In the Pipeline: Matt Hellickson

Notre Dame Men's hockey is one step closer to securing a spot in the Frozen Four

The NCAA hockey tournament began on Friday night with a Fighting Irish overtime win against the Clarkson Golden Knights, a victory that sends Devils defensive prospect Matt Hellickson into the second round for a second straight season.
Hellickson and Notre Dame will take on the UMass Minutemen at 6:30 Saturday night in the second-round matchup of the tournament, that consists of four regions and four teams in each region. With a bracket-style tournament, if a team wins two games, they'll go on to compete in the Frozen Four.
For Hellickson, the trip to the NCAA tournament is all he's ever known at the college level. The 21-year-old has just completed his sophomore season playing for the Fighting Irish with 16 points in 38 games this year and a second trip to the NCAA tournament.
For Hellickson, his attraction to Notre Dame was instant.
"I came [to visit], with my mom and my dad and met with coach [Andy] Slaggert at the rink," Hellickson told the Notre Dame Hockey official website in February. "He took us on a golf cart around campus and I just knew. It was a weird feeling. I knew this was where I was supposed to be. Ever since then, after my first visit, I knew this was the place I wanted to be just because I thought it was the best combination of elite hockey plus an elite education."

His college career started with an assist in his first game with Notre Dame in a win over Alabama Huntsville on October 6, 2017. His second point came one day later, and Hellickson was off and running for the Irish.

As a freshman, he did not shy away from contributing in his first run in Big 10 playoff games. He had points in both games played (one goal, one assist) in his first college playoff experience. In his freshman season, Hellickson was a part of the Irish team that made it to the notable Frozen Four and made it to the National Championship.
Now, the left-shooting defenseman is a member of the Irish that boasts six other NHL draft selections and begins their quest back to the National Championship after falling last season to Minnesota-Duluth.
The game between the Fighting Irish and Minnesota-Duluth in 2017 has a unique connection to New Jersey, other than Hellickson. Current Devils rookie, Joey Anderson was a member of the Minnesota team and considers Hellickson one of his best friends.
Tweet from @joeyandy19: Another big congrats to one of my best friends @Helli_12 joining me with @NJDevils #2017NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/rjrQTlnSRs
"Matt is going to get a first-class experience at Notre Dame," Devils development coach Eric Weinrich, in charge of defensemen, tells NewJerseyDevils.com. "They have one of the best training facilities and game arenas in the country, and safe to say it rivals any facility in the world. Two ice sheets, Olympic and NHL size. A large player lounge/dining area where players eat meals and study. Full size theater-like video room. Two shooting decks. A separate cardio room and an additional weight room. Hot tub, cold tub and sauna. And locker room. By far the nicest team facility I have seen in college hockey."
The Notre Dame experience is giving Hellickson as close to an NHL-style opportunity at the college level that he's ever going to get. He joined the school for the 2017-18 season, just months after he was drafted by the Devils in June 2017.
"I believe the coaching staff at Notre Dame does a very good job at training the players in the basics of the game and some of the finer points," Weinrich continued. "They have a very structured approach, and for a young defenseman, this can be very helpful. Along with the hockey experience, the history and tradition surrounding Notre Dame as a university and its athletics is second to none. Matt will receive an excellent education as well as experience some of the most exciting athletic events in the country, especially the football which is a whole other dimension to the experience at Notre Dame."
Hellickson is enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business at Notre Dame.

When the now-21-year-old was drafted in 2017, he was an overaged defenseman out of the USHL playing for the Sioux City Muskateers. Hellickson was one of the team's assistant captains and had 28 points in his 52 games with the club. He spent just one year with the Musketeers before joining Notre Dame.
"What caught the eye of our scouts was Matt's skating, mobility and his ability to hit the first pass," Weinrich explained in his scouting report. "Matt is not a big player, but he gets around the ice with ease and has excellent footwork at this point in his career. This is one area that will give him a chance to make the jump to pro more seamlessly since the game today has a lot of pace and speed."
Hellickson has also put on his national jersey to represent the United States as a member of the bronze-winning team at the Under-18 World Junior Championships in 2016. In the tournament, Hellickson played seven games with four assists and a plus-6 rating. A year later, Hellickson won a gold medal at the Under-19 World Jr. A Challenge with Team USA. He captained the gold medal-winning team and contributed one assist in five games.
And if fans were to compare him to another defenseman currently playing in the league, Weinrich points to a player right at home: Andy Greene.
"If a player wanted to mold his game after a player on our team, Andy Greene would make a good choice, especially for a defenseman, and Matt has a lot of the same attributes," Weinrich noted. "Aside from his mobility, I don't see one area that he excels in, but he is very proficient in most parts of his game. Like Greene, he is a player the coaches can use in many situations without hesitation. As a result, he is on the ice for power plays, penalty killing and in important times of the game."
When it comes to any prospect still refining their game, there are always areas of their game to work on. For Hellickson, Weinrich says finding that level of "grit" in his game is an area Hellickson and his coaching staff at Notre Dame are working on.
"His coach refers to his personality as 'Minnesota nice', which is not critical but more to the fact that he is a solid, respectful individual," Weinrich said. "Which doesn't always make a player 'hard to play against'. It is an area that the coaches are aware of and constantly remind Matt. I don't see that personality trait changing a lot, but I do believe he will learn what he has to do to be harder in his defensive game."
The hope is that New Jersey's staff will get a first-hand glimpse at Hellickson this summer. Despite being drafted in 2017, he has yet to attend his first development camp due to academic responsibilities. The hope is that he will be able to attend this summer, which is an important part of any prospect's development.
"We, as an organization, feel this will be a good learning experience for him and allow him to meet possible future teammates and staff," Weinrich said. "[He and management will be able to] see where he stacks up against some of the other prospects with his development. He should make a nice addition to the core group."