Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League
Bienvenue à LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey
Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin
Välkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida
Vítejte na NHL.com, oficiálních stránkách National Hockey League
Vitajte na NHL.com, oficiálnych stránkach National Hockey League
Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League
Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League
The 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held July 7-8 at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be July 7 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS) and rounds 2-7 are July 8 (11 a.m. ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). NHL.com is counting down to the draft with in-depth profiles on top prospects, podcasts and other features. Today, a look at defenseman Denton Mateychuk of Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League. NHL.com's full draft coverage can be found here .
The foundation for Denton Mateychuk's success this season with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League was laid during nine days in Texas last April.
Mateychuk was the only defenseman eligible for the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft to play for Canada at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He didn't have a point in three games but Canada won the tournament and Mateychuk believes the experience helped him immensely.
"It was obviously a huge honor to be able to represent my country at a tournament like that," Mateychuk said. "To win gold was even better. The experience was unbelievable. There's lots of great players on my team and lots of great competition.
"Just going into this year, I tried to take away whatever I could from that to better my game in the summer and improve on things that I think I need to get to the next level. Lots of those players gave me things to work on and I think that was huge for me."
Mateychuk put those lessons learned to good use this season. He was fifth among Western Hockey League defensemen with 64 points (13 goals, 51 assists) in 65 games and is No. 14 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters for the 2022 draft.
"This guy is a difference maker," Central Scouting's John Williams said. "He wants to make an impact every time he's on the ice. He's not the biggest guy in the world (5-foot-10, 194 pounds), but he'll drive the offense when he's on the ice. He'll lead the rush, he'll join the rush, he'll make plays, he'll score. He's a solid-built player who will, when the opportunity presents itself, he'll step up on somebody and make a big hit. He makes big plays. That gamebreaker mentality is something that you really like to see in a player."
Moose Jaw coach Mark O'Leary saw early this season that Mateychuk had grown as much off the ice as he did on the ice, and believes it came from being around older players at the World U-18s.
"To see the maturity and the growth he had just in the dressing room, the way that he carries himself and the way that he is with his teammates, I just think that probably has a big part," O'Leary said. "The opportunity to be around older guys, see what they're about. I just saw a guy that kind of came out of his shell and the leadership that he showed this year as a 17-year-old, it just screams captain."
On the ice Mateychuk leads with his skating and puck handling, which he uses to break out of his zone and start the offense, or to beat opponents to pucks in the defensive zone.
"Just watching him go back for pucks, puck retrievals and the disruption that he uses to create space for himself, I think that's where it starts," O'Leary said. "You see lots of defensemen that transition the puck so fast, but a big part of that is going back for a puck and giving yourself time to start going and he just has that way to create space for himself. "Offensively, because he does such a great job starting rushes … he's just gotten really good at picking his spots off the rush and in the offensive zone to be aggressive and be in the mix offensively. But at the same time, be able to be the first guy back as well.
"He's really good at angling. He has a good stick and uses that competitive edge to get the puck back fast."
Opponents certainly respected what Mateychuk could do. Winnipeg forward Matthew Savoie, No. 4 on Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, said Mateychuk was the toughest defenseman he faced in the WHL this season.
"Smooth-skating defenseman, breaks the puck out well, has a good gap," Savoie said. "He's really detailed in his own zone, he plays his system really well, he checks hard. He likes to make things happen out there. He's really good on the offensive side as well, carrying pucks up, breaking it out himself. Played Moose Jaw quite a bit this year so found him really effective out there."
Mateychuk said he tries to pattern his game after Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy ; he's just looking to add the physical element that is a significant part of McAvoy's game.
"I'm working on getting that," he said. "He kind of tries guys with his physicality and I can do that a little bit. Maybe not quite as much as he does but I think I can have that kind of defense that he has."
The 17-year-old developed some of his physical edge during battles with his three brothers growing up.
"Normally it would be me and Kasen, my younger brother that's 15, and then my older brother (Maddux, 19) and my youngest brother (Crosby) who's 12.
"There's definitely been quite a few intense battles. My dad actually built walls out of plywood so we wouldn't put too many holes in there. We had lots of mini-stick battles and they got quite intense."
Mateychuk now wants to focus his intensity on continuing to improve the details of his game, especially on the defensive side.
"I think a big thing for me is my positioning, to be in a position to defend but also get up in the rush," he said. "I want to find a balance there that'll be good. You want to be in a position to shut down plays early, have a good gap and all that stuff and that's something I want to work on because the quicker you can shut down a play, the quicker you can get into the offensive zone and create offense for your team."
O'Leary said he has no doubt Mateychuk will achieve his goals.
"There's nobody as competitive as Denton is," he said. "I think you see that in the way that he plays and we see it every day in the way that he practices and I think that's a big part of why he's going to play in the NHL."
Listen: New episode of NHL Draft Class
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, Stanley Cup Final logo, Stanley Cup Qualifiers name and logo, NHL.TV, Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Network Showdown name and logo, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, NHL Mascots, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, NHL Power Players name and logo, NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe name and logo, NHL Street name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2022. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc.© Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2022. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.