When the Columbus Blue Jackets opted Denton Mateychuk to the Cleveland Monsters to start the 2024-25 season, it sure felt like it wouldn't be long before he made the jump from the AHL club to the NHL.
Sure enough, it was just over two months before the 20-year-old got the call to Columbus.
The question then quickly turned to whether or not he'd stay in Columbus once he made the jump, or if he'd join now-former defensive prospect David Jiricek (amongst others in franchise history) as a frequent traveler on I-71 between the two cities.
Mateychuk took little time in answering that question.
After his December 23rd debut (a Columbus win over the Montreal Canadiens), head coach Dean Evason said the club "loved his composure", that Mateychuk "didn't look out of his place", and that he "conducted himself very well."
Similar statements have been echoed by Evason (and others) since then, and the trust has been shown with his ice time. Mateychuk is averaging 18:02 per night through the first 13 games of his career, hasn't been benched or demoted, has been trusted in key minutes late in close games, and has played at least 13:56 in every game of his young career.
Moreover, the Blue Jackets have been playing their best hockey of the season with Mateychuk in the lineup. Since making his debut, Columbus is 10-2-1 with Mateychuk in the lineup.
Even the losses have been (mostly) by the skin of their teeth.
In two of the three without the club collecting two points, one was technically a shutout by the Blue Jackets (they lost 1-0 in a shootout), and another was a loss in the final seconds of regulation.
When Mateychuk missed three games with an illness last week, Columbus won just one of three games. That was lowlighted by a 7-4 loss Thursday night to the Carolina Hurricanes.
To sum that up: the Blue Jackets have been really good with Mateychuk in the lineup.
And that isn’t a coincidence.
In Mateychuk’s last six games, Columbus has allowed two goals or less every time. Part of that has been the stellar play of Elvis Merzlikins as of late — but make no mistake that part of Elvis' great play has been the insertion of Mateychuk in the lineup. Merzlikins (as well as Daniil Tarasov and Jet Greaves) have been highly complimentary of the team's defense as of late, with every blueliner seemingly elevating their game.
Mateychuk has predominantly played with Ivan Provorov on the Blue Jackets' second pairing. In their 187 minutes together in even-strength hockey, the duo has been on the ice for just eight opposition goals. That comes out to an average of 2.56 per 60 minutes.
There has been seven pairs of Columbus defensemen that have skated together for 100+ minutes this season, and the only pairs who have performed better in that area are ones where one of the players is Zach Werenski.
The offense isn't there yet for Mateychuk— and that's okay. It shouldn't be. Defense is the Blue Jackets' only priority right for their rookie; it's really tough (and rare) for a 20-year-old to be a regular NHL defenseman, especially when being asked to contribute offensively.
Even so, Mateychuk has picked up a pair of assists and on January 9th, got his first NHL goal:
End of the second period and the #CBJ had a, uhm, very good twenty minutes. The four-goal period makes it 5-1 Blue Jackets.
— 1st Ohio Battery (@1stOhioBattery) January 10, 2025
Amongst the goal scorers? Denton Mateychuk. Here's his first career goal: pic.twitter.com/mI06hicULn
As the Blue Jackets continue their playoff push, expect most of the questions to rightly continue centering around defense and goaltending. One can often bail out the other, but they both have to trust each other on a nightly basis as the number of games begins to tick down.
With Mateychuk now firmly locked in to the middle of the Columbus defense, look for that trust to continue to grow.
And look for Mateychuk to continue to grow, too.
