so it's fun to see him realize that he's at a hockey game."

With two parents who excel at the sport, Hudson's in the early stages of developing his inevitable passion for hockey. He's likely to find himself taking his first strides on an outdoor rink sooner rather than later.

"I was lucky enough to have such a great childhood, so when you look back, you would love for your child to be able to experience the same thing, and we're kind of being given that opportunity right now," he explained in an interview this summer. "It's pretty special to think that once he gets a little bit older, we can maybe take him to outdoor rinks. When you're further south, that's just not a thing. All that kind of stuff. The culture in Montreal, I don't think there's any other city that's similar in North America. There's a lot that it has to offer, and it's exciting to know that Hudson will grow up with that ingrained in his DNA."

With the Mathesons establishing their familial roots in Montreal, Hudson's childhood will look more and more like his fathers' with hockey at the center of it all.

"[Mike's family is] so excited about the outdoor rinks and bringing Hudson on," said Emily. "Obviously, he can't skate, but just bringing him on the ice... We haven't been here for Christmas, so we're excited to see what Christmas is like in Montreal. We're already starting to feel the excitement just walking around the Old Port with all the lights already up, so we're looking forward to that."