Florida Panthers: Michael Mathesons 2016-17 Rookie Season
Michael Matheson had a pretty good rookie season this past year showing signs of potential. With good plays came some bad plays, but overall Michael showed us that he is a top 4 defenseman in the league.
You really couldn’t have asked for more considering it was Michael’s rookie season. Matheson tallied 7G, 10A, and 17P in 81 games. Sure, he could have produced a little more offensively, but considering the year that the team had, I felt Michael held his own pretty well considering the positions he was put in.
Throughout the year, Michael was paired with Jason Demers mainly through the course of the season. The two offered a lot offensively, but not much defensively. When Matheson was with Demers, Michael had a CF% of 49.21%. Without Jason, Michael had a CF% of 50.26% meaning that he would get more shots off (block shots count to) while paired with another defenseman.
It shall also be noted that Michael Matheson is no pushover when it comes to outmuscling his opponent to the puck. What more can you expect from the young defenseman in the video down below. Watch Michael outmuscle his opponent to the puck using his size/aggressiveness, to feed
the overtime winning goal.
Going forward for next season it’s important that the Cats find a right-handed defenseman that will be suited towards playing with Matheson down the stretch. There needs to be a balance when pairing a player with Michael, as he likes to jump up in the play and score. Pairing Matheson with Demers just doesn’t work moving forward and we saw that this past season.
Realistically, Matheson should be paired with a defensive defenseman. Problem is, who would that be? A possible pairing could be both Michael and Mark Pysyk playing together. Question would be, can Mark play top 4 minutes? Answer would be, Mark could possibly play top 4 minutes and would be able to cover for Michael, when he jumps up in the play. Next year will certainly be an indicator on whether Mark could be a top 4 defenseman, but I personally wouldn’t lean heavily toward it.
Next: Florida Panthers: Keith Yandle And The Defensive Woes Of 2016-17
Another player Michael could be paired with could be Alex Petrovic. This will all depend on whether Alex gets taken in the upcoming expansion draft. My gut tells me that will most likely be the case. If that ends up the case it’s honestly too bad. Petrovic could have been a perfect pairing with Matheson as Alex could stay back and display his aggressive play, while Matheson could jump up in the rush knowing that he has someone covering his back at all times. In general though, the Florida Panthers have a lot of work this summer and part of that will be to re-juggle the defensive pair to add more balance.
Overall, the Florida Panthers have themselves a young energetic defenseman who will bring lots of creativity and offense to each and every game. It will be crucial to find Michael another partner who is not Jason Demers, to allow for some balance while on the ice. If Michael can continue to his good form of play for next season and finds himself a new d-partner to pair with, then I honestly don’t see why Michael can’t flourish in this league and for the team.