Days before the puck dropped on the 2016-2017 ECHL Season, players from the Wichita Thunder gathered at INTRUST Bank Arena for media day. It was a time for members of the media to ask players questions about the upcoming season and how they were acclimating to the city of Wichita. For forward Matt DeBlouw this was his chance to make a statement about who he will be as a hockey player. When asked how he would like to be remembered in the game, DeBlouw proudly proclaimed, “As a star!”

You don’t get that kind of honesty from a first-year professional who is just coming out of college, but Matt is quickly proving that his statement may not be one of pure hyperbole or hubris. He is becoming one of the most dangerous scorers in the ECHL and is establishing that the upside for the 23-year-old may be more than anyone conceived, except himself of course.

Hockey Was the Thing to Do

Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Matt DeBlouw loved his hometown Detroit Red Wings and Detroit Tigers. He was the kind of kid who was active in several sports, but truly took to the game of hockey above all others.

With a pond located behind his home, he took to the ice (when the pond was frozen over) and quickly became a fast and agile skater. Matt, his brothers, and friends played hockey as often as possible and he continued to prove himself as a playmaker on the ice.

When Matt turned 16 he joined the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL). In his first season in junior hockey, he would appear in 33-games, scoring 2-goals and adding 4-assists. In the post-season, he proved to be a clutch performer, scoring 3-goals and adding 5-assists in 6-games, as the Lumberjacks advanced to the playoffs in their first season in the league. The next season he would improve his numbers dramatically, playing in 58-games while scoring 11-goals with 23-assists.

Matt performed so well that he caught the attention of several scouts, especially when his performance at the NHL Combine was off the charts.  Not only did scouts like his poise on the ice and his hockey IQ, but when he scored in the top 10 in several fitness tests and was second overall (trailing only Alex Galchenyuk, who was the third overall pick in the draft) it was clear that he was going to be drafted.

With a clear upside, Matt was selected in the seventh round of the NHL amateur draft by the Calgary Flames. It was an exciting opportunity, but one that was even more enjoyable because he was there in Pittsburgh when his name was called.

“I was ranked kind of high so I was expected to go I guess, and I thought that Pittsburgh is not too far from Detroit, so I might as well go. I thought it would be a good experience to go and watch it.”

It’s All Greek to Me

After two years in the USHL, Matt DeBlouw left the league to attend Michigan State University. While he was drafted, Matt decided to attend MSU, which not only allowed him to remain close to home, but also gave him the opportunity to improve his skills as a hockey player and gain a first-rate education.

Matt would play all four years for the Spartans, appearing in 128-games, scoring 27 career goals and assisting on 28 others. His numbers were solid, but not extraordinary. In fact, there was some concern because his freshman season was far superior to any of the years that followed, and some in the hockey world wondered if he had reached his peak.

The Calgary Flames wondered this as well, as they did not offer him a developmental contract upon graduation. That made Matt a free agent in August of last year, and a new challenge was about to dawn.

Bringing the Lightning to the Thunder

Following a disappointing 2015-2016 season, the Wichita Thunder were looking for a new head coach and brought in one of the best in the business in Malcolm Cameron. The new Head coach preached a high tempo, attack style of play and Matt DeBlouw was the perfect person to add to that mix. A few days after being released by the Flames organization, the Coach signed Matt to a contract. This was the opportunity the then 22-year-old was looking for.

“I’m really excited to start the next chapter of my hockey career in Wichita,” he told the media on the day he was signed. “Coach Cameron started calling me a couple months ago. Getting to know him has made the transition to pro hockey easier. Talking about the style of play has made me very excited to get the season underway as well. Malcolm’s track record of developing players seems to be exactly what I need to be effective at the pro level.”

Effective may have been the goal originally, but within a month of his signing Matt would be declaring his desire to be a “Star, whatever that means.”

Stardom is the goal and the early part of the season showed great promise. In his first three games as a professional, Matt scored 2-goals and added an assist, however, the next couple of months would be a struggle. In the next 17-games, the Thunder forward would tally no goals and 5-assists, and those prognostications that maybe his best days were in the rearview mirror began to rear their ugly heads again.

However, as the calendar reached its last day of 2016, Matt DeBlouw came alive. With several players not performing to Coach Cameron’s standards and some of the key Wichita players being called up to Binghamton, the Coach was giving Matt significantly more ice time and he showed what he could do when given the chance.

On a December 31st game against Tulsa, Matt set up two nice goals. After being held scoreless the next night, Matt recorded goals in back-to-back games, the first time he had scored a goal since the second game of the season.

Starting with that 2-assist night, Matt became a huge key to the success of the Wichita Thunder offense. Over the last 16-games, the 6-0, 183-pound forward has notched 8-goals and added 10-assists. That stretch has seen him record two 2-goal games and also record a single-game high of 3-points against Missouri on January 14 with 3-assists, and then matched that feat six-days later with 2-goals and an assist against Allen.

During a stretch where the Thunder have won just four games, Matt has been a major bright spot. “He shows a lot of poise out there,” Coach Cameron explained earlier in January. “He has earned the ice time by being smart and taking advantage of his opportunities.”

Poise Under Fire

Since scouts began to stand up and take notice of Matt DeBlouw, one thing you hear said most about him is that he is poised on the ice. It is one of the reasons why his head coach wanted him in a Thunder uniform. “Matt possesses good size, speed, and is very versatile,” explained the Coach. “He came to me highly recommended by people I trust, primarily because they loved the way that he handled himself on the ice.”

Poise has been a key to Matt’s success in the sport. However, his skills go way beyond that. Not only is he a quick and agile skater, but his ability to analyze the game at 30 mph is something that really sets him apart. It is actually that part of the game that the Thunder forward relishes the most.

“I think after playing it for so many years you adapt to playing very fast and making decisions quickly more than you do in other sports. I think in other sports you don’t do that on a consistent basis, so playing all the time, growing up and playing at a high level, I think that’s what made me play at an even higher level.”

Playing at a high level is what Matt DeBlouw has been doing these days. The 23-year-old is second on the Wichita Thunder in scoring, and ranks in the top 25 in the ECHL in scoring among rookies. He is 18th in the league in assists by a rookie.

It is these kinds of numbers that make it clear that the quip about being a star is no joke any longer. Matt DeBlouw is making a name for himself and seeing his star shine brightly in the ECHL. With his continual success, you can be sure of one thing – there are going to be a whole lot of people in Calgary thinking they are the ones who got burned.

Featured Image by Johnna Raymond/Wichita Thunder

By Robert Pannier