In the 2023 Entry NHL draft, the Vancouver Canucks made two surprising overage draft picks. The first is Ty Mueller out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha who recently signed an NHL contract near the end of last season and looks to be a big part with the Abbotsford Canucks for the 2024-25 season. The second was center Matthew Perkins who went undrafted in his first year of eligibility in 2022 but was selected by Vancouver in the fourth round the next year. Perkins was selected out of the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2023, committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and played there for the 2023-24 season, totaling 15 points in 35 games.
Perkins’ Path To Minnesota-Duluth
Born in Balgonie, Saskatchewan, Perkins played his minor hockey in his home province playing for the Prairie Storm in Saskatchewan’s minor hockey league and eventually played for the Moose Jaw Warriors U18 AAA team. “I think Saskatchewan’s midget AAA league is a very very good league,” Perkins told The Hockey Writers while reflecting on his minor hockey years. “That league was a major opportunity for me.”
Perkins decided to take the NCAA route instead of playing in the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) which has become an increasingly-popular route to take for players in Canada. Perkins decided to take the college route because he felt he “was always a late bloomer” in terms of growing when it comes to both his on and off-ice game. With that distinction, college is the perfect spot for him because players have more time to sign with an NHL team than if they were to play in the CHL.
CHL players need to sign entry-level contracts (ELCs) with NHL teams within two seasons of being drafted whereas NCAA players can wait longer than two years to sign an ELC. Some wait even as long as five seasons before they sign their contract. Perkins can now develop his game more and more at the university level and once he turns pro, he can be NHL-ready and skip the AHL like Matthew Knies did with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Frank Nazar did with the Chicago Blackhawks.
With him taking this path, he needed to play Junior “A” and could not play in the Western Hockey League, so he stayed close to home and played for the Humboldt Broncos of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Broncos became a story six years ago after their tragic bus crash in 2018 but the team has rebuilt their program since the tragedy and Perkins was a part of that. “I loved my time in Humboldt,” said Perkins. “[The league] is a little grittier and a bit harder of a game and that was great for my development.” Perkins also performed well in his first season with Humboldt, recording 59 points in 57 games helping Humboldt reach the top spot in their division and helping them reach the second round of the playoffs.
Once he finished his season in Humboldt, Perkins headed south of the border to play for the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL. Perkins joined a great Youngstown team that won the USHL championships with great players like Blue Jackets prospect William Whitelaw, Blackhawks prospect Martin Misiak, and Montreal Canadiens prospect Jacob Fowler. “It was Awesome,” Perkins said about his time in Youngstown. “We had an amazing locker room and from the top down from owners to coaches to trainers we had an awesome group.” Perkins also spoke on what the USHL was like in comparison to his year in Humboldt. “It’s super fast and I found it to be super deep. Some teams can just roll all four lines and it did not matter who the teams were playing against. There is a lot of skill and still very fast paced, definitely a lot more skilled and faster than when I played in the SJHL.”
Prior to his championship year in Youngstown, Perkins had already committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Perkins said that a big reason why he chose UMD was because of their head coach, Scott Sandelin. Sandelin and Perkins really bonded during the recruiting process. “It just felt like the right fit for me and the place that I had felt most comfortable. [Sandelin] has produced so many good and long-term NHL players where that drew a lot to my eye.” Some notable players that Sandelin coached at UMD are Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues, Alex Iafallo of the Winnipeg Jets, and current Canuck Carson Soucy.
Perkins’ Canucks Experiences
Perkins has not had many interactions with the Canucks organization since he is still a prospect but the few he has had have been memorable. The first was when he was drafted in 2023. “It was a little surreal,” Perkins said. “It still feels surreal.” On the day of the draft in Nashville, Perkins was not there so he celebrated with his family in Saskatchewan. He had just gotten home from the gym and began to eat breakfast because he did not anticipate being selected as highly as he was. As he was eating, his mom screamed as his name came across the TV and he had been selected by the Canucks. “I honestly don’t know if I can describe the emotion, it was pretty amazing,” he said.
Perkins has now been lucky enough to attend two development camps in Vancouver and has learned a lot from the Canucks’ development staff. He really enjoyed the most recent development camp that saw him get more face-to-face time with Vancouver’s staff. “[Development camp] was unbelievable. We took about half of the guys that we did from last year and we got a lot more one-on-one time and for me as a forward when you have the ability to be on the ice with 10 other guys and the Sedins is pretty unreal.” Perkins has enjoyed his time in the Canucks organization so far but knows he will still need time to develop his game before he turns pro.
Perkins has a long time before potentially becoming an NHL player and is currently set on helping his school reach the playoffs. He hopes to be a leader on his team and take another step in his development.