2012 Draft Blog: Mike Matheson Pt.2

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Michael Matheson is a native of Quebec playing his junior hockey in the USHL for the defending champion Dubuque Fighting Saints. His first blog entry here with us was made public back on October 3rd and gave readers a sense of where he's come from and what has led to the position he is in today.

Here now is the second chapter in the 2012 Guest Player Blog written by defenceman Mike Matheson.


Hi everyone. This is my second entry with the Pipeline Show. I just wanted to begin by expressing my sympathies for friends, family and teammates of Kyle Fundytus. I have read a few articles and he seemed to be a very good hockey player, as well as a great leader off the ice. It is hard to think that something like that could happen to anyone at any moment. I am sorry to hear of Kyle. He will always be remembered in the hockey world.

Our team has gotten off to a good start in the USHL, currently in second place in our division. We have had a difficult schedule with 10 of our last 11 games being on the road. We finished that long stretch with a record of 8-2-1. We return home for a game this Wednesday against Cedar Rapids. It will be nice to play in front of our home crowd again.

During October and the beginning of November, the Saints have had a couple of promotional games that included a breast cancer awareness night where we wore pink jerseys, which were auctioned off after the game. All the money went towards the Finley Health Foundation. November 4th was the military appreciation game where we wore camouflage jerseys to support our troops, which were also auctioned off after the game.

This has been my first year away from home. I must admit that I was a bit worried about what it might be like. Dubuque has turned out to be a great place to live. The leaders on our team have also done a great job of organizing team events as team bonding activities. It has also been amazing to be on the same team as my older brother. We are living with the same housing family, which has been a great situation. My brother and I are taking two classes with the Community College in town. We have one class every morning from Monday to Thursday, which is a nice way to stay in school during the year.

The transition to the USHL has been a huge learning experience for me. It is a very good league where a team can beat anyone on any given night. Every game is intense and fast paced. My coaches have been a huge help by teaching me and staying on me in every aspect of my game. I truly believe that this year will continue to be a great learning experience where I will continue to develop as a hockey player.

As a team, we have been coming together more and more with every week that passes. Practices are the highlight of everyone’s day on the team and you can really begin to see that now. Everyone has developed a team first attitude that will hopefully bring us a long way in our season and in to the playoffs.

I wanted to wish everyone in the States a happy Thanksgiving this week, even though the real Thanksgiving has already gone by in October! Thank you for reading my blog entries. You can follow me on twitter @MMatheson7.

Until next time!

Michael Matheson is a defenceman listed at 6' and 170 lbs. He's described as a solid skater with strong passing skills and a calm, mature demeanor on the ice. He represented Canada at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka tournament, and finished with no offensive point production but with a gold medal around his neck. Thus far in 2011-12 he has recorded 5 points in 15 games. He's currently ranked 21st overall by ISS and 3rd in the USHL by NHL Central Scouting for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

(Photos: Jim Naprstek, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL)