by Stephen Meserve | AHL On The Beat
malleable (adj.) – having a capacity for adaptive change. See also: Texas Stars forward Matthew Seminoff.
In his rookie year with the AHL squad, Matthew Seminoff has had to hone his game as a play-anywhere forward. Coming into this weekend, he had already lined up with 12 different linemates through the course of the season.
“My mindset and my goal this year is to establish myself as a guy that can play different scenarios and can be trusted late in the game,” Seminoff said. “I’m happy with how that goal has been going so far.”
After being a healthy scratch in the Stars’ season opener, he’s missed just one game since then, clearly earning the trust of his coaching staff as a bottom-six center who can play up and down the lineup when called upon.
“He has done a great job in his first pro season,” said Texas head coach Neil Graham. “He understands the structure and details being asked of him. He was tasked with learning how to play center as a 19-year-old in the AHL and has done a great job.
“It opens more doors for him and shows his ability to be versatile.”
Seminoff’s rookie year comes after a barnstorming final season with the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. He ranked third on the team with 83 points behind fellow Star Logan Stankoven and now-Iowa Wild forward Caedan Bankier. Racking up those points came in a different role than the one he plays in Cedar Park with more power play time and significant top-line minutes.
“It’s obviously been another adjustment to have a different role than in junior,” he said. “For me, I just wanted to embrace any role that I got and try to make the most of it.”
One of those shifts for him has been his move to center after playing all four years in Kamloops on the wing.
“It’s a new challenge, but I’m just trying to learn as much as I can each day and learn what I can from the older guys.”
He’s been given the chance to step up recently for Texas as injuries to key veterans like Curtis McKenzie, Nicholas Caamano and Scott Reedy, as well as the recall of the AHL’s top rookie scorer, Logan Stankoven, have shuffled the lines for the Stars.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had quite a bit of injuries this year, and especially lately,” Seminoff said, “so you have to step up your game and try to produce a bit more and help the team out.”
That has been part of what has shuffled the lines for the young centerman, who has compiled the most games among all rookies signed to Dallas this season with 53 total. Despite the churn, the points have started to come more in the last few weeks with five assists in the last eight games.
“I never had points in the back of my head (as a goal),” said Seminoff. “I think that’s hard to control. There’s only so much you can control in a game. I just wanted to make sure that I was dialed in at every practice and that I earned my way into the lineup as much as I could.”
Seminoff also knows that path is one well-worn by others.
“There’s lots of guys that have gone through Texas to the NHL who are just that responsible fourth-line, third-line center or kill penalties. I was really fortunate to get in touch with [Texas Stars assistant coach Maxime Fortunus] and get on the penalty kill and earn my spot there as well.”
When not at the rink, Seminoff is enjoying life in the Austin area. He quipped that it was great to get off the plane from a recent northern road trip and enjoy temperatures in the 70’s for a walk in the park and some evening fishing at the lake. He credits his ability to focus on the ice in part to the work his parents and billet family did to get him ready for “adulting” by teaching him to cook for himself and manage an adult life. It’s come in handy as he is the youngest player on the Stars roster, turning 20 just a few months ago.
Entry into the NHL is rarely under ideal conditions. Playing eight minutes in a night might be the start you get when you are first recalled, and for Seminoff – who was born in Virginia and raised in British Columbia – earning his stripes under all sorts of conditions in Cedar Park will make him ready for the next level.
“You always want to just be malleable,” he said. “I’m willing to play whatever position, whatever role to get in the lineup, and that’s something that I definitely want to be doing to try to get to the next level. Just embrace whatever is given to you. It’s exciting for me, and I get excited about just fitting in wherever I am in the lineup.”
Stephen Meserve is the editor of 100 Degree Hockey, which has covered the Texas Stars since their inaugural season.
