Saturday, June 20, 2009

Austin Mattson signs with Plymouth

Press Release

PLYMOUTH – Plymouth Whalers President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci announced the signing of 18-year-old right wing Austin Mattson. Mattson – from Livonia – comes to the Whalers as a free agent after playing last season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League, where he scored 12 goals with 16 assists for 28 points and 11 PIM’s in 53 games.

“We’re excited to get a player of Austin’s caliber,” said Vellucci. “He had a great second half last year (26 points over his last 29 games) in the USHL. I feel he’ll give us some offensive punch next year.”

“I’m a fast-skating player,” Mattson said. “I like to create plays and make things happen on the ice. I love the way Darren Helm plays.”

Helm skated for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League and played against the Whalers in the 2007 MasterCard Memorial Cup in Vancouver, BC before graduating to the Detroit Red Wings.

Before playing in Sioux City, Mattson skated in 2007-08 for the Marquette Rangers of the North American Hockey League, where he scored five goals with 14 assists for 19 points and 23 PIM’s. In 2006-07, Mattson played for the Motor City Chiefs of the Central States Hockey League, where – as one of the youngest players in the league – he scored 15 goals with 23 assists for 38 points and 22 PIM’s in 44 games.

“I actually grew up playing in the Compuware system, so I’m excited to play here,” Mattson said. “I grew up playing with (current Whalers) Beau Schmitz, RJ Mahalak and Tyler J. Brown.”

Mattson’s path to Plymouth mirrors former Whaler and current Carolina Hurricanes forward Chad LaRose, who played in the Compuware Youth system before moving on to Sioux Falls of the USHL from 1999-00. LaRose signed with Plymouth as a free-agent in 2000 and holds the Whalers current record for goals in a season (61), set in 2002-03. LaRose is 13th on the Whalers all-time career scoring list with 111 goals and 90 assists for 201 points over 152 games.

Mattson will join the Whalers for training camp, which starts during the last week in August. Plymouth’s first preseason game is Saturday, August 29 in Brighton against the Saginaw Spirit. Plymouth opens the 2009-10 season on September 17 in Windsor. The Whalers home opener is Saturday, September 19 at Compuware Arena at 7:05pm against the Oshawa Generals. Tickets for all Whalers games can be purchased by calling the Compuware Arena at (734) 453-8400.

(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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