2024 Memorial Cup Game 1 Player to Watch: Denton Mateychuk, Moose Jaw Warriors

Saginaw, Mich.- Moose Jaw Warriors Captain Denton Mateychuk won’t pump his own tires, but his coach and teammates will gladly heap on the praise.

“None of this happens without him,” Head Coach Mark O’Leary declared minutes after the team’s WHL Championship win.

“One of the best players- if not the best player- in the league,” Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Brayden Yager added. “He showed his leadership in this in all playoffs.”

“He’s unreal,” Buffalo Sabres prospect Matthew Savoie said. “He dominates night in and night out. He plays 35 minutes a game and he’s our absolute rock back there.”

So it’s no surprise that a lot of eyes will be on the WHL Playoffs Most Valuable Player as Moose Jaw hits the ice for its first-ever match at the Memorial Cup on Friday night.

“It’s been a bit of time leading up to it and yeah, we can’t wait,” Mateychuk, Moose Jaw’s franchise leader for points by a defenceman, said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun, especially playing the host team in the first game. It’s going to be a loud crowd and we’re happy and excited for it.”

The blueliner closed out the WHL postseason with 11 goals and 19 assists for 20 points and a +19 rating in 20 games, leading all defencemen in scoring and finishing second in points behind his teammate, Jagger Firkus.

Mateychuk’s most prominent performances include netting a pair of powerplay goals to force overtime against Portland in Game 3 of the final round and a dazzling one-goal, five-assist performance against the Swift Current Broncos to tie the second-round series at on and come within a point of tying the WHL record for points in a single playoff game by a defenceman.

The Warriors face a new challenge as they prepare to face teams they’ve never played before, but they do have a smidge of experience on that front.

Moose Jaw had only played Portland once in the regular season before stepping up against the Western Conference powerhouse in the WHL Championship Series.

The team says they’re confident in their systems as they prepare for the host Saginaw Spirit in round-robin action.

“It’s going to be different,” Mateychuk added. “You play the same teams throughout the whole year and then now you’re coming in and playing teams that have players you’ve never really played before. Maybe a couple of them throughout the years, but not a lot. It’s going to be different, you just have to adapt. At the end of the day it’s still hockey, you know what you’re doing, so yeah, just go out there and play.”

One of the few players he is familiar with is Spirit forward Owen Beck, a Montreal Canadiens prospect who competed at the Memorial Cup last year with the OHL Champion Peterborough Petes.

Beck, Spirit defenceman Jorian Donovan (Ottawa Senators), Mateychuk, Yager, Firkus and Savoie all competed for Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship.

“We kind of know what they’re what they’re made of,” Beck said. “They like to skate. They like to move their feet. They’re quick, they’re deceptive and very skilled. Dents (Mateychuk) and Savvy (Savoie) are very, very good players that we know and we’re excited to go head to head with them.”

Either Moose Jaw or Saginaw will emerge from the tournament-opening match with their first-ever victory at a Memorial Cup.

The game will air on TSN 1/5, RDS, NHL Network (USA only) and CHL TV at 5:30 p.m. MST.