Montreal’s Matteau to play for U.S.
The reporter joined a scrum in progress following a workout at the Team USA national junior training camp and, as he pushed his microphone forward, was surprised to hear the player speaking French.
“Who’s that?” he whispered.
“Stefan Matteau,” came the reply.
Matteau, an 18-year-old Montrealer, is one of two Canadian-American hybrids on the U.S. team. He and defenceman Gord Murphy were both born in the United States while their Canadian fathers were playing in the National Hockey League.
While Murphy has spent his entire life in the U.S., Matteau has jumped back and forth across the border, although his hockey allegiances are with the country of his birth.
“I followed my dad around until I was 10 and then we moved to Montreal,” said Matteau, whose father, Stephane, played 13 seasons in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with the New York Rangers in 1994. “I never really played for Team Canada, so that’s why I chose the U.S.”
Matteau played minor hockey in Montreal and then embarked on a path that was designed to lead him to a U.S. college program.
He attended Notre Dame College in Saskatchewan, helping the Hounds win the 2010 Telus Cup as Canada’s top midget team.
He also made his debut for the U.S. in 2010, winning a gold medal at the Four Nations Cup.
The following season, Matteau joined the U.S. National Team Development Program. Most of the players from that program are headed to college, and Matteau committed to the University of North Dakota, where he would have played alongside Canadiens prospects Danny Kristo and Mark MacMillan.
But Matteau’s plans changed after he was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the first round (29th overall) of this year’s NHL entry draft.
“I thought the Q (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) was a better fit for me,” Matteau said. “It’s more of a prostyle schedule and a pro-style game, and I got to sign my first contract.”
The fit was even better when the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada was able to swing a trade to acquire Matteau’s rights from the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, the QMJHL team that drafted him in 2010. There’s a built-in comfort level because Matteau is able to live at home and his father is an assistant coach with the Armada.
“It was an adjustment at first, dealing with the size and the speed and the travel and playing every other day,” Matteau said of the move to major junior.
“But I had a strong November and then I started preparing to come here.”
At 6-foot-2 and 217 pounds, size is one of Matteau’s strong suits.
“I had a strong off-season,” he said. “My skating has gotten better, but I always have to work on the first three or four steps.”
Armada coach J.F. Houle said Matteau has all the assets to become a power forward.
“The important thing is for him to understand how to use his strengths,” said Houle, the son of former Canadien Rejean Houle.
“Sometimes players in his position try to do things they can’t. He has to be a player like Erik Cole, who drives hard to the net.”
Matteau has 15 goals and 10 assists in 29 games and is Plus-15 for the Armada, which currently sits third overall in the QMJHL standings.
“We’re having a pretty good season,” Houle said.
“We lost our last two games where we didn’t have Stefan and (defenceman) Xavier Ouellett, who is with Team Canada. It’s not easy losing two top players, but it’s a positive because it will be a great experience for them to play at the IIHF level and we hope they come back with confidence. At the same time, it gives some of our other players a chance to get more ice time and show what they can do.”
Matteau said he was surprised to be drafted by the Devils, if only because his father became infamous in New Jersey after he scored a series-clinching goal against the Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference final.