ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Tyler Motte won’t have another season quite like this one.
Motte started with a breakout college season, finishing second in the country with 32 goals as a junior at the University of Michigan. The forward, who hails from St. Clair, Mich., decided to turn pro and signed his entry-level deal with the Blackhawks after Michigan was eliminated from the NCAA tournament.
Advertisement
Motte joined the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL and scored five goals (with three assists) in eight games.
To cap off the season, Motte was invited to play for Team USA at the IIHF World Championship and is now in Russia getting to ready to take on Czech Republic in a quarterfinal game Thursday.
It’s been a wild ride, to say the least.
“It’s been fun, a lot of experiences, a lot of learning going on,” Motte said after a recent practice in St. Petersburg. “That’s why you take steps like this. I had a great year at school all the way around from individually to our team. I think everyone was happy there with the progress we made. Tough way to end.
“Headed to Rockford, another good step for me personally, but another great learning experience. A lot of great guys there, learned a lot. Looking forward to next year with the organization.
“And then this opportunity overseas is one you can’t pass up. You’re playing against older guys, some of the best in the world. It’s just another great learning experience, another opportunity to compete and grow my game as well as get to compete with some of these guys, some of these familiar faces here, as well as some new guys that hopefully you’re playing with and against here in the future.”
Motte’s college season elevated his national team stock – he probably wouldn’t have been invited to the World Championship based on his stats (He had nine goals in his sophomore season) a year ago – and he’s also opened the Blackhawks’ eyes to his potential in the NHL.
The Blackhawks had been pleased, but not wildly enthused, with Motte, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2013. But then Motte, who was already solid defensively, went out and produced at a whole different level at Michigan. If there were any doubt about his scoring ability, he put that to bed with the IceHogs in his first pro action.
Advertisement
“It’s been a real progression for him,” said Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman, who is an advisor for USA’s World Championship team. “Even his time in Rockford, he was there for almost a month and it was like he was there all year. He scored some big goals. He sort of picked up where he left off in college.
“A year ago at this time, he was a guy we were excited about and we thought he had a good chance as a role player as a professional hockey player. He goes in and scores 30-some-odd goals, and it’s like, wow, he’s maybe more than a role player. I think he’s really impressed us with his ability to put the puck in the net. That’s hard to do; I don’t care what level you’re at. To score as much as he did this year is real impressive.”
Motte never doubted he had that scoring potential. He understood, though, that he had to start capitalizing on his opportunities. He put in the time to get better around the net and figured out how to pounce on rebounds first, create enough space to get off a quick shot and put away those chances.
“I think the opportunities were there for me this year and they happened to go in for me,” Motte said. “I think that’s a little bit of difference between being one of the top goal scorers in the country or whatever league you’re playing in and middle of the pack guy that scores 10, 20. It’s just the opportunities you’re given and what you do with them. I think this past year I really try to bear down on those. A lot of credit still goes to the linemates that I’m playing with. They created a lot of it and I was just there to put one in the back of the net.”
As much as Motte has progressed as a goal scorer, his focus is still on being a defensive-minded forward. He hopes to be able to score some goals for the Blackhawks down the road, but he sees his defensive skills as his ticket to the NHL.
Advertisement
“Confidence, definitely, it’s a huge part of the game, especially at the professional level,” Motte said. “But for me, again, taking pride in the little things – the PK, the defensive zone. Those are things you have to earn the trust of the guys behind the bench, the guys upstairs, before you’re necessarily put into a scoring role like that.
“It’s nice to know I’ve been able to do it in the past and hopefully I can do it in the future, but my mindset still is on the D side of the puck and PK and things like that. I think those little things if you have that early on in your career, it’ll be able to help on the other side when you get the opportunity.”
Team USA has utilized Motte’s defensive game in a penalty-killing role at the World Championship. USA Hockey assistant director of hockey operations Jim Johannson said Motte was a logical person to add to the roster because of his versatility.
“He’s the kind of guy you win with,” Johannson said. “He’s the kind of player who can play all situations. He’s a very smart player. He’s very effective when he’s hard to play against which he can do even at this level because of the skating, sturdiness and kind of determination he has on the puck.”
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville can always use someone who he can play multiple forward positions and in various roles.
“He’s the ultimate utility guy because he can play right wing, left wing, he can play penalty kill,” Bowman said. “He’s been good on the power play. He can do a lot of different roles. I think the biggest difference from a year ago is just his progression offensively. That’s hard to do. When you can score that much, you’re doing something right.”
Motte isn’t expecting to be in the NHL out of training camp next season, but he’s still preparing for that opportunity.
“Yeah, absolutely, that’s the goal,” Motte said. “There’s probably 50, 60 guys in the organization who are trying to compete for that spot. That’s got to be the mindset all summer. You want to come in, you want to earn your spot. You don’t want anything to be given to you. You want to come to camp, earn that spot, be in great shape both on and off the ice and just compete. If you get that opportunity, you keep working hard to prove they’ve made the right decision. If you don’t, you keep working hard. You know opportunity is going to come at some point and time. You just got to make the most of it.”