Mike Matheson was visiting Marguerite-Bourgeoys Elementary School in Pointe-Claire as part of the Champions for Life program, which encourages physical activity for children.
Matheson is back in the Montreal area after spending his summer in Buffalo, where his wife grew up. The Montreal Canadiens defenseman admitted that getting away from the city allowed him to come back with a certain excitement before the start of the next season.
“When you come back, you see everyone and it helps mentally prepare you for the season,” Matheson admitted to our colleague Catherine Savoie.
During the summer, Matheson set up a gym at home, in addition to skating on the ice with some Buffalo Sabres players and some players from the American Hockey League.
“It’s always important to work hard. It helps with motivation and making sure I’m ready for the new season.”
With Joel Edmundson’s departure, Matheson will be even more relied upon, as he has truly established himself as the team’s number one defenseman in the last few months of the previous season.
“Joel was important on the ice and off the ice, he’s a leader in the locker room. It’s never easy to lose a guy like that. At the same time, I think the young guys have pushed things a little faster than we thought. They’ve played really well and earned the opportunity to have more ice time.”
With David Savard, Matheson will more than ever want to take on a leadership role with the team’s young defensemen such as Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, and Morgan Barron, as well as the young players who will knock on the door during the next training camp like Lane Hutson, David Reinbacher, and Logan Mailloux.
“It will be important for me to help the young guys as much as I can, but I’m focusing on my game. That’s the most important thing for me, to make sure I play well to help them in that way.”
Last year, Matheson reached a personal high of 34 points in the regular season in just 48 games, while also having a +7 rating in his first year with Montreal.
“We want to take another step forward this year even though we know we’re in a rebuilding phase.”
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