Denton Mateychuk notches first NHL goal

It took eight games for Denton Mateychuk to find the back of an NHL net.

The Dominion City product scored his first NHL goal Jan. 9, tallying to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 4-2 lead in a game against the Seattle Kraken. The Blue Jackets would go on to win 6-2.

After an offensive zone face-off spilled behind the Kraken net, James van Riemsdyk took control, spinning out to the side of the net and letting a shot go, which was saved by Philipp Grubauer.

The rebound went right to the stick of Mateychuk, who was rewarded for his great offensive instincts, pushing all the way down to the faceoff circle before the shot, guide the puck past the outstretched arm of Grubauer along the goal-line.

“I knew (van Riemsdyk) knew where I was,” Mateychuk said in a post-game media scrum.

“I kind of kept sliding and sure enough he put it to the back-door and I was able to put it in.”

Mateychuk said the shot was “kind of in slow motion,” noting it was a relief to finally get on the scoreboard for Columbus.

“You maybe grip the stick a little tighter when you’re still waiting for the first, so to get it out of the way, I think it’s good,” he said.

Mateychuk has been working to earn ice time in the NHL since getting the call up from the American Hockey League Dec. 23.

After only getting 14 minutes on New Year’s Eve, he saw more than 19 minutes in three of the next four games for Columbus, including a career high Jan. 7.

“I’m starting to get a little bit more used to it, the scheduling, the calibre of players I’m playing against,” Mateychuk said.

“I still just take it day by day. I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I’m still learning the ways and the ins and outs… There’s a lot that comes with it.”

That game was played against his cousin and fellow 2022 first-round draft pick in St Adolphe’s Owen Pickering in Pittsburgh. The two even posed for a photo together during warm-ups.

Mateychuk’s first goal came in front of his father, Jason Mateychuk, who was watching from the stands in Columbus.

“I wouldn’t be here without him,” Mateychuk said in the locker room.

“He’s done so much for me over the years. It’s awesome to have him in attendance.”

It’s been an outstanding week for Mateychuk, as he was also named an American Hockey League all-star.

“It’s an awesome environment,” Mateychuk said on the Cleveland Monsters, Columbus’s AHL affiliate.

“You get excited to go to the rink everyday and work with those guys. They prepare you for this and I’m very thankful for that.”

Before getting the call up to the Blue Jackets, Mateychuk was outstanding for Cleveland, potting nine goals to go with 16 assists in 27 games in his first professional season.