Meet Your 2010-11 Aeros: Matt Hackett

Matt Hackett
Born: March 7, 1990 (20)
London, ON
6'2" - 170 lbs

Goalie
Catches: Left

Hackett robbing some guy - Photo by Rena Laverty

Matt was one of the top-rated North American goalies in the 2009 draft, and the Wild were in desperate need of a top goalie they might develop into Backstrom's successor. I haven't seen him enough to give much of an assessment, but he's a tall kid and should take up a good amount of space in the net. But he isn't so big/heavy that speed should be an issue for him.

My understanding is that he's not a flashy goaliel, but he's extremely solid technically, so he doesn't have to be flashy. As I type this, he's getting tested big time in St. Louis as Josh Harding has gone down with a knee injury and that little third period Hackett was supposed to play has turned into almost the entire game.

Hack and Joe O'Donnell will share hair tips, no doubt.

I'd give you his stats in juniors, but I don't put a lot of stock in goalie stats when looking at a big jump like junior to pros. A goalie's numbers exist in the context of his team and you just have to see 'em play. But he knocked it out of the park according to reports from the Traverse City Prospect Tournament a few weeks ago and the Wild brass are really impressed.

So, we'll see two things: How his game holds up against men rather than boys and how the Wild decide to manage his ice time. With a solid 5th guy like Tordjman, they can afford to send either one of them to Bakersfield to make sure they're seeing enough starts to stay fresh. KC was a coach who liked to ride the hot goalie (heh), but I don't know what Yeo's take will be. Have a definitive #1 in Anton? Or play the guy who's getting wins? That might be the tipping point on those "who goes where" decisions.

Here's some video of Matt at a goalie camp last summer:

Matt Hackett - 2009 Bandits Elite Camp from Bandits Goalie School on Vimeo.