Mathew "The new Brian Rafalski" Maione?

alko

Registered User
Oct 20, 2004
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Mathew Maione is really interesting player. He is now the 2. most productive player in KHL. 27 points in 23 games. And that in a team, that could be hardly considered as a KHL top team.
He has also a interesting past achievements:
2015-2016: ECHL Defenseman of the Year and ECHL Most Points by Defenseman (54)
2016-2017: Slovakian Extraliga Most Points by Defenseman (57), what actually means a Defenseman of the Year (with some offensive records for D)
2017-2018: SM-liiga Most Entertaining Player and SM-liiga Most Points by Defenseman (39)

When he will end this season in KHL Top 10, will some NHL team offer him a contract? And coul he eventually make similar career as Brian Rafalski did?
 

aonb

Registered User
Oct 26, 2013
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guy is legit. but wait few months more. now he is 2nd best offensive D in khl, i only rank hersley above him
 

MapleLeafs9

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Sep 22, 2011
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NHL teams target european players with a lot worse numbers than he has. Has to be something about his game that's very unattractive.
 
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Jorma Heart

Registered User
Sep 5, 2009
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NHL teams target european players with a lot worse numbers than he has. Has to be something about his game that's very unattractive.
Last season he wasn't very good in first 20 games. Then KalPa got Ryan Wilson to his defensive partner to do the defending thing and Maione just exploded and went like almost ppg last 40 games. In reality he wasn't even KalPa's best dman (Riikola was).
 

Jorma Heart

Registered User
Sep 5, 2009
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2017-2018: SM-liiga Most Entertaining Player
I'm not sure if thats a good thing when you're suppose to be a dman. If he didn't score two points he turned puck over 15 times and lost the game by himself

But if 36 yo Chris Lee got try out after his 65 pts season then Maione should too. I mean Joonas Lyytinen got drafted by Nashville and his upside is propably last years Maione.
 

ES

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Feb 14, 2004
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Finland
I'm not sure if thats a good thing when you're suppose to be a dman. If he didn't score two points he turned puck over 15 times and lost the game by himself

But if 36 yo Chris Lee got try out after his 65 pts season then Maione should too. I mean Joonas Lyytinen got drafted by Nashville and his upside is propably last years Maione.

That award is based on fan voting and so far it has been awarded three times and quite different players

2016 Ari Vallin - I would say this was much more for his off-ice personality than what happened inside the rink. He was decent all-around defenseman. Nowadays colour commentator.

2017 Joe Finley - Some on this board pretty much know this player - hard-hitting defenseman who is also involved in fights sometimes. Played (and still plays) for team with largest fanbase in Finnish league.

2018 Maione - attacking defenseman who sometimes causes trouble in his own end. Probably his look gave him few votes as well:

13-3-10026197.jpg
 

Atas2000

Registered User
Jan 18, 2011
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He is a one-man team there. Everything has to revolve around him on a bad team. That inflates numbers. On any of the powerhouses he'd get less minutes and points. His defensive play may not be an issue to Riga, but I doubt he can just like that convince NHL teams.
 

SaekkiPaelli

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Oct 1, 2011
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No way he will be a Rafalski, recently saw a game live, and he looked really bad. I actually don't even understand how he has that many points. Bad on the PP and even worse in his own end. I don't think he'll sniff the NHL. The one thing that was impressive were his calves, they were literally treetrunks.
 

alko

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Oct 20, 2004
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www.slovakhockey.sk
No way he will be a Rafalski, recently saw a game live, and he looked really bad. I actually don't even understand how he has that many points. Bad on the PP and even worse in his own end. I don't think he'll sniff the NHL. The one thing that was impressive were his calves, they were literally treetrunks.

That was maybe only a bad day. Every player has such. Also McDavid. ;)
 

BillNy

Registered User
Jun 20, 2018
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Success in euro leagues doesn't always translate... Rafalski is a rare case, not the usual path to greatness.

Eh, most of the guys who put up particularly strong numbers in other leagues who didn't in the NHL just sorta never got real ice time.

I kinda feel like the time in history where teams most overrated size, or like, "looking like a hockey player" or whatever was the 1990s. Have had a theory for a while that Martin St. Louis, Tim Thomas, Brian Rafalski, and I feel like I had others that aren't coming out of my fingers right now, weren't really late bloomers, just underappreciated. St. Louis had incredible college/AHL numbers. Tim Thomas had mostly very good pre-NHL numbers with a few dips the way all goalies have dips. Rafalski (who I honestly think makes the HOF if he starts his NHL career at 21-22 instead of 26) had great numbers before the NHL. He's not on the level of the others, but Glen Metropolit's NHL numbers look a lot better (and his outside-NHL numbers were fantastic) if you were there and remember he never really got meaningful icetime. Those four players were all born in a 22 month span. Actually, Thomas and St. Louis were on the same University of Vermont team. Also wonder if being college players were undervalued. Metropolit didn't go to college, but the rest did. Would have to look at the rest of the college players of the era, but I'm curious.
 
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ijuka

Registered User
May 14, 2016
22,157
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Mayonnaise Matt just is awesome. In the thread some time ago, while most people had Gusev as the best player outside of NHL, I take Maione every time. Guy just takes games over and makes plays no one else would dare to try. Yeah sure, he probably requires a steady partner who can make up for his mistakes but it's hard to imagine someone else in KHL having the potential to have an impact like Maione does.

Guy's had a great trajectory and he's not even that old. D-men sometimes take longer to develop and especially a guy with such a crazy style might have required some time to be able to balance everything right. He finishes the season like this and I'm sure someone will give him an NHL tryout if not offering him a contract outright. Dynamo Riga is no SKA either.
 

izzy

go
Apr 29, 2012
86,760
18,732
Nova Scotia
his career path is f***ing wild seriously

if he makes the nhl just wtf

9 points in his last yeah in jrs, echler through early to mid 20s and now hes killing the khl. move over derek ryan
 
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Nordiques1979

Registered User
Nov 29, 2009
3,942
350
Laval QC
Rafalski is an exception. Auvitu was leading LIIGA and last two seasons before going back in Europe, Chris Lee was dominant in KHL, but never even try to make the jump to NHL. Ryan Gunderson was one of the best dman in Europe, both in KHL and SHL, never had the chance to try or even being invited to NHL camps.
 

Axel574

Registered User
Dec 9, 2015
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That award is based on fan voting and so far it has been awarded three times and quite different players

2016 Ari Vallin - I would say this was much more for his off-ice personality than what happened inside the rink. He was decent all-around defenseman. Nowadays colour commentator.

2017 Joe Finley - Some on this board pretty much know this player - hard-hitting defenseman who is also involved in fights sometimes. Played (and still plays) for team with largest fanbase in Finnish league.

2018 Maione - attacking defenseman who sometimes causes trouble in his own end. Probably his look gave him few votes as well:

13-3-10026197.jpg
That dude is way too hairy... I wouldn't want him on my team clogging up all the drains in the locker room, pubes all over the damn toilet seats, foot long hairs on my clean sweater. He can stay in the KHL comrades.
 

JackManning

Registered User
Nov 23, 2018
13
2
His contract doesn't expire until 2020. He isn't signing in the NHL until then unless he buys out.
 

Your Boy Troy

Registered User
Sep 19, 2013
2,796
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Brampton, Ontario
He definitely has NHL-caliber skating to say the very least.

However, when I watched him play on the Beast, he did not strike me as of having the sense or size to truly be an NHL talent. A lot might have changed by then.
 

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