Jason Mateychuk’s phone rang on Sunday afternoon and his son’s name, Denton, flashed on the screen.
It was just three days before Christmas, so Jason felt he knew why his son was calling.
He would not be surprised – or grateful – to be wrong.
“I thought he was going to find me checking his flight home (for the holidays),” Jason said Monday at Nationwide Arena. “He said, ‘Dad, I’m going to a big club.’ I said, ‘What?!’ I just said, ‘I’m proud of you.’
“We talked a little bit after that, but yeah, I told him how proud I was, and I know how hard he works. I said, ‘You deserve it.'”
You really do. Denton has been on a strong path to the top of the hockey world over the past few years, managing the Canadian juniors for the past few seasons and then breaking out in the American Hockey League in his rookie campaign.
Then Monday brought a holiday gift the Mateychuk family is sure to remember forever. Mateychuk made his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets last night, and he certainly showed that he belongs, logging 18:36 of ice time – including power play minutes – and didn’t look out of place in CBJ’s 5-4 win over Montreal.
From his lone leg to being part of the starting lineup to being a regular in the NHL for the first time, Denton got to live what he calls a childhood dream.
“It was a great time,” he said. “I think going out to warm up maybe there were a lot of emotions, but just starting the game, getting the first one out of the way, I think it’s good. I think about the third or fourth shift, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m a little settled.’ He’s kind of riding high at the beginning of the game, so I think once I got a couple under me, I was settled.”
Mateychuk’s first game was impressive, and the fact that he is playing one of the toughest positions in the sport at age 20 makes it even more difficult. Although he may be named after a famous baseball hurricane – legendary pitcher Denton True “Cy” Young – Mateychuk was calm, cool and collected all night, using a good stick to cut off the Canadiens’ passing chances, winning battles at the wall, rarely. stepping out of position and even joining the chase when the time calls for it.
Given the first-round draft picks coming, though, that wouldn’t be surprising. Mateychuk was a standout for Canada’s World Juniors team last year and dominated junior hockey with Moose Jaw of the Western Hockey League, posting 28 goals and 105 points in 72 regular-season and playoff games in 2023-24 as it continues. the league’s top defender and playoff MVP.
He was a CBJ training camp finalist and showed no signs of slowing down in 27 games with Cleveland of the AHL, posting a 9-16-25 line that ranked him tops in the league among defensemen in both goals and points.
“He’s very tough,” said CBJ co-captain Zach Werenski, who knows a thing or two about reaching the highest level as a young defenseman. “He has been like this in both fields he has been there. Obviously what he’s doing in the American League right now is special. He plays the right way everywhere on the ice, makes plays, never gets out of the zone, and he succeeds in doing it.
“I’m really happy for him to get this game. He obviously had family here, which is great.”
Indeed, it is not easy to get from his home in Dominion City, Manitoba – a few miles north of the Canada-Minnesota border – to Columbus. The family was scattered because of their athletic endeavors, but Jason, Mateychuk’s mother Keela, brothers Maddux, Kasen and Crosby, and sister Brylee were all at Nationwide Arena during the warm-up.
“It’s amazing,” Jason said. “Something like this is always in the back of your mind. You hope it will, but you never know. Being here, it’s unbelievable. We are beaming with pride.”
And Jason is right; Denton has certainly put in the work. Although blessed with excellent hockey sense and swing skills, he has improved little since the Blue Jackets took him 12th overall in the 2022 draft. Mateychuk said he improved his ball a lot, worked on studying the game to know when to join the chase or sit back, and closed his gaps in the defense to be better at closing down opposing teams.
You can never be ready for the speed of an NHL game, but for another tournament, Mateychuk said he felt he held his own at a very high level.
“I think everything has gone up a little bit,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, guys are trying to make teams, but once you get all your systems and everything ready, it’s really fast. I knew it would come in quickly. I was ready to make that adjustment, and I felt like I did a pretty good job of that.”
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