Mateychuk just misses NHL debut with Blue Jackets
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This article was published 10/10/2024 (245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
It took until four days before the start of the NHL season, but the Columbus Blue Jackets made their decision on if Dominion City’s Denton Mateychuk would start the season with the big club.
The team assigned the 20-year-old defenseman to the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Cleveland Monsters Oct. 6.
Mateychuk debuted in the AHL last season in the playoffs, posting three assists and a plus-five rating in four games as a professional.
Mateychuk will join cousin Owen Pickering in the AHL, the top develpmental league with clubs affiliated to NHL teams.
Pickering will be starting the season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, after being assigned to the team Oct. 4. The defensemen were both selected in the first round of the 2022 NHL draft.
Both Cleveland and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton play in the AHL’s Eastern Conference, meaning the Manitoba Moose will not be facing either Mateychuk or Pickering this season, nor will either player make the trip to Manitoba for a game.
The two could face each other late in the year, as their respective teams first play Feb. 8 when the Penguins host the Monsters.
Oakbank’s Brett Howden will be the only player from the region carrying the torch into the NHL season. Now entering his seventh season, Howden is in the last year of his contract with the Vegas Golden Knights.
With key losses throughout the line-up, Vegas has re-tooled their roster this off-season, and Howden could be one player who stands to benefit.
“I think everybody’s pretty curious, it’s pretty cool to see a shake-up of the lines,” Howden said in an early training camp media scrum.
“Obviously everybody’s going to be playing with everybody in the pre-season. there’s going to be a lot of guys in and out. I’m sure stuff will shuffle around but it’s just fun to be back and be with the guys again.”
The former Eastman Select has played over 350 NHL games in his career, including a new high of 72 last season.