Ranking Every New Jersey Devils 1st-Round Draft Pick Part 1: The Busts
By Mike Luci
No. 28: Stefan Matteau
Center/Left Wing
29th Overall, 2012
Perhaps in an act of defiance, the New Jersey Devils opted to keep their 2012 first-round pick. They could have forfeited it as part of the league-imposed penalties for the Kovalchuk contract drama but used the 29th overall selection to draft center Stefan Matteau.
The Los Angeles Kings used the following pick to select Tanner Pearson.
Son of former NHLer Stephane Matteau—who scored the infamous game seven overtime winner against New Jersey in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals—he made his NHL debut as an 18-year old, after having a fallout with his QMJHL team.
Matteau’s first 17 NHL games were very underwhelming, only getting one goal and three points. He wouldn’t return to the NHL again until 14-15 when he netted one goal in seven contests. The Devils traded Matteau to the Montreal Canadiens at the 2016 trade deadline, who left New Jersey with totals of three goals and five points over 44 contests. Since his Devils stint, Matteau has played in 47 NHL games (with periodic AHL stints) only getting three goals and six points. He’s been with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization since 2019.
Like Quenneville, Matteau was drafted as a center but spent most of his time in New Jersey as a wing. Whether he struggled with the positional shift or made his NHL jump too prematurely, former General Manager Ray Shero didn’t hesitate to part ways with Matteau and hasn’t quite missed out on anything by moving the young forward. As much of a bust that Matteau was, the Devil’s 2nd-round pick that year—Damon Severson—was a pretty good silver lining.