"Stelio is a highly-skilled center coming off back-to-back 90-point seasons in Brandon," said Waddell. "He's shown great ability as a goal scorer and we look forward to the next steps in his development."
Mattheos, 19, ranked fourth in the Western Hockey League in goals (44) and sixth in points (96) this season, while skating in 65 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings. Mattheos captained the Wheat Kings in 2018-19 and led the team in goals, assists (52), points, shots on goal (271), power-play goals (18) and power-play assists (16). The 6'1", 196-pound forward reached 40 goals and 90 points for the second straight season and was the only WHL player to score 40 goals in each of the last two seasons. Mattheos tallied 30 multi-point games this season, including three hat tricks, and won 54.5% of his team-high 1,348 faceoffs.
The Winnipeg, Man., native was drafted by the Hurricanes in the third round, 73rd overall, of the 2017 NHL Draft. Mattheos registered 278 points (127g, 151a) in 253 career WHL regular season games with Brandon from 2015-19, and added 25 points (12g, 13a) in 45 career playoff games. He won a WHL Championship in 2016 with the Wheat Kings and skated in three games with a goal at the 2016 Memorial Cup. Mattheos was selected first overall by Brandon in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft.