Emerging star

Whaler goalie Hackett's stock rose after a summer trip to Denver in '08

  Day after day last summer in a hockey rink in Denver, Colo., pucks were lasered at a fast and furious pace toward the net stationed behind Matt Hackett.
  Rifling the rapid-shot lasers were National Hockey League players, including Philadelphia Flyer Ian Laperriere.
  With each puck that he either stabbed with his glove, re-directed with his blocker or smothered in his pads, Hackett's self assurance inched another notch up the confidence meter.
  When Hackett and his training partners weren't on the ice, they were usually in the gym, enduring an NHL-caliber workout regimen.
  Once Hackett's several-week stay in the Mile High City ended, he boarded a London, Ont.-bound plane with his luggage, a carry-on and a new outlook on what it took to get to the next level.
 "My uncle Jeff (a goalie for 14 NHL seasons) took me to Denver and we worked out every day with NHL players," said Hackett, a 19-year-old resident of London. "It was a real eye-opener for me.
  "After training with those guys, the game really slowed down for me when I got back home."
HIS JOB TO KEEP
  Once Hackett wrestled the Whalers' starting goalie job away from Jeremy Smith a few weeks into the 2008-09 season, his opponents' shooting percentages slowed down, too.
  Armed with a set of enhanced skills that eventually got him drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the third round of this past summer's NHL Draft, the 6-foot-2 Hackett stood on his head for close to five months. He finished the regular season with  a 34-15-3-0 record and a 3.04 goals-against average.
  "Matt really stepped up for us last season after Jeremy struggled a little bit," said Whalers President, General Manager and Head Coach Mike Vellucci. "He got on such a roll that it was hard to take him out."
  You can say that again. Hackett started the team's final 40 games, a stunning streak that set a franchise record.
  "My uncle Jeff taught me just about everything I know about playing goalie," said Hackett. "I owe him a lot."
PROFITABLE POSITION CHANGE
  Hackett was a forward until the age of 11 when he saw the light; or, more accurately, he didn't light up the goal light enough.
  "I wasn't a very good forward," he said, smiling. "I played in a house league (in London). I enjoyed scoring goals, but I didn't score enough of them."
  Hackett was drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 Ontario Hockey League draft by Windsor. He was acquired via trade by the Whalers on Nov. 13, 2007.
  He served as Smith's seldom-used back-up for a little less than a year. After he proved he could handle the daunting responsibilities of being an everyday goalie, the Whalers traded Smith last December.
  "I learned a lot from Jeremy after watching him play every day," said Hackett. "We were good friends. But when I found out he got traded, I was pretty happy. I got home that day and called my parents right away."
NO MORE NERVES
  Hackett credited a large part of his emergence to an improved mental approach.
  "When I was younger, I put too much pressure on myself," he said. "I was nervous before the games and I'd always think to myself, 'What if they score on me,' things like that. I've learned that you have to be relaxed to be successful. You have to have fun, which is what I did last year."

Ed Wright can be reached at info@plymouthcantonsports.com or (734) 578-2767.