Mike Matheson
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Birthday:
1994-02-27 |
Position:
D |
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Eligible for draft:
2012 |
Shoots:
Left |
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Drafted:
2012 |
Height:
6-1 |
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Acquired:
1st round (23rd overall), 2012 |
Weight:
180 lbs. |
Prospect Talent Score
Probability of Success
- D
History
2009-10: Mike Matheson skated for the Lac Saint-Louis Lions midget AAA team in Quebec. In 30 regular season games he scored 5 goals with 6 assists and had 33 penalty minutes. In the playoffs he scored 6 goals with 7 assists and had 10 penalty minutes in 17 games. Lac Saint-Louis reached the Quebec finals before falling to College Antioine-Girouard. Matheson was selected by Shawinigan in the second round (27th overall) of the 2010 QMJHL Entry Draft.
2010-11: Matheson was a team captain for Lac Saint-Louis in his second season as the Lions advanced to the Telus Cup (Canada's midget AAA championship). He led all Lions defensemen with 14 goals and 24 assists and had 72 penalty minutes in 35 games. In the Quebec tournament he scored 7 goals with 18 assists and had 16 penalty minutes in 15 games. The Lions were second in round-robin play and lost to Vancouver North West in the bronze medal game of the Telus Cup. Matheson was named the tournament's top defenseman; finishing with 3 goals and 5 assists in seven games. He committed to playing college hockey at Boston College in 2012-13.
2011-12: Matheson opted for a year of junior hockey – skating for the USHL's defending champion Dubuque Fighting Saints. In an up-and-down season for the Saints, who were riddled by injuries in the first half, Matheson was the leading scorer amongst defensemen with 11 goals and 16 assists in 53 games. He had an even plus/minus for the season and a team-high 84 penalty minutes. In five playoff games he scored 2 of his 4 goals on the power play and had 1 assist and an even plus/minus with 4 penalty minutes. Dubuque was swept by Indiana in a best-of-five second round series. Moncton obtained the QMJHL rights to Matheson in a trade with Shawinigan. He was invited to the NHL Draft Combine and ranked 30th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.
Talent Analysis
Matheson has the skating ability and puckhandling skill to become a good offensive defenseman. Add in a good shot from the point and you have the makings of a power-play QB. His defensive game is not well established at this point, but that is a part of his game that he can work on while playing for Boston College. Matheson has decent size but is not considered a physical defenseman, which would be another area of his game to work on.
Future
Matheson will join the Boston College squad this fall where he will be given the opportunity to step up his game and develop the defensive skills necessary to play professional hockey. He has the hands and skating ability to become a good second-pair offensive defenseman in the NHL, but will need two or three years to get there.
