Will he or won't he make the team?
Denton Mateychuk is among those prospects looking to find out if he will be on the Columbus Blue Jackets roster when they kick things off for real at the Minnesota Wild next Thursday.
The 20-year-old prospect from Winnipeg has had a strong training camp for the Blue Jackets, playing in three preseason games and scoring in two of them. Mateychuk's first goal stood up as the game-winner against the St. Louis Blues on Sep. 25. He scored in the 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Sep. 30, and did not score in the Jackets' 3-1 win over the Blues on Tuesday.
As Bally Sports broadcaster Jody Shelley said on The Inside Edge with Blue Jackets radio play-by-play voice Bob McElligott, it's more than just the offense that the Blue Jackets coaches and management are looking at with Mateychuk.
Where will Denton Mateychuk end up: @BlueJacketsNHL or @monstershockey?@ShelleyHawk45 and I talk about what will likely go into that decision. Plus, were joined by Gavin Brindley (@BrindleyGavin).
— Bob McElligott (@BobbyMacSports) October 3, 2024
The Inside Edge presented by @FirstMerchants:https://t.co/a9OJcciHbi pic.twitter.com/NM9H16PtJD
"They're watching how he takes the puck and gets out of pressure," Shelley said. "Makes plays easy. And that's what he does really well. He has a quietness to his game where he can take the first option and make a hard pass. It's a small detail but it's a big deal.
"The Blue Jackets ... of course defensively ... the focus is not only protecting the front of the net but getting out of your own end and controlling the puck and he seems to do that really well."
Part of Mateychuk's mission is making decisions tough for coaches and management. Even though he didn't score on Tuesday, he was one of the Blue Jackets' best players.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2024-10-01:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/weoPO7WvvH
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 2, 2024
The same can be said for his game against the Capitals.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2024-09-30:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/cZgHWFqfnd
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) October 1, 2024
And in his first game of the exhibition season against the Blues, he was still among the top performers.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Columbus Blue Jackets on 2024-09-25:#CBJ pic.twitter.com/xjnD3JhGzw
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) September 26, 2024
Columbus will wrap up its final preseason game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night and it could be Mateychuk's final shot to convince everyone he's ready now.
On merit alone, Denton Mateychuk should crack that CBJ blueline.
— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) October 2, 2024
He's had a spectacular camp.
If he goes to Cleveland to start the season, it's just a matter of time before he's up in the NHL. Head coach Dean Evason knows the importance of development.
"What he has shown, clearly he's been that guy for a long time," Evason said after Monday's loss against the Capitals. "He's going to be an NHL player for a long time. If he starts here, wonderful. If he doesn't, his development is going to be continually steady because of what we've seen, how he's played, he's gotten better and better.
"His career is going to go like that as well."
What parts of his game has Evason been impressed with?
"His calmness," Evason said. "His poise as a young player. He doesn't panic in those situations. Even after he makes a mistake, turns the puck over, it's not a panic mode. Like he doesn't go chasing after it and compound that one mistake. That's why you don't see that glaring error.
"Obviously, he has offensive instincts. Like you see him getting into holes in the offensive zone. Rotating down where he can receive pucks.
"He's a really good player."
Will he be in Columbus or Cleveland?
"This is preseason and the NHL is a great league," Evason said. "Best league in the world. And when regular season starts, there's a lot of heat, and there's a lot of heat on defensemen, and there's a lot of heat on young defensemen.
"We have to be careful what we do and not get too far ahead of ourselves. We like his progress as we do with a lot of players. And as I said, if it works out he's here, great. If it doesn't, great."
Soon, we'll see how this shakes out.
