Moose Jaw Warriors captain Denton Mateychuk has been through this song and dance before.
Training camp and preparing for the Western Hockey League season is nothing new for the 19-year-old defenceman and Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, so when he hit the ice for the teams first practice of main camp on Thursday night, it was pretty much old hat.
With one exception: instead of being the wide-eyed kid finding his way in a new league and with a new team, he’s now the rugged veteran, likely playing his final season in a Warriors uniform.
With that comes all sorts of expectations, and Mateychuk is looking forward to having a chance to live up to them.
“It’s great to be back in Moose Jaw and skating and competing with the guys and the younger prospects, it’s that time of year where you start to get excited about the season coming up,” Mateychuk said, adding that the competitive spirit has been there from the jump.
“It’s different when you’re competing like that. You can skate all you want in the summer, but it’s different when you’re out there with guys who are playing for spots on the team and you want to lead by example. But it still felt good out there even if there was a bit of rust.”
Seeing some intensity right off the hop is plenty welcome in Mateychuk’s eyes, especially with what they hope to accomplish this season.
“I think we sent a good message this year that we want to compete and we want to be the best team in the league,” Mateychuk said matter-of-factly. “It starts right at the start of training camp, there’s no days off for that, it’s not just a switch you can flip on. I think we showed that that we’re here to compete and we’re going to do what we have to in order to compete.”
The Warriors aren’t the only priority for Mateychuk at the moment, as in a couple of weeks he’ll be off to Columbus for his second NHL rookie camp. That will come on the heels of Mateychuk’s showing in development camp this summer, an experience he felt helped him continue to develop his game.
“It was a good couple of days and a chance to show what you bring to the table and I thought that went pretty well,” he said. “Then the rest of the summer you’re just getting ready for training camp and preparing as much as you can.”
Mateychuk’s early NHL experience has many parallels to what youngsters in Warriors camp will be going through -- the nerves and wide-eyed wonder of playing at a completely different level of hockey.
“In the WHL as a young 14- and 15-year-old, you’re learning as you go,” Mateychuk said. “It’s the same in the NHL, there are new things and you hear about it from other guys, but until you experience it you never really know. That’s been the biggest thing, soak up all you can and ask all the questions you can and just learn as much as you can.’
That’s where his role as captain and one of the faces of the Warriors’ franchise comes in. Mateychuk has gone out of his way to help rookies feel welcome, as the veterans in his earliest days did for him.
“It’s just trying to make them feel comfortable in an uncomfortable situation,” he said. “If I see an unfamiliar face, I’lll go up to them and say ‘hey, I’m Denton’ and let them know if they need anything they can ask me. Just make them feel comfortable and welcome.
“This is completely new to some of them, and some of them were in camp last year and are trying to learn just like I was their age. So you lead by example and keep it chatty with them and make them feel like they belong.”
While Mateychuk has his eyes on the season in Moose Jaw, as a signed NHL prospect, there’s always a chance he might stick in Columbus.
“That’s what you go into camp for, you just want to climb and if it isn’t this year, you want to take steps to the next level,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to try and do, make strides and go from there.”
And should he make his return?
“We want to be a top team and everybody knows that. I think everyone came in in good shape here, we worked hard in the off-season and it’s great that guys know what this season can be and put in that kind of effort.”
Camp continues on Friday with rookie camp scrimmage at 9 a.m., main camp practice at 11 a.m., rookie camp scrimmage at 2:30 p.m. and the main camp three-on-three scrimmage at 5:30 p.m.
The team will trim rookies heading into the heart of camp Saturday, with a scrimmage at 9 a.m., practices at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and scrimmage at 3:30 p.m.
Things wrap up Sunday with main camp practice at 10:30 a.m. and the Black-White Intrasquad Game at 12 p.m.
All the action takes place at the Moose Jaw Events Centre and is open to the public.
