Since he was a young teenager, Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk has been on the radar of NHL scouts.
Now he’s a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets
Mateychuk was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday night from Bell Centre in Montreal.
Mateychuk has been on NHL scouts’ radar much of his teenage hockey career, going back to his days as one of the highest-scoring defenceman in U15 AAA hockey in Manitoba back in 2018-19.
That didn’t change whatsoever when he joined the Warriors, where Mateychuk quickly showed off his playmaking and decision-making abilities and was almost immediately an elite rearguard in the WHL.
Mateychuk put up two goals and nine points in the Hub as a 16-year-old and won a gold medal with Canada at the World U18 Hockey Championship. This past season saw the Dominion City, Man. product take his game to the next level, as Mateychuk played top-pairing minutes all season and put up 13 goals and 64 points in 65 games.
Nice to meet ya, Denton 👋@mhl | #CBJ pic.twitter.com/J3hL3BrYVS
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) July 8, 2022
Mateychuk is the highest selected Warrior since Morgan Reilly was chosen fifth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2012 Draft. He also joins Warriors teammate Martin Rysavy as a Blue Jackets prospect, after Rysavy was selected in seventh round, 179th overall in 2021.
Mateychuk went into the Draft ranked 14th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
