Blue Jackets Prospect Martin Rysavy On Playing With Denton Mateychuk, Improving His Game, And More

Since the Blue Jackets selected Martin Rysavy with the No. 197 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, he's played two seasons for the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors and represented Czechia at the World Juniors in 2022 and 2023. I spoke to him one-on-one after the third day of the Blue Jackets' 2023 development camp. Here's what he had to say.

What's it been like playing for Moose Jaw and Czechia since you've been drafted?

Rysavy: "Last season went long. We started at the start of July and I ended up playing until the start of May. So it was a long year, takes a lot of recovery [and] a lot of practicing to be prepared for a season in a good way. And overall, I felt like my game changed since I was drafted here. I just tried to focus on different things than I did before. So now we're just trying to build myself as much as I can."

You play with Denton Mateychuk (CBJ's No. 12 pick in 2022) in Moose Jaw where he's the captain. What can you tell us about him as a leader?

Rysavy: "We had a good relationship since I came to [Moose Jaw] so we didn't have any problems [and] no one had any problems. Anyone since he [became] the captain, he's a true leader. We have a lot of all our guys there and older guys that can lead the team with him. So we are helping him. We are helping quite a lot. But he's the guy who is responsible for a team and he can lead a team in a great way. And I think we saw that through the season. And if we had a bad time, he was always the guy who tried to change it and tried to put us on a good way. So I'm more than glad and I met him and that he was my captain."

You played against several fellow Jackets prospects over the year, whether that's in the WHL or the World Juniors. What was that like?

Rysavy: "Actually, I don't mind playing against [Stanislav Svozil] since we have been good friends since [we were] four or five years old. So, I know him [and] he was not that different. We play against each other a couple of times in [Czechia]. [There are] a few guys I used to play against or we would against them at World Juniors. So it's nice to get along with them and have some fun here. And obviously, the hockey world is big, but for us, it's not really that big. We're always meeting close guys together. So it's nice to meet personally [a] few more guys and have fun with them. And that's the best thing about hockey, just to meet new people, meet new faces, so I'm really enjoying them."

Does having those relationships ease the transition into a development camp like this?

Rysavy: "Yeah, as you said, it's, it's helping you a lot. And you can learn from your friends way better than from the guys who [you] don't really know. So we are helping each other [and] we are learning from each other. So that's helping everyone here and we have a really good group of guys and we are having fun and it's that's the key. We work hard, have fun, and learn from each other and I'm glad we get along with everyone."

Where would you like to improve your game over the next year?

Rysavy: "It's hard to say. Obviously, you want to develop everything to the best level possible. But, the main thing is probably skating, just like a little bit of quickness in the first two steps. That's probably the biggest thing I want to improve."

Rysavy also told me he doesn't know where he's going to play next year. He's eligible to play pro hockey in North America but hasn't signed his entry-level contract yet.