Stefan Matteau
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Birthday:
1994-02-23 |
Position:
C |
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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 (29th overall), 2012 |
Weight:
209 lbs. |
Prospect Talent Score
Probability of Success
- C
History
2009-10: Matteau played for the Canadian national champion Notre Dame Hounds midget program in Saskatchewan and won a gold medal with the USA squad at the 2010 Four Nations Cup. In 65 games he scored 26 goals with 45 assists and had 98 penalty minutes. He scored 3 goals with 3 assists in seven tournament games as Notre Dame captured the Telus Cup.
2010-11: Born in Chicago, Matteau skated for the U17 squad at the USA National Development Team Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 47 games with the US NTDP U17 team he scored 7 goals with 11 assists and had 67 penalty minutes. He had 1 goal and 2 assists in three games as the squad won the championship in the 2011 U18 Vlad Dzurilla tournament in Slovakia and had 2 goals and 6 assists when the team won a silver medal at the 2011 U17 World Hockey Challenge. Matteau committed to playing college hockey at North Dakota in 2012-13.
2011-12: Matteau skated for the NDTP U18 squad during the season but in April was ruled ineligible for the 2012 U18 World Junior Championship by the IIHF. In 46 games he scored 15 goals with 17 assists and had a team-leading 166 penalty minutes. The USA captured its fourth straight gold medal at the U18 WJC tournament. Matteau de-committed from playing college hockey and announced he will play for Blainville-Boisbriand in the QMJHL in 2012-13. He was invited to the NHL Draft Combine and ranked 17th amongst North American skaters in Central Scouting's final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.
Talent Analysis
Matteau plays the game with a lot of energy, passion, and intensity. He uses his big, strong frame to play an in-your-face physical style along the boards and in the corners. While not blessed with elite level skill, he has decent hands, a heavy shot and knows how to create space for himself by protecting the puck in the offensive zone. He is well schooled defensively and should eventually emerge into a good penalty killer with his good speed and aggressive nature. His occasionally borderline style of play is better suited to junior hockey than the college game, which is why he decided to go the CHL route instead of going to play at North Dakota.
Future
While he's not likely going to ever emerge into a top flight talent, Matteau is a fairly safe player to project. He could end up being a good complementary second liner, but a more conservative projection would see him developing into a mean, physical, two-way third-liner. He will play junior hockey for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL this season where his father is an assistant coach.
