Speed, skill, and determination are huge aspects of Mat Barzal’s play. Barzal was known as an eye-catching prospect in his early years and definitely made his mark professionally.In Barzal’s early career, he played in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament through the Burnaby Winter Club. The tournament was looked at highly by current NHL players who competed in it when they were younger. He mentioned as a pee-wee player that the main goal each season in the league was to play in the Quebec tournament. Barzal was the highest scorer in the tournament with 22 points in seven games. This tournament was huge to current players because the alumni who played there ended up pursuing a career in the National Hockey League.

From 2011-2012,  Barzal played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League he played 51 games and accumulated 55 goals and 98 assists that season. Due to his outstanding season, Barzal won the WCBAAA Top Forward Award. Barzal became recognized by recruiters after being a member of the club for some time. He was one of the top teenage prospects that were being watched but due to his young age, the Western Hockey League had to wait one more year for him to become eligible to play. Barzal was selected first overall by the Seattle Thunderbirds in the 2012 WHL bantam draft.

Barzal had a huge year in the 2012-2013 season. Within the time he was given to age for the WHL, he accomplished a lot as a young prospect. In the British Columbia Major Midget League Mat Barzal won the British Columbia Hockey Player of the Year award alongside defenseman Dante Fabbro who is apart of the Nashville Predators organization. He also made the BCMML All-Star team and lead the league in assists and accumulated the most points. Barzal also appeared on the ice to represent British Columbia at the Western Canada Challenge Cup tournament. His teammates and himself brought home a gold medal.
Mat Barzal’s first season with the Seattle Thunderbirds started in 2013-14. He recorded 57 points in 44 games and was number 4 on the team for points. He also participated in 9 playoff games with the Thunderbirds and collected 6 points. During the same year, Barzal represented Canada while accumulating 4 points in 7 games and won a bronze medal at the U18 World Championship.
The following year, Mat Barzal split his time between the Seattle Thunderbirds, Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (Hlinka Gretzky Cup), and the U18 World Junior Championship (WJC). He played a total of 44 games with the Thunderbirds and tallied 57 points, majority being assists. When he took the ice for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, his teammates and himself won gold. The Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament was renamed the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in 2018 recognizing both Ivan Hlinka and Wayne Gretzky. This tournament is hosted by a new location annually. To tie up Barzal’s busy year at the rink, he dressed for team Canada as assistant captain at the U18 WJC. He lead the team in points and shows up as number five for having the most points within the club behind his current teammate who holds the first spot, Anthony Beauvillier.

After an exciting 2014-15 hockey season for Mat Barzal, he was seen in the 2015 NHL Draft. Mat Barzal was selected 16th overall by the New York Islanders and in September 2015 he signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Isles. Barzal made his NHL debut on October 15th in the 2016-17 season. He eventually returned back to the Seattle Thunderbirds and won the 2017 WHL Championship. Barzal was named playoff MVP after accumulating 25 points in 16 games.
Mat Barzal’s first registered NHL point came on October 15th in the 2017-18 season against the Los Angeles Kings by assisting Josh Bailey. Four days later, Barzal made it past Henrik Lundqvist to record his first NHL goal. As the season went on, fans became to admire Barzal for the talent, effort, and skill he brought to the locker room. Barzal started to have multi-point games and was rewarded more ice time. He ended up setting a franchise record for most assists as a rookie after recording five in a 6-4 Islanders win against the Colorado Avalanche. He also tied the franchise points per game by a rookie.

In Barzal’s first multi-goal game, he managed to record his first NHL hat trick against the Winnipeg Jets. After the midway point of the 2017-18 NHL season, Barzal became the fifth player in NHL history to record three five-point games in one season before turning 21. Barzal quickly tied Bryan Trottier in the most assists held by an Islanders payer at 63. In April, Barzal received news that surprised no one. He was a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy that is awarded “to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the NHL”. He eventually brought home the hardware on June 20th from the NHL Awards.
Barzal began centreing the Islanders on their top line between Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey starting the 2018-19 season.  He tallied 62 points in 82 games and was selected to represent blue and orange at the 2019 NHL All-Star game. Barzal lead the Metropolitan team to win the All-Star game after dominating the 3 on 3 play and recording 2 goals and 3 assists in a 10-5 win.

This current season, Barzal and the Islanders only had the chance to play 68 out of the 82 games within the regular season due to COIVD-19. Barzal still managed to put up high numbers and improve his skill. He made his second appearance at the 2020 NHL All-Star game and won first place during the fastest skater competition.
As the organization approaches the off-season, everyone is aware that Mat Barzal’s contract is set to expire, and will have to re-sign, preferably for a six or seven-year contract. Hopefully during the season’s pause the organization will get to look forward to seeing Mat Barzal on the ice for the 2020-21 season.

John Smark