I was scrolling through TikTok, as one does in today’s world, and I happened upon the Calgary Flames profile. First, my compliments to whoever runs that account because the content is very good. But more importantly, there was a video of the Flames coming off from practice, and they were asked the question, “Who scores our first goal of the year?” Outside of the sarcastic “Jacob Markstrom” answers, the name I heard the most was “Matty C” or Matthew Coronato. And I think that’s a perfect representation of what we saw the young player do in the pre-season.
We got a taste of what Coronato can do in the one game that he played last season against the San Jose Sharks. He didn’t register any points in the scoresheet, but he was an important player, according to the analytics, with some of the best numbers of any of the players who stepped on the ice in that game. And now, with the regular season having started and the preseason over, we’ve seen him take on a big role in the lineup in the top six and on the top power-play unit.
The kid made sure that he had an impact on the preseason games he was a part of, like this shot:
Or this pass:
Coronato was in and around the puck constantly over the course of the preseason. He registered six points in six games with three goals and three assists, all of which were primary. As far as the on-ice analytics go, he was positive there as well. He was on the ice for more shot attempts than he was against. He also had a 54.63 xGF%, which wasn’t as strong as some other players but still decently above average. All of the other analytics were in his favor as well.
Now that the regular season has started, Coronato should be given the chance to make a major impact both at even strength and with the power play unit. It was assumed that he would be given that opportunity regardless, but the strong preseason full of goals, points, and puck possession really helped his cause. He’s going to be a huge piece for the team moving forward, and as the preseason progressed, we got to see the kind of player he can become. He’s going to shoot the puck as much as he can, and he’s likely going to end up having defences cheat over, opening up options for other players.
Coronato’s first game last season was all the rage, especially considering the circumstances that the team was in at the time. Now that he’s getting a more pronounced role on the roster, it’s going to be exciting to see how he adapts, and it’s good to see that he was able to remove any doubts that he could be a major impact player on the roster as soon as this season.
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