Christiansen gets D man he was looking for in Matheson

Doug Christiansen has been looking for a solid “D man”, and now has elected to go with the 25-year-old defensive defender, Brock Matheson.

“Brock the Rock” as he might be called, is entering his second year as a professional and is known for his tenacious defensive game.

Matheson completed his first season as a professional with the Stockton Thunder last season, a campaign that featured a call-up to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League. In fact, Matheson was the first defenseman they called up in the 2011-12 season.

Before turning pro, Matheson was a star at Union College where as a senior he captained the Dutchmen to their first ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth. Matheson was named Defensive Defenseman of the year for the entire ECAC conference. He was also named Second Team All-ECAC. Immediately following his senior season, Matheson was called up to the Binghamton Senators of the AHL.

Belfast Coach, Doug Christiansen commented on the addition of Matheson: “Brock does not have numbers that are going to jump off the page but he plays a role that we need.

“We have excellent forwards who are going to be aggressive and attack our opponent and what I wanted was a defenseman that would relish the challenge of shutting down the other top forwards in the league, guys like David Ling, Jeff Legue, and Shea Guthrie etc.

“Brock loves a one-on-one battle. He blocks shots, hits and competes every night. His defensive style of play would be similar to former Giants Nick Kuiper and Tim Cook who were both valuable pieces on very successful teams here in Belfast.  I expect Matheson to play a very similar game to Kuiper.”

Following on Christiansen stated:

“One variable that I find extremely important in our league is self-motivation. I think it is crucial for a player to be able to play a home game at 7pm, leave the Odyssey at 10:30pm then wake up at 6am, fly to our opponents city and compete just the same that night.

“In Belfast, the travel is tough on players.  As a coach, you need players who take pride in how they compete and Brock Matheson is one of those players.

“This is evidenced by the fact his college coach stated “Brock Matheson is the best leader I have ever been around in my coaching career.” Frankly, I cannot wait to work with him in Belfast.” Christiansen went on to say.

Brock Matheson is equally excited about coming to Belfast.

“I am extremely excited to be coming to an organization as professional and competitive as Belfast. I am looking forward to getting there and starting the road to a championship.”

Brock Matheson is a left shot defender and will wear number 2 for the Giants this season.

Christiansen has now completed his roster for the 2012-13 season and the Giants coach feels great about the team and the ability for the club to repeat as champions.

“Looking back to last season and analyzing what went right and or wrong, I came to the conclusion that what won games for us was our leadership and competitiveness.  Belfast is a special organization and is run properly with everything geared towards winning.

“We have filled our room this year with competitors. Yes, we have talent but each player we signed also has the fire that is needed to win on the road.  I expect us to block shots, take hits, give hits, drive the net and be an excellent fore-checking team.

“It is going to be a fun ride at the Odyssey come September. The league is the best I have ever seen it. Every team is going to have double-digit losses because of the new league structure and there are more of the big games against the top teams in the league.  It is going to be a great year!”

• Matheson will be the final player to arrive but will be in the lineup for the Giants pre-season match against the Tilburg Trappers on Saturday, September 1st at 7pm (Odyssey Arena).