Denton Mateychuk spent last season as the captain of his junior team, then he wore the “C” this past weekend as the Blue Jackets skated at the annual Traverse City Prospects Tournament.
It seems fair to say leadership comes naturally to the defenseman, who has a bright future after being chosen as a first-round pick (No. 12 overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft.
When you ask Mateychuk if that’s the case, the answer is yes … and no.
“On-ice leadership, I think that naturally comes to me,” Mateychuk said. “I think the talkative part, sometimes I need to make sure I’m focusing on that because sometimes you get in your own zone in games and practices and stuff. You want to make sure if we are down or something, some of the guys may be out of it a little bit and I may need to help keep them in it.
“That’s one part that is new to me, and I’ve been learning along the way.”
So far, so good for Mateychuk. It’s clear he’s the kind of person who commands respect in a locker room, or else the Moose Jaw Warriors or the Blue Jackets wouldn’t have seen fit to stitch that prized designation of leadership on the front of his sweater.
While the 19-year-old said he’s tried to become more vocal, his innate likability and presence have made him someone teammates and coaches gravitate to. It was noticed by Trent Vogelhuber, the team’s head coach in Traverse City and the leader of the AHL Cleveland Monsters, as Mateychuk excelled during his two games on the ice with the young Jackets.
“He’s extremely well-liked by the guys in the room,” Vogelhuber said after the squad’s opener Thursday. “He’s a calming influence on the ice. I thought he was one of our top two players, if not our best player, today. He was all over the ice, slowing it down when the pace was frantic, controlling the game. He gives guys a boost on the bench when they need it verbally.
“He’s a teenager, but he’s one of those guys that’s mature beyond what his age is in my brief experience with him. Everything is positive from what I’ve seen so far.”
It helped that Mateychuk turned in a pair of impressive performances as the Blue Jackets opened the tournament with wins over Toronto and Detroit before Mateychuk and other top CBJ prospects were rested in the third-game finale. He posted seven points (all assists) in the two games and finished with a plus-5 rating, and Mateychuk was a key part of a power play that scored seven times in that pair of contests.
That followed two straight strong seasons in the WHL with Moose Jaw, as Mateychuk has combined for 21 goals and 108 assists for 129 points in 128 games the past two seasons with the Warriors. While the additions of Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov to the CBJ blue line have seemingly made a path to the NHL even tougher, Mateychuk said his goal is to just do his thing and make the coaching staff have a hard decision to send him back to juniors.
“I think you want to give yourself a chance,” he said. “I just try to play my game, don’t try to overthink things, try to do too much or do too little. That’s why I’m part of the organization, playing my game. Obviously there are tweaks you have to make to get to the next level, but the good habits, you want to keep those and don’t get away from that.”
Mateychuk was such a high draft pick for numerous reasons, including excellent skating ability and the brain to process and slow down the game. He put in a big summer of work to keep getting stronger, and Vogelhuber was impressed in Traverse City.
“I thought he played really well at this tournament last year, too, but I think even more so this year,” Vogelhuber said. “You can tell when guys come into these games with confidence. He hangs on to the puck with confidence. His heart rate never gets high when it’s under pressure. I think he’s gotten better since we saw him last year.”
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was part of the brain trust that helped make Mateychuk a first-round pick, and he continues to be impressed by what the Manitoba native brings to the table.
“He’s not the biggest defenseman, but he’s got great edges, great anticipation,” Kekalainen said. “He sees the ice so well. He always knows where the puck is going before it gets there. Just great vision and anticipation and overall hockey sense. He was excellent (in Traverse City) in my opinion.”
