The Chicago Wolves announced Tuesday that forward Stefan Matteau signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights for the 2018-19 campaign.
The 24-year-old appeared in 60 games with the Wolves during the 2017-18 season and registered 27 points (15G, 12A) to rank 10th in team scoring. He was one of four skaters to collect 15 goals and landed fourth on the Wolves’ goal-scoring list.
On Feb. 2 against the Milwaukee Admirals with his parents in attendance, Matteau registered his first professional three-goal performance — consecutive goals for a natural hat trick — to lead the Wolves to a 4-1 victory.
Matteau was recalled twice by Vegas and appeared in eight games while registering one assist. That pushed his NHL career totals to seven points (3G, 4A) through 64 contests.
A Chicago native, Matteau was born in the city while his father, Stéphane, played for the Chicago Blackhawks. Matteau spent part of his amateur career skating for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (2010-12) and for his hometown – he grew up in Quebec – Blainville-Boisbriand in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Selected by the New Jersey Devils in the first round, 29th overall, in the 2012 NHL Draft, Matteau made his pro debut following the conclusion of the 2012-13 lockout on Jan. 19 against the New York Islanders. He netted his first goal six games later on Feb. 9 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
At the AHL level, 2018-19 will mark Matteau’s sixth season. Through the first five — split between the Albany Devils, St. John’s IceCaps and Wolves — he has skated in 256 games and logged 105 points (52G, 53A) with 289 penalty minutes. Matteau has appeared in the Calder Cup Playoffs three times (2014, 2017, 2018) and owns six points (4G, 2A) through 11 games.
Matteau joins Tomas Hyka and Zac Leslie as Vegas re-signees who skated for the Wolves last season. The Wolves have Ryan Wagner, Matthew Weis and Tyler Wong under contact for next season.
