Earlier in the season, Kris Letang rated Mike Matheson's French-speaking ability at a seven on a scale of 1-10.
That was apparent during the last question of Matheson's media availability following Pittsburgh's 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2, when a reporter with RDS asked if he could pose a question in French. The Penguins defenseman smiled and obliged.
Matheson's Ability to Speak French "Surprises Some People"
"The fact that I can still do interviews in French and kind of hold my own is something that surprises some people," Matheson said.
It surprises fans, the media, and sometimes, members of the opposing team - which is something that Matheson and Letang try and use to their advantage whenever they get thrown on the ice together.
It's usually a last-second decision necessitated by injury, like when Brian Dumoulin left briefly in the third period after going hard into the end boards. So in that situation, the two Quebec natives will sometimes turn to the primary language of their province to figure out what they're going to do.
"It's great if we're going to a faceoff, especially because we don't play together too often. So when we do go out there, it's just like, 'okay, you two go,'" Matheson said with a laugh.
"We'll get to the faceoff a little late and won't necessarily have a plan, so we can talk to each other in French and not let the other team know what we're doing, unless there's a French guy on their team on the ice at that point. I think that's definitely an added bonus."
Mike Matheson speaks to the media.
Matheson grew up in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, which is located in Montreal's West Island. And while English is the primary language there, Matheson attended a French-speaking school as a kid and became fluent.
"It's predominantly English, so we were in our little pop of English, but at the same time, we were exposed to such a different culture with downtown Montreal being such a rich cultured city," Matheson said. "I thought that mixture was really cool to grow up in. I grew up with a lot of different kids in school from different backgrounds. I was kind of the English kid to a point, and a lot of people didn't expect us to speak French coming out of our part of town."
That's only been amplified with Matheson leaving Canada in 2011 to play for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League.
He has been here ever since, playing three years at Boston College before turning professional with the Florida Panthers organization after they took him in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft, held right here in Pittsburgh.
"Originally I had a pretty Canadian accent when I first went to the States, but I've been here for 10 years now, so it's pretty much gone now," Matheson said. "I find now that I've been in the States, when I go home, I notice it in my siblings (sister Kelly and brother Kelly) and my parents a lot."
Matheson loves returning home for the summers, where he and his wife Emily - an Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national hockey team - train at the Adrenaline Performance Center with Letang.
And this past offseason, Matheson was more focused than ever after a difficult season with Florida. He led the Panthers with eight goals - which led team defensemen - and 20 points in 59 games played. However, Matheson was a healthy scratch at times throughout the season, including the last two games of Florida's Qualifying Round matchup, also against the Islanders.
"It was a tough year, and I put all that on my shoulders," Matheson said. "Obviously, I didn't deliver and I didn't play up to my potential, and I only have myself to blame for that. And so I think that's where my head was going into the offseason. My only focus was making sure that I came ready to play this year."
After being acquired from the Panthers in the Patric Hornqvist trade back in September, Matheson's time in Pittsburgh got off to a bit of a rocky start after getting injured in the second game of the season versus Philadelphia.
But after returning to the lineup, Matheson focused on building his game up step by step to get back to the level he wanted to be at, and has been realizing his potential as a key contributor to the blue line with great chemistry on a pairing alongside Cody Ceci.
"Mike helps us in so many ways," head coach Mike Sullivan said of Matheson, who finished the regular season with five goals in 44 games. "He has such great physical attributes. He's got good size, he's so strong. He might be the best skater we have on our team, and when you look at some of the skaters that we have, I think that's a high honor. So that's how well he skates and gets back to pucks and helps us get out of our end zone. He uses the skating ability on both sides of the puck to help our team. So that's Mike's game."
But as Sullivan likes to say, players don't ever arrive, they just continue to evolve - and that's a sentiment shared by Matheson.
"I think I still have a lot to work on, just like any other player," Matheson said. "But I think my confidence level is in a much better place where I'm less worried about making mistakes. I think being able to be in a better place mentally, where during games I'm reading and reacting and making plays and being a little more sure of myself, is a great place to be in. I'm super excited to be in the playoffs here."
