Just 38 games into his NHL career — split between this year and last — Matias Maccelli is already creating quite an impression on his teammates and coaches.
Imagine what a full season will bring.
The 22-year-old forward leads all NHL rookies in points (10) and assists (9) as of Wednesday, and has been an integral part of the Arizona Coyotes’ early-season success on the power play. Six of his nine assists, as well as his lone goal, have come with the man advantage, while his other three helpers have come at even strength while playing on a line with veterans. Nick Bjugstad and Lawson Crouse.
His poise and decision-making ability have already impressed his teammates.
“He’s unbelievable with the puck,” Bjugstad said. “He has some hockey sense that not many guys have. When you get to play with a guy like that, you try to get open.”
The Turku, Finland native was selected in the fourth round (98th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft following successful seasons in both the USHL (93 points in 98 games) and U20 SM-sarja, a junior league in Finland.
Maccelli then played with Ilves in Finland’s elite league, Liiga, where he was named the rookie of the year in 2019-20, before settling in with the Tucson Roadrunners last year, where he notched 14 goals and 43 assists in 47 AHL games.
It should come as no surprise that Maccelli’s 43 assists led all AHL rookies last season. Although he technically tied with Detroit Red Wings prospect Jonatan Berggren, Maccelli notched his helpers in 23 fewer games played.
All of that led to his NHL debut last March with the Coyotes, where it took him just two games to score his first career NHL goal.
He finished the season with one goal and five assists in 23 games, which truly set the stage for his emergence this season.
“The 20 games I played last year here were huge, because now I don’t have to hold my stick so hard and think about the fact that I’m playing in the National Hockey League,” Maccelli said. “I’m just trying to get better and improve my game at this level so I can stay here.”
So far, so good, considering he’s impressed just about everybody on the Coyotes bench. Head coach André Tourigny said that while his stickhandling and skating abilities are impressive, Maccelli also possesses those intangible aspects that make him a good teammate.
The growth he’s seen between last season and present day speaks volumes.
“It’s his compete level and his engagement defensively,” Tourigny said. “He takes pride in defending. He takes pride in playing well in the zone. He’s taking pride in blocking shots. He’s not perfect, no one will ever be, but he tries to be, and I appreciate that.”
Tourigny said the line of Maccelli-Bjugstad-Crouse has impressed on a regular basis early this season, in part because of the leadership Bjugstad and Crouse bring to the table.
“They take care of the young guys, and they talk to him, and they have really good chemistry,” Tourigny said. “I cannot say enough good things about those two guys.
“They have a veteran presence, they’re positive every day, and nobody works harder than them.”
Maccelli said he appreciated the opportunity to learn from both Crouse and Bjugstad, who have a combined 916 games of NHL experience.
“They’ve been trying to teach me a lot in the D-zone, and the little details of what I can do better,” Maccelli said. “It’s been really good.”
Bjugstad, for his part, said the learning goes both ways.
“He could give me some pointers,” he said with a laugh. “We talk quite a bit. As a line, with the coaching staff, just the three of us, we’re making sure we’re communicating and on the same page. It’s hard sometimes to find space in the offensive zone, so you really have to be on the same page.”
The Coyotes will play the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday in the sixth game of a 14-game road trip, and although Arizona has already played 11 of its 15 games this season away from The Valley, Maccelli said he’s been able to use that to his advantage in some ways.
Not only has he grown much closer to his teammates, but he’s also had the opportunity to see and play in locations that he has never been, such as Madison Square Garden in New York.
He called that experience “unreal,” and it only furthers his motivation to continuously improve and solidify his spot in the NHL.
“The little details with the puck, you have to make the right decisions,” he said. “There’s a lot of mistakes I make, and I need to be better with small details. The wrong spot, it may be a couple feet off, but in this league you have to be exactly in the right spot or guys will beat you. “
As he continues to progress, though, he’s making sure to take the time to enjoy the journey to this point, while taking nothing for granted.
He may not be huge on individual accomplishments, but his 10 points in this part of the season has already meant quite a bit to the rookie.
“It’s great,” Maccelli said. “Being able to do that the last 15 games we’ve played, it’s been really good. Now I just have to keep doing that the rest of the year, and get better, too.”
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