With the NHL schedule paused for the Olympics, a local player is making the most of the break by returning to his roots and spending meaningful time with family and community.
Reflecting on the season so far
Denton Mateychuk of the Columbus Blue Jackets has returned to Dominion City during the break in the NHL schedule. The young defenseman says the first half of his season has been a positive one overall.
“I’ve been getting a good amount of opportunity with the team, and we’ve had some ups and downs with our record and winning and losing games. But as of recent, for the last month, we’ve been on a pretty good streak and have been pushing towards getting into the wild card spot.”
Mateychuk says he is also coming off an injury after taking a hit into the boards that sidelined him for a couple of weeks.
“Once I got the go ahead, and felt ready to go and got back in. It’s tough to miss time, especially when you’re going through a coaching change. Coming back into that, you’re anxious to get back playing under the new coach. But it’s nice to be back playing and feel fully healthy.”
A break spent at home
With NHL games on pause for the Olympic Games, Mateychuk says he has made the most of his time back home.
“I’ve been following my siblings around a little bit. Kason had a couple of games earlier in the week that I went to. And then obviously doing some fishing and some snowmobiling, and all the winter extremities that I used to do as a kid.”
He says the time away from the rink has allowed him to reset mentally and enjoy quality moments with his family.
“I think they’re pretty happy to have me home. My mom loves having all the siblings at home and everybody enjoys seeing everybody and it’s been a really good time to spend with them.”
Giving back to the community
During the break, Mateychuk also made appearances in the community.
He says he performed the ceremonial puck drop at a St. Malo Warriors game after being invited by longtime friend and Warriors player Brady Gregoire.
“I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely. I would love to come and support you guys, and watch some of that hockey.’ It was a pretty cool experience to get out there, and I haven’t been in Saint Jean rink in forever. So, it was nice to go there and watch a guy who I grew up with. It was a cool moment.”
Mateychuk honoured to be part of the Warriors ceremonial puck drop, especially with longtime friend Brady Gregoire (left). Photo credit: Julie Snarr.
Mateychuk says the support he has received from the community over the years made it especially meaningful to return the favour.
He also stopped by Roseau Valley School to read to students during I Love to Read Month.
“I said, ‘Sure, I’d love to do that.’ So, I went in and read to them. They had some good questions for me after that. And it’s always fun. I enjoy doing that.”
Despite playing on one of hockey’s biggest stages, Mateychuk says coming home reminds him he is still the same person he’s always been.
“It’s nice when you come home, you don’t want to be looked at differently than you were before. And I feel like I’m still that same guy that you went to high school with, and everybody went to high school with. It’s nice to just catch up and talk about things other than hockey and just be genuine.”
Last stretch
While the break has been refreshing, Mateychuk says he is eager to get back on the ice.
“I’m excited to make that push in the for the last 20 some games that we have. And we’ve been playing good hockey as of recently. So, it gets you excited to get back in the mix of that.”
Looking further ahead, he says representing Canada at the Olympics remains a lifelong dream.
“My brother was born just before the Olympics, and they named him after Crosby and it would be such an honour to represent the country. I have had the opportunity to do that in previous years on pretty big stages, but the Olympics is kind of the peak of that, and if I were to get that opportunity, it would be very special to me.”