Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Denton Mateychuk and forward Jagger Firkus will be taking the ice on a national stage on Wednesday night.
And if everything goes according to plan, it’ll be an impressive coming-out party for the duo at the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which sees puck drop at 6 p.m. Moose Jaw time from Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.
Forty of the top players eligible for the 2022 NHL Draft will take part in the event, which will be broadcast on TSN and feature scouts, general managers and onlookers from all 32 NHL teams.
For Mateychuk, the contest carries an extra bit of meaning, as he’ll serve as captain of Team White, with Kingston Frontenacs star Shane Wright serving the same role for Team Red.
“Absolutely, it’s a huge honour to be able to represent Moose Jaw, especially as the captain of Team White,” Mateychuk said. “I’m really excited for the game and it's going to be a cool experience to be playing alongside all those great players.”
Mateychuk currently sits fourth in scoring among WHL defenceman with nine goals and 56 points and is coming off his top offensive performance of the season, a six-assist showing in the 10-4 win over the Regina Pats on Mar. 19.
He’ll be looking for more of the same against his high-profile opponents.
“I think I'm going to play my game, but I want to be at my best and I want to I don't want to leave anything out there,” Mateychuk said. “I'm not going try and do anything special because it's a bigger game, just do what I do, don't change anything. If I just be myself, I think I’ll be alright.”’
It certainly won’t hurt to have a fellow Warriors compatriot out on the ice.
“To be able to share that experience with (Jagger), it’s really, really awesome that we're both able to go to the same game and play on the same team.,” Mateychuk said. “It’s always good to have another guy from your team out there and I'm really excited to see what we can do.”
Firkus heads into the Top Prospects Game as the highest-scoring 2004-born player in the WHL, with his 33 goals and 75 points in 60 games landing him ninth overall in the WHL.
That’s drawn the attention of some high-profile onlookers, including Craig Button from TSN, who has been impressed with what he’s seen from the Irma, Atla. product.
“He’s a savvy, savvy player,” Button said in his preview of the game on TSN.ca. “He knows how to get open and when to get open. He’s not anywhere near a level of physical maturity where he can afford to get into unnecessary physical battles.
“He’s got what I call real slick, sly ability. His shot is deceptive, and he can be moving and get the shot off on the move. As he’s moving, he can snap it if he sees the opening.”
Firkus is looking forward to showing Button -- and everyone else -- that his assessment is correct.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I think I deserve that,” he said. “I came into the season just trying to do what I can do to help this team and we’ve had success in the second half, so obviously that’s a big thing.”
Having a chance to take the ice with Mateychuk only makes the experience that much better.
“It’s really exciting, especially to be going with Denton,” Firkus said. “He’s an unbelievable player and he's even a better guy and I think going there he deserved to be captain. I think he's a really good leader, just a really good guy to be around and hopefully we can both go out there and have a really good game.”
