The 23-year-old forward has impressed during the preseason.
DALLAS - Matěj Blümel has a shooting mentality.
Blümel, 23, ranks first in the NHL alongside Ottawa’s Drake Batherson with 22 shots on goal through five preseason appearances.
The Czech prospect was recently asked about his penchant for putting the puck on net.
“I feel like it developed when I was in Juniors in the USHL,” said Blümel. “I played fourth line my first year and I didn’t score a lot of goals, but I think it was mid-season, I talked to my agents a lot about it, and they said: ‘Yeah, shoot the puck, shoot the puck from everywhere.’ That’s kind of what stuck with me until now.”
That strategy paid immediate dividends for Blümel, who went from eight goals in his first season with the Waterloo Black Hawks to 30 in his second.
Fast forward nearly half a decade and Blümel is making noise at the highest level with that identical approach to generating offense.
He has two goals, four points and a plus-4 differential in exhibition play, and continues to impress head coach Pete DeBoer and the management group in Dallas.
Learning from a player like Jason Robertson has helped Blümel’s cause in the shooting department, too.
Robertson was one of only 10 NHL players to record over 300 shots on goal in 2022-23, and his outstanding numbers speak for themselves.
“You have one of the best goal-scorers in the League in the locker room. Robo is a great guy, and I can say that we talk a lot. I ask him a lot of questions about how to score and where to shoot, so it’s pretty exciting to have him here,” explained Blümel, a fourth-round selection of the Oilers (100th overall) in 2019. “I wouldn’t say it’s a plan [to shoot], but whenever I feel like I can take the shot, I’ll just take it, and if I see a player in a better situation than I am, I might just pass it to him to get a better chance... If you don’t shoot, you can’t score. I’m not saying I’m going to shoot from every position in the O zone, but when I have a chance, I’m going to take it.”
Blümel’s production with the AHL’s Texas Stars last season would suggest that frequently testing opposition netminders is, in fact, the way to go.
He registered 19 goals with head coach Neil Graham's contingent, played six games with the big club, and scored his first NHL goal along the way.
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Expect more of the same from the Tabor native now that he’s increasingly comfortable in the Lone Star State.
“Last year, I came into a new environment with new teammates. Everything was new. I didn’t know what to expect. It was hard. Even in the games, I got a puck and I was like: ‘Who should I pass it to? There’s Tyler Seguin on one side and Jamie Benn on the other side, who should I pass it to instead of just keeping it for myself?' But this year, it’s a little different,” said Blümel. “I went through it all last year and played a few games here, along with a whole season in the AHL, and I think I learned a lot. I feel like I'm more confident this year, and I like it so far.”
Fellow Czech Radek Faksa's presence has also been huge for Blümel.
He can’t say enough good things about him.
“Having Radek here, it’s unreal. Sometimes, we can just talk in our language and go for dinner,” said Blümel. “I spend a lot of time with him and his family, and I'm so grateful for it because they’re so nice to me.”