Denton Mateychuk, one of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ top prospects, is set to join the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Hershey Bears.
Per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, Mateychuk is expected to arrive in Cleveland in the next 1-2 days. The 12th overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft just wrapped up a long season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors that ended in the Memorial Cup semifinals on Friday night.
Mateychuk finished third among all WHL defensemen in regular season scoring with 75 points (17g, 58a) from 52 games. He then followed that up by finishing second in the league in overall postseason scoring with 30 points (11g, 19a) from 20 games.
CONFIRMED: The Captain is the best defenceman in the WHL 🫡
Denton Mateychuk has been named the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy winner
READ MORE 📰 https://t.co/pPN8w87tlX#ProtectTheHangar | #WHLAwards pic.twitter.com/JkzntkuBIy
— Moose Jaw Warriors (@MJWARRIORS) May 7, 2024
Mateychuk, a left-handed defender, could be a big boost for a Cleveland team that has been without their top offensive weapon on the backend, Jake Christiansen, since the start of the playoffs. Christiansen is out with an undisclosed injury and no timeline for his return has been provided.
Several players on the Bears roster have experience playing against Mateychuk from their time in the WHL. Vincent Iorio, Garin Bjorklund, Ryan Hofer, Andrew Cristall, Henrik Rybinski, and Alexander Suzdalev all crossed paths with the shifty defenseman in junior.
Hershey overall will be no stranger to the occasion if the 19-year-old rearguard does indeed make his AHL debut in the coming days. Last year, during the Eastern Conference Finals, the Rochester Americans dressed Buffalo Sabres top prospect Matthew Savoie for his pro debut in Game 2.
The Bears then also faced off against the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ highly-touted Shane Wright in the Calder Cup Finals. Wright recorded three assists in the seven-game series.
Game 2 on Saturday night at Giant Center was too early for a potential Mateychuk debut but the series is headed for Cleveland next week. Mateychuk could make his debut at home in Game 3.
