Matt Moulson: Cinderella Man

Matt Moulson is the Cinderella story of the 09-10 season.

A new Cinderella has been crowned and her his name is Matt Moulson. The Mississauga, Ontario native has made the big time this season after signing a one-year deal with the New York Islanders. Moulson made the team out of training camp and never seemed to look back.

Moulson currently leads the Islanders in goals (14) and is tied with John Tavares with 22 points in 28 games (also leading in that category). Three of those goals came tonight in Moulson’s first career NHL hat-trick against the Atlanta Thrashers (12/03/09).

Moulson slapshot – Goal.
Moulson breakaway from a leading pass from Trent Hunter – Goal.
Moulson tip in front of the net – Goal.

He almost had a hat trick earlier in the season against the Boston Bruins, but the replay of what would be goal number three showed that Moulson’s stick never touched the puck. So he had the hardship that night of settling for two.

The 26-year-old just seems to find ways to get in front of the net and it’s been paying off – and it will surely fatten his wallet toward the end of the season.

Before this season, Moulson accumulated only six NHL goals in his two previous seasons playing for the L.A. Kings – granted that he only played in 29 NHL games for the Kings. But it would seem the Kings let a good one slip through the cracks and the Islanders picked up the pieces.

While Moulson proved he can score in the AHL (74 goals in three seasons with the Manchester Monarchs), he never received the chance to do so at the NHL level. Islanders General Manager, Garth Snow, most likely added Moulson with the expectation that he would add scoring power to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. But Luckily for the Isles, “Mighty Matt” showed he can do much more.

Speaking of expectations, it was the first overall draft pick, John Tavares, who was supposed to be the one adding the offensive prowess to a team that was lacking it the previous season – and quite frankly, he has. But Tavares came in as a rookie in a league where rookies generally struggle. Maybe it’s because the “new NHL” was reformed specifically to cater to these young athletes by removing the grab-and-clutch game that used to be the standard, and thus be the downfall of such young and physically underdeveloped players.

A game that was once men versus men has quickly become men and children verses other men and children. The direct result of these rule changes has been increased scoring league-wide and also more opportunities for younger players like Matt Moulson.