‘It’s been crazy this week’
Rookie centre Barzal’s excellent adventure from Coquitlam to finalist for Calder Trophy
It takes a lot to overwhelm Mathew Barzal.
The Coquitlam native not only sliced through NHL defenders last season like a hot knife through butter, the New York Islanders’ whiz kid is also favoured to capture the Calder Trophy as top rookie ahead of Brock Boeser and Clayton Keller Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Barzal could become the first B.C. native to win the award since Barret Jackman of Trail earned the honour 15 years ago. Think about that. Joe Sakic of Burnaby, Steve Yzerman of Cranbrook, Paul Kariya of North Vancouver and Mark Recchi of Kamloops are in the Hockey Hall of Fame but weren’t named top rookie.
The closest Vancouver connection to the Calder is Moscow native Pavel Bure, who won the title in 1992, and it’s why Wednesday is such a big deal.
Barzal was overwhelmed in the week leading up to the glitzy awards gala. Everybody wanted a piece of the speedy, shifty, creative and quick-release centre. The only peace of mind he found was doing what he has always done — getting his gear and getting to Planet Ice for an off-season skating session — and letting a plethora of interview requests go to voicemail.
“I don’t mind it (attention) now, but I’d prefer to stick to my business,” said the 21-year-old Barzal. “Just skate and train and I don’t like to go out too much and I like to keep everything hockey based. It’s been crazy this week with so many moving parts and there’s some stress that comes with it.
“It will be fun to relax and I’m sure I’ll enjoy the moment. I’ll be thinking of a lot of coaches who shaped me, how much work has been put in and how much my parents have sacrificed. When I look back on it, it’s going to be one of the best experiences of my life.”
It should be. Barzal’s rise from the Burnaby Winter Club, to the BCHL and WHL, to cracking the Islanders’ roster on a full-time basis last season was already a good story. A better one was wracking up a whopping 85 points (22-63) and averaging 1.04 points per outing. Being initially aligned with the veteran Andrew Ladd and motivated Jordan Eberle helped. So did ample power-play time that resulted in 27 special-team points.
“The Calder is on your radar from the get-go,” admitted Barzal. “Keller had a hot start and Boeser was consistent all the way through, but once you get caught up in awards, that’s when it takes you away from your game.
“I don’t know if I surprised myself. Once I got going and even after a month it wasn’t that this was surprising. It was more just keep doing it and being consistent.”
Keller compiled 65 points (23-42) as a centre with the Arizona Coyotes, while Tampa Bay Lightning centre Yanni Gourde had 64 points, Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor 57 points — including a rookie-leading 31 goals — and Boeser 55 points. The Canucks’ winger was an early Calder favourite, but his season was cut short by a back injury, yet he still managed 29 goals in 62 games.
“He’s great,” acknowledged Barzal. “He’s going to have a heck of a career and in the next 10 to 12 years, he’s going to be known as one of the top goal scorers. He’s a dangerous player. I got to meet him a couple of times and he’s an awesome kid. Vancouver is really lucky to have him.”
Responded Boeser: “Barzal is a good two-way guy and probably one of the best skaters in the NHL already. He sees the ice really well and he’s skilled. He’s got all the assets.”
The mutual admiration isn’t surprising. Barzal and Boeser first crossed paths in a triple-A Bantam tournament at Winnipeg and then hit it off again at the 2015 NHL Scouting Combine.
The 2017-18 rookie class also included Chicago Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat, who put up 28 goals, and New Jersey Devils centre Nico Hischier, who amassed 52 points, in what was a stellar first-year field. It only made Barzal’s rise and drive to become a 2015 first-round pick — he went 16th and Boeser 23rd — more remarkable.
The 6-foot, 190-pound centre played just two NHL games in 2016-17 and was sent back to the Seattle Thunderbirds. Rather than pout, Barzal leaned on the resolve and work ethic learned from his father. He would pile up 79 points (10-69) in 41 games and led the T-Birds to a Memorial Cup berth.
“It (demotion) sucked at the start, but you get over it and just focus on being a more complete player,” said Barzal. “If you let that stuff hold you back — or if you develop a bitterness toward people — it just takes away from your game, and you have to make the best of it.”
None of that surprised former T-Birds coach Steve Konowalchuk, who’s now an assistant with Anaheim.
“When I would bring Matt in the next day, he had already looked at the tapes and he knew what I was going to tell him without even showing him,” said Konowalchuk. “That shows his dedication to being better and that’s pretty impressive.”
The dedication started early.
Barzal’s competitive nature dates to being MVP and scoring leader at the world-famous Quebec Pee Wee Tournament. He took it to another level at the Burnaby Winter Club and was the first-overall pick in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. If that wasn’t enough, there was plenty of incentive on the home front — especially from his father Mike.
“My dad is a plumber and up at 5:30,” said Barzal. “He’s the hardest-working guy I know. He would drive my sister everywhere and me everywhere. He would work overtime to get time off so he could come to (hockey) tournaments and just seeing him work so hard, it just motivated me.
“He always told me: ‘You don’t want to be doing what I do. You don’t want to be taking a lunch box to work.’ “
If you let that stuff hold you back … it just takes away from your game.”
Mathew Barzal