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Speculation: Devils Send Stefan Matteau back to The QMJHL

engy said:
Matteau hasn't really shown anything special the big leagues. Maybe a borderline NHL'er if he plays with a nastier attitude.
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Not a borderline. he showed he can compete. He just was sat a lot and needed some tuning/seasoning. Far from what one would call "borderline"
 
One of only 4 players from the '12 draft to play so far.

Sure he might be a borderline NHL player but that's pretty ****ing good for a 18/19 year old.

Give the kid sometime to grow, Jesus.
 
He definitely didn't look out of place. The kid's 18, he needs experience and to develop other parts of his game. Maybe they blossom and maybe they don't, but I do think he'll be a NHLer. How far up the ladder is anyone's guess.

I was surprised though that he didn't play as physical as I expected. He held his own, he's already got NHL size, but I thought he would be more of a mucker/agitator. And he may very well be, he just didn't show it in these 17 games.
 
Matteau was good enough in camp to make the Devils the season after he was drafted. That's really impressive and something you don't see with New Jersey too often. Larsson is an exception because he was already playing at a high level in Sweden. Can't even name anyone else who did besides maybe Sykora and Niedermayer. He'll be just fine and have a permanent spot on the team in a couple years.
 
I was fairly certain he was going back after the 5 games. They made a conscious effort to sit him after his 5 games were up. I believe they wanted to keep him up another 2 weeks. It was only 7-10 days later that Zubrus was injured. Those circumstances put him back in the lineup. I'm fairly certain He'll at least start in the AHL next year. Not because he isn't an NHL player, but just for development.

The Devils don't rush prospects. Larsson was a rare all world talent for an 18 year old so he got his shot right away. Sykora was a name who was brought up, and even he did stints in the AHL in between NHL time in 95/96 and 96/97. Patty bounced back and forth to the AHL, and NHL two times too if I remember correct. Guys like Josefson and Tedenby came up in their first pro years because of injury circumstances.
 
Richer's Ghost said:
He impressed over what else was available, which is why we're hurting and scraping to put together 4 decent lines now. That was my point. Plus, making the team out of camp is an entirely different issue from staying past the 5 game mark and staying to burn a year of eligibility, and free agency. He pushed past one and almost the other because we didn't have better options, and had injuries, not because he was on fire and scoring. He will be better the next time he comes around.
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Yup. And this has been my biggest gripe with this team this entire season. I like Matteau and I think he's going to be a good player for the Devils. You can already see that he's an NHL player in the making, but he wasn't even close to being ready this season and it's pretty irritating that he manged to crack this roster this early. That speaks volumes about the team and it's especially troublesome seeing something like this after your 1A winger decides to bolt.

I trust in Lou that he does what he can to make this team better. No one wants to win more than that guy. But the bottom line is that this hasn't been a great follow up to such a wonderful 2012. Full marks to him for bringing in Loktionov this year, but forward depth was clearly an issue coming into this season and for whatever reasons, things didn't pan out the way that they should have. Matteau shouldn't of had any business playing any games with the big club this year, but here we are.
 
nona weisbaum said:
Yup. And this has been my biggest gripe with this team this entire season. I like Matteau and I think he's going to be a good player for the Devils. You can already see that he's an NHL player in the making, but he wasn't even close to being ready this season and it's pretty irritating that he manged to crack this roster this early. That speaks volumes about the team and it's especially troublesome seeing something like this after your 1A winger decides to bolt.

I trust in Lou that he does what he can to make this team better. No one wants to win more than that guy. But the bottom line is that this hasn't been a great follow up to such a wonderful 2012. Full marks to him for bringing in Loktionov this year, but forward depth was clearly an issue coming into this season and for whatever reasons, things didn't pan out the way that they should have. Matteau shouldn't of had any business playing any games with the big club this year, but here we are.
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I agree. This has nothing to do with Matteau, but Lou absolutely needs to re sign Zubrus this year unless he asks for stupid money. I have this bad feeling that he'll let one of Zubrus or Poni walk to bring in some ''Younger players'' to have that spot like he did with not signing Sykora. I'm afraid Matteau will be this younger player, and I'm not sure I see him having Zubrus's role at least at the beginning of next season. Plus it will be good for Stephane to keep Zubrus around in a mentor role.

I think Lou learned his lesson with ''We're going to give younger players a chance'' this year, because clearly there aren't any capable to fill in for someone who leaves next year. Except for Loktionov who's already came in, and done pretty well for himself. Loktionov isn't even really replacing guys who left last year. He's had to replace Zajac as sad as that is.
 
engy said:
Just as absurd as calling him a NHLer after those few games.
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That is a matter of opinion.


Many here think he looked fine for a rookie who was thrown into the fire due to need.....

As I said earlier, he looked pretty good for someone who needs seasoning in the minors badly.
 
Matteau is an 18 year old with like 15 games under his belt. He's NHL ready, but he can also become more NHL ready.
 
Bleedred said:
I agree. This has nothing to do with Matteau, but Lou absolutely needs to re sign Zubrus this year unless he asks for stupid money. I have this bad feeling that he'll let one of Zubrus or Poni walk to bring in some ''Younger players'' to have that spot like he did with not signing Sykora. I'm afraid Matteau will be this younger player, and I'm not sure I see him having Zubrus's role at least at the beginning of next season. Plus it will be good for Stephane to keep Zubrus around in a mentor role.

I think Lou learned his lesson with ''We're going to give younger players a chance'' this year, because clearly there aren't any capable to fill in for someone who leaves next year. Except for Loktionov who's already came in, and done pretty well for himself. Loktionov isn't even really replacing guys who left last year. He's had to replace Zajac as sad as that is.
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Stefan.... :laugh:
 
egad...im glad hes going back, its whats best for him...i just wish we hadnt called him up at all this year. we really cant afford to **** up his development, we're going to need big things from him over the next 3 years, depending on trades/UFA signings.
 
He looked better than half the call-ups I've seen who have had a couple of seasons to develop before hitting the big stage. That tells me enough for now not to feel like his pick or his time here was a waste, but he is best served going down to develop the normal way. He's not a special case like a few of the draftees this year.

About the time he can buy a beer I suspect he'll have a few wrinkles in his game ironed out.
 
Great news... like that I'll actually want to go see the Armada.
 
Bleedred said:
I agree. This has nothing to do with Matteau, but Lou absolutely needs to re sign Zubrus this year unless he asks for stupid money. I have this bad feeling that he'll let one of Zubrus or Poni walk to bring in some ''Younger players'' to have that spot like he did with not signing Sykora. I'm afraid Matteau will be this younger player, and I'm not sure I see him having Zubrus's role at least at the beginning of next season. Plus it will be good for Stephane to keep Zubrus around in a mentor role.

I think Lou learned his lesson with ''We're going to give younger players a chance'' this year, because clearly there aren't any capable to fill in for someone who leaves next year. Except for Loktionov who's already came in, and done pretty well for himself. Loktionov isn't even really replacing guys who left last year. He's had to replace Zajac as sad as that is.
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I don't think Lou had to learn any lessons other than "are these players good or not?" There was a lot of potential depth languishing in the system, and it was about time most of them got a chance to succeed. They got that chance, and now Lou is likely looking at other options. He was always gonna try the cheap options before making some blockbuster trade. That's what Lou does.


Richer's Ghost said:
He looked better than half the call-ups I've seen who have had a couple of seasons to develop before hitting the big stage. That tells me enough for now not to feel like his pick or his time here was a waste, but he is best served going down to develop the normal way. He's not a special case like a few of the draftees this year.

About the time he can buy a beer I suspect he'll have a few wrinkles in his game ironed out.
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I think this is a really underappreciated facet of Matteau's time with the team. It would've been pretty easy to just send Matteau down early and keep guys like Tedenby and Josefson with the team, hoping they'd turn it around. Deboer clearly liked Matteau over those guys and that's a really good sign for his potential going forward. Hell, he wasn't any less productive than Ponikarovsky on that top line so far. That's an indictment of the team and not of Matteau's ability.
 
Scottyk9 said:
Rich Chere ‏@Ledger_NJDevils
To be eligible for the QMJHL playoffs, Matteau had to be back on junior club's roster at a certain time and the Devils decided to make move
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I'm surprised Lou actually did them that favour. I guess he thinks it's better for Matteau's development to get the playoff experience rather than just the NHL regular season grind. It makes some sense.

engy said:
Matteau hasn't really shown anything special the big leagues. Maybe a borderline NHL'er if he plays with a nastier attitude.
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I thought this had been pretty well refuted. The fact that he played in the NHL at all this year as the 29th pick in the previous draft is pretty impressive.
 
I'll be interested to see how he does back in the CHL. Maybe his time playing alongside Kovy/Patty/etc. will have given him some extra confidence. At the very least, his pace of play should be elevated.
 
Saugus said:
I'm surprised Lou actually did them that favour. I guess he thinks it's better for Matteau's development to get the playoff experience rather than just the NHL regular season grind. It makes some sense.



I thought this had been pretty well refuted. The fact that he played in the NHL at all this year as the 29th pick in the previous draft is pretty impressive.
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If Zubrus wasn't injured or one of Josefson/Tedenby played better, Matteau would've been sent down after 5 games. He got lucky with the injuries and Devils lack of depth at wing so he had an extended stay.

Devils have been letting some of their prospects stay in the NHL for a lengthy look during the past few seasons with no real success. (Palmieri/Tedenby/Zharkov). Matteau happened to be that prospect this year and wasn't ready yet.
 
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