Vegas Golden Knights Recall Stefan Matteau From Chicago Wolves
Vegas Golden Knights call up a former first-round pick in Stefan Matteau.
A few developments occurred at practice today for the Vegas Golden Knights. One of those developments was Marc-Andre Fleury continuing to skate on his own but not with the team. You could tell they’re going real slow with the Flower and they’re approaching the situation the right way.
Another significant development was Luca Sbisa skating with the team at practice. However, Sbisa was wearing a red non-contact sweater indicating that he’s not yet ready to play. But the Ozieri, Italy native did express that he is getting closer to coming back into the lineup.
The biggest development of them all was William Carrier not present at practice. Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant stated that he has an injury, but he couldn’t specify on what it was. So no more than a few hours later, the Golden Knights announced a player transaction.
On Monday afternoon, the Vegas Golden Knights announced they recalled Stefan Matteau from their AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. The team did not need to make a corresponding move for the call-up of Matteau. I assume if Carrier isn’t available Tuesday night VS Dallas, the Golden Knights will dress Matteau in his first NHL game action since the 2015-16 season when he played with the Montreal Canadiens.
Matteau is a former first-round pick as he was chosen by the New Jersey Devils 29th overall in the 2012 entry draft. The 23-year old has had a less than stellar NHL career only scoring three goals and three assists in 56 total NHL games. So its pretty safe to say that he won’t be a major factor moving forward.
The 6’2 220 lb has prototypical power forward abilities, but he needs to maximize his size to take full advantage of the competition. Matteau could fill the fourth line role well filling in for Carrier, but he needs to limit taking penalties.
In his time with the Chicago Wolves, the Chicago, Illinois native registered four goals and one assist in 19 games played. Those numbers just aren’t going to jump off the paper to anyone. But the Golden Knights see a need a fourth line presence, and Matteau could provide that.
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We’ll see how things play out at tomorrows morning skate. David Perron hasn’t been cleared to start playing either so that could be another factor in the call-up of Matteau. We’ll see if Matteau makes the Vegas Golden Knights lineup when they take on the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night at T- Mobile Arena.