An offensive force
St. John’s rookie forward Matthew Butler making an impact with Charlottetown Islanders
When Matthew Butler was six years old, he would go over to his neighbour’s rink in St. John’s to shoot pucks with his brother.
It didn’t matter if there was snow, rain or -15 C temperatures, they would be out there on the rink.
That’s where his love for hockey began.
At age 15, he left home to play hockey at one of the best hockey schools, Shattuckst. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn. Many recognizable names have gone through the program, such as Sidney Crosby, Derek Stepan and Zach Parise. Former NHL draft pick and St. John’s native Nathan Noel also spent time there, as well as current PWHL Toronto player Maggie Connors.
Ohio State committee, and Mount Pearl native, Leah Wicks attends Shattuck now.
In 57 games with the school at the U16 AAA level, Butler was ranked third in scoring with 16 goals, 47 assists for 63 points.
“I got to make a lot of friendships and met people I will be friends with forever and we had a strong team. We went to nationals, we didn’t win, but it will be something I’ll never forget,” he said.
DRAFTED FIFTH
The Charlottetown Islanders were scouting Butler while he was in Minnesota. It turned out that hockey media icon Ron Maclean was, too. During the U Sports men’s hockey championship in Charlottetown last March, Maclean shot a video of himself wearing an Islanders jersey — with Butler’s name on the back — and sent it to the teenager.
“It was really special,” said Butler. “It was a pretty unreal feeling that they wanted me here. When you have someone that high calibre make a video with your jersey on, it helps.”
The Islanders drafted Butler in the fifth round, and he joined the team for the 202324 season.
Currently, he is in the top 10 in QMJHL (Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League) rookie scoring. With nine goals and 28 assists for 37 points, he has been leading the Islanders offensively since the Christmas break.
Marcus Kearsey, another Newfoundlander on the team, has taken Butler under his wing, helping him settle down in Charlottetown.
“He drives me to school every day, we’re pretty close like that,” he said. “It’s good to have another person from Newfoundland to bond with.”
At 17, this is the first time he has completed against players who are up to 20 years old. Butler appreciates the leadership of head coach Jim Hulton in making the adjustment easier.
MAKING PROGRESS
“Huckins, Horth, Morneau. All the (leaders) on our team have been good role models to me. There’s nothing else I could ask for,” he said.
“Jim (Hulton) has helped me become a player I didn’t think I could be. He helps me grow every single day, do the things I didn’t think I could do. He just wants the best out of me.”
Hulton has been very impressed by what he has seen so far this season, and he knows what he has with Butler’s skill on the ice.
“He’s a guy who’s shown tremendous growth over the course of the season and another guy post-christmas where you could see the confidence go on the rise,” he said.
He has big plans for Butler.
“We think he’s our bonafide number-one centre that every contending team needs to have. He reminds me of even a Xavier Simmoneau,” said Hulton. “If you look at his combination with Michaud and Shields, these guys could be together for a number of years, and they could easily make up our number-one line in the future.”
Butler is looking ahead at his future with the Islanders and hopes to bring home a Memorial Cup.
“You want to go to the Memorial Cup and win something there, but it’s also important to build a friendship here, keep going and try to do something special,” said Butler.