At a glance, when the Arizona Coyotes drafted forward Matias Maccelli in the fourth round of the 2019 Draft, there wasn’t much thought, or quite frankly, any enthusiasm about the pick. It’s also fair to note statistically, only about 44 percent of fourth-rounders even play a game with the club that selects them. So the hype wasn’t necessarily surrounding Maccelli as some of the other prospects. However, after a few seasons of developing in various leagues, it became apparent that he had some real potential to make a significant impact in the NHL, and he has done just that.
Dubuque Fighting Saints Helped Maccell’s Development
During the early portions of Maccelli’s hockey career, he played in Finland with HC Turun Palloseura (TPS), gaining valuable experience. TPS has been known to house some active NHL players, such as Kaapo Kakko, Mikko Rantanen, and Rasmus Ristolainen. Although, his journey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Dubuque Fighting Saints played an even bigger role.
“His whole career, he has had to prove people wrong,” said Dubuque Fighting Saints general manager Kalle Larsson, who had Maccelli for almost two seasons in the USHL. “I don’t know why he’s not taken seriously, but I think it’s just that he’s a nontraditional player and nontraditional makes people nervous so they’re like, ‘I don’t know about Maccelli’. Well, I know about Maccelli. The kid is a player.”
“He twists and he turns. Some people say he’s got soft skills. He’s the kind of player where at every level people were like, ‘Yeah, it works here, but it’s not gonna work at the next level.’ He’s unique. He’s very skilled and he makes plays because he sees things on the ice that other players don’t see and with that, he acts in ways on the ice that other players don’t. Maybe he doesn’t do the system the exact same way as everybody else but that’s because he sees things different.”
Maccelli’s first season in USHL saw him struggle a bit, only registering eight goals and 21 points in 35 games. Some growing pains were expected since he was adjusting to North American ice. However, his second season with the team was a completely different story, as he broke out in every way imaginable. In just 62 games, he recorded 31 goals and 72 points and was given second-team all-USHL honors.
Maccelli Gained Traction With Roadrunners
Maccelli likely would’ve reported to the Tucson Roadrunners for the 2020-21 season, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the start of the season back. He ended up playing in Finland with the Tampereen Ilves putting up good numbers until he ultimately returned to Tucson the following season. Roadrunners head coach Steve Potvin immediately saw the potential he had that could make him an NHL player down the road.
“He was able to get around and he was pretty slick and could avoid checks and create space for himself and find the open man,” Potvin said. “Whatever his options were, he was already ahead of it. He was able to read and think the game at the right pace.”
Related: Coyotes’ Maccelli Rewarded for Hard Work and Patience
“The thing we had to make sure that he was able to do was more than just provide scoring. It’s hard to score at the NHL level so you have to play a 200-foot game. He wasn’t a player that really loved to get into the battles and try to force a turnover off of a forecheck. We had to try to force him to get into those situations a little bit more frequently.”
He excelled in every department during his first year in the American Hockey League (AHL). He put up an astounding 14 goals and 57 points in just 47 games. If Maccelli had spent the entire season with the Roadrunners, he likely would have broken the single-season points record held by Chris Mueller (67). He then spent 16 games with the Coyotes due to various injuries, where he got his first taste of NHL action.
Maccellis’ Rookie Season With Coyotes Proved Everyone Wrong
After a very bright season with the Roadrunners, suddenly, Maccelli seemed to be on lots of people’s radars. Even though he was being raved about, many were shocked to see him make the opening night roster. However, if there was one person that wasn’t, it was Maccelli himself. “If you want to play more minutes in this league, you’ve got to do those little details well and have a good overall two-way game, so for sure,” he said. “I’ve been trying to put some more effort into that.”
“What people don’t talk about is his compete level and his engagement defensively,” Tourigny said. “I think we have a different Maccelli than last year. He’s more mature than last year. He takes pride in defending and takes pride in playing well in the zones; takes pride in blocking shots. He’s not perfect and he will never be but he tries to be and I appreciate that.”
“He has some hockey sense that not many guys have so when you get to play with a guy like that you try to get open,” Bjugstad said. “There was a play [against the New York Rangers] where I was the last guy on the rush and I thought, no chance I was getting the puck. I don’t know how he saw me, threw it across the ice, gave me a good chance. Playing with a guy like that, you definitely want him with the puck and you want to create space for him. Obviously, me and Crouse are some bigger guys, so I’ll try to get to the net and let him kind of work it up top with the D-men.”
Maccelli’s rookie season showed his willingness to adapt to the game quickly; if he can continue that success into his sophomore season, big things are ahead for the Finnish forward in 2023-24. The Turko, Finland native also signed a contract extension this offseason that will have him in Arizona for the next three years, hoping to continue the success he saw in his rookie campaign.
Future Is Bright For Maccelli
Maccelli has established himself as a core member of the organization despite his non-traditional path to the NHL. Logan Cooley, Matt Dumba, and Jason Zucker have also been added to the roster this offseason, giving the Finnish forward some bigger names to play with. Having these players as teammates should improve his game even further, which could lead to an even stronger season than he had as a rookie. While it’s hard to predict how he’ll perform this season, it’s safe to say he’ll be a prominent figure with the team for quite some time.