Matt Mistele's Hard Work Paying Off For Whalers

Plymouth Whalers left wing Matt Mistele lives with a perpetual smile on his face.

Beyond the fact that this week marked Mistele’s 17th birthday, he’s smiling if he’s reporting to practice, going to school at Plymouth-Canton Educational Park or boarding the Whalers bus to travel to a road game.

“I love Plymouth,” Mistele said.  “Everyone has done so much for me – the coaches have really helped me to become a better hockey player.  All the guys, I love them to death.  There are a lot of great people here.  There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

Mistele’s mother, Marg, is also smiling as the Whalers head to Eastern Ontario this weekend to play in Peterborough on Thursday (6:45 pm, 88.1FM WSDP), Kingston on Friday (6:50 pm, www.plymouthwhalers.com) and Oshawa on Sunday (6 pm, www.plymouthwhalers.com).

The Mistele family – from Whitby, ON, just outside of Oshawa – will be in full effect this weekend.

Selected by the Whalers in the second round (33rd overall of the 2011 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection, Mistele didn’t play much at the start of last season.  That’s not unusual for many Whaler pups, or for that matter, many rookies in the Ontario Hockey League.

Mistele scored his first OHL goal in his 12th game on Dec. 30 in a 7-3 win over Saginaw and finished the regular season with three goals and two assists in 28 games.

When Plymouth suffered injuries in the playoffs last season, Mistele saved his best hockey of the year during the post-season, scoring a pair of goals with three assists over 12 games.

Mistele has been part of the Whalers regular forward rotation this season and has two goals with four assists for six points in eight games.

Although Mistele put in the work to improve, a large part of his progress can be credited to Whalers assistant coach Don Elland, who works with all of the Whaler pups when they start their respective careers in Plymouth.

“There’s nobody that works harder or wants to get better than Matt Mistele,” Elland said.  “Off the ice, you can’t ask for a nicer kid.  On the ice, he works hard, takes it seriously and puts in the time.  You could really see at the end of last year when he got the opportunity to play in the playoffs against Kitchener how he stepped up.

“I know he worked hard over the summer and hasn’t missed a beat coming back this year.  He loves putting the time in and you can see how much better he’s getting week by week.”

It can be discouraging for a young player not to play.  But Mistele kept a level head last season and his smile.

“Last year, I didn’t play that much and I knew that coming into the season,” Mistele said. “I came to practice every day and worked hard.   Donny (Elland) really helped me – after practice, I worked hard with him every day.  He kept me calm when I needed improvement and he told me when I was doing well.  So I appreciate everything he’s done for me. 

“In the playoffs, I got the chance to play and that really gave me some confidence to do what I’m doing this year. I went home and worked hard during the summer and it seems to be paying off.”

Elland understands that scoring needs to come from all lines, not just a couple of players.

“That’s what it takes to be good in this league,” he said.  “You can’t always rely on your top players.  You have to get scoring from all areas and we’re starting to get that from younger guys like Cody Payne and Matt Mistele.  They have confidence, they’re starting to get the ice time and they’re starting to take advantage of their chance."

CONNOR CARRICK GOES THROUGH THE PINK OUT - Michael Caples of MIHockeyNow wrote about Connor Carrick's frst experience during the Whalers annual Pink Out! For Breast Cancer Awareness:

CANTON – As a rookie in the Ontario Hockey League, Connor Carrick is adjusting to a new team, a new home building, and a new pace of play.

Now he will also have to adjust to having pink hair.

The 18-year-old defenseman and National Team Development Program alum experienced one of the Plymouth Whalers’ annual traditions today at Lucky Hair Salon in Canton – all the players dye their hair pink in some form or fashion before the team’s ‘Pink Out’ game.

MiHockey chatted with Carrick while he was waiting for the initial hair-bleeching set in, and he said he was still unsure of how he felt about the experience.

“I don’t know, I guess I have to see the final product first,” Carrick said. “Pretty nervous about it, but it is what it is. All the boys are doing it, so it should be good.

See the rest of the story.