What a difference a year can make. For Whalers goaltender Matt Hackett, the 2007-08 season saw him getting traded, serving as a back-up, and going undrafted in the NHL Entry Draft. After training with his uncle, former NHL goaltender Jeff Hackett, in the summer of 2008, things started to change. The 2008-09 season saw him claiming the starter's role, earning a #1 ranking, and hearing his named called by the Minnesota Wild. Hackett worked hard last summer to get where he is now, and it paid off as he went from an unranked, back-up goalie at the start of the season to an 8th ranked, starter during the middle of the season to the #1 ranked North American goaltender and Whalers playoff MVP by the end. Hackett's whirlwind year is continued this summer as he documented all the activities, travel, and experiences he went through after making such a statement with his play this season. Throughout the summer he kept us up-to-date with everything that was going on.

 • Part 1 (Season, NHL Combine, Program of Excellence Camp) | Part 2 (NHL Draft, Wild Rookie Camp)

| Part 3 (World Junior Camp, NHL Prospects Camp, Wild Main Camp, NHL Exhibition Game)

Dear Diary-

This year has been CRAZY! I started off last summer training hard 6 days a week with London Knights forward Nazem Kadri and our trainer Lee Griffith. Towards the end of the summer, my uncle (who was the goaltending coach for the Colorado Avalanche) brought me out to Colorado to train with Ian Laperriere, Peter Budaj, and John-Michael Liles. We trained 2 to 3 times a day. If we weren't in the gym we would be out running mountains, training with UFC fighters, or playing hockey with local NHLers. Seeing how hard they worked was a real eye opener for me and I wanted to bring that into Plymouth and show the team that I was ready to be a number one goalie in this league. Coming into camp I felt like the game really slowed down for me; I was reading plays a lot easier and just felt comfortable and calm. Towards the trade deadline, I started playing more and became the number one when Jeremy Smith got traded to Niagara. I enjoyed my time with Smitty; I learned a lot from him and he was a good buddy of mine. Towards the end of the season and going into playoffs, I kept gaining more and more confidence and was feeling like no matter who we played we had a chance to win. We beat Sarnia in 5 games and then lost to Windsor in 6, but it was a great battle. After the season, finding out I was ranked #1 for goalies in North America was pretty cool since I was passed over in last year's draft. 

Here's a photo from the second day of the Combine when I was doing a workout with Nazem Kadri, who is also a long time friend and London-native. We trained together last summer and it was great to sit with him at the NHL Draft and hear his named called 7th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I found out I was going to the NHL Combine after our last regular season game. My agent told me I had been invited, so I started training hard for it. I talked to AJ Jenks about what to expect because he was there last year. He just told me to relax and enjoy it and just not be too nervous. The day before the Combine I had food poisoning which wasn't fun at all. I lost 10 pounds and didn't leave the toilet all day. However, I knew I had to get up the next morning and do interviews, so I tried my best to get ready for it. In all, I had interviews with 25 different teams. It was really long and towards the end I felt like I was on repeat because most of the teams had the same questions. The testing part of the Combine wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but the two tests that were the hardest for me were definitely the Wingate and V02 Max test, which are both bike tests.

At the year end banquet, I received exciting news from Coach Vellucci when he told me I had been invited to Team Canada's goalie summer evaluation camp. I was so excited because I have never been to any Team Canada camps and know it would be an honour to represent my country. I just couldn't wait to travel to Calgary and show the coaches there what I got. After I dropped off my luggage in my room at the University of Calgary, I went to the rink and got on the ice. It was pretty cool with 14 goalies battling to get a chance to make the next camp in Saskatoon on August 5-10. There were a lot of scouts watching us everyday on the ice, seeing how hard we competed and how we matched up to other goalies entering the draft.

The camp wasn't just about our skills on the ice since we trained off the ice as well. We had a yoga class, trained with the Calgary Flames fitness coach and had a Hot Stove session with Ron Tugnutt, Chris Mason and Frederic Chabot, who are all NHL goaltenders.

At the end of the camp before we flew home, we had individual meetings. In my meeting, I was told what I had to work on and what they thought I was good at.  By the end of the meeting, they told me I was invited to attend the next camp in Saskatoon for the National Junior Team Development Camp. I was so excited because ever since I was a little kid I had been watching Team Canada at the World Juniors. Now to have the chance to maybe play for Team Canada was amazing and just a great feeling!

My crazy summer continues, I just got back from the NHL draft and am proud to be a member of the Minnesota Wild. I'll write about that soon, but I have to keep training and get packed because I'm going to the Wild development camp this week! I'm sure it will be a great experience and can't wait to share it with the Whalers fans!
 

-Hack

Dear Diary-
 
A few weeks ago I traveled to Montreal - one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. We spent our time downtown a block away from the arena. When I first arrived in Montreal, I still had about 5 more interviews to do before I had the chance to really relax and enjoy the city. After those interviews, my family, friends, and I all started walking downtown where there was so many stores and restaurants to enjoy. That first night my agent took me and Nazem Kadri and our families out for dinner to talk to us about what to expect and just to enjoy it all. The next morning we had a meeting with all the head representatives from the NHLPA and Gary Bettman. It was a very good meeting. They talked about what to look for in the future, what to stay away from, how good of a life style it is to play in the NHL, and how amazing of an opportunity we have.

That night was the first round of the draft at the Bell Centre in Montreal. I wasn't expected to go that early so I relaxed and soaked in everything.  I remember talking to my dad saying, "I bet you 20 bucks Nazem goes to Toronto." The funny story about this is Nazem and his family have been huge Montreal fans all their lives, and Montreal has a big rivalry with Toronto. So it was time for the Maple Leafs to make their selection with the seventh overall pick, and they picked Nazem and the whole crowd began booing and yelling "67" for the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. I had a good laugh, but it was awesome seeing someone I've played with since I was 13 accomplish his dream. Five hours later, the first round was over so I went back to the hotel and got some sleep before the big day.

The next morning I remember getting up really early. I couldn't sleep and I was just wanting to get the draft started and see where I was going to end up. At around nine thirty we headed over to the arena. Once I got there, I wasn't really nervous anymore, but I felt really excited. The second round flew by, then later in the third round, Minnesota was picking with the 77th pick. Minnesota had interviewed me at the Combine and they also came to the Team Canada goalie camp. So my dad was saying to me he thinks I'm going to get picked here. Now I started sweating a little bit and they announced their pick and called my name. The feeling I had was unbelievable. As I stood up, I was so happy to go to an amazing organization like Minnesota. I also had over 30 friends and family come to support me and congratulate me, so having them all there was one of the best feelings ever.

After I was picked, I went downstairs and did about 5 more interviews before I met with the whole Minnesota table. I couldn't stop smiling while I shook everyone's hands. I was just so happy. Later on that day, they invited my friends and family to come up to a suite to meet more people from the organization. After that, they brought us to dinner at a restaurant they had reserved for their draft picks only. Later that night all my friends and I went out downtown to celebrate. We had a great time; we ran into so many people we knew from the draft and visited so many places. The next morning we had to get back to London, which was a seven hour drive, so I caught up on some much needed sleep.

A week later, I was already on a plane on my way to Minnesota where I was attending their development camp. We stayed at a Holiday Inn right across the street from the Xcel Energy Center. When I checked in, I was told I was rooming with Colton Gillies. Colton spent last year playing with Minnesota as a 20 year old. It was really nice having someone to talk to about what to expect during the camp and to show me around the city. We had two on ice sessions a day and we also did different activities like media training, cooking classes, and lots of off ice training. My favorite though was going to the Minnesota Twins game where we had the opportunity to go on the field before the game and talk to All-Star Justin Morneau.

At the end of the camp we had exit meetings where we were told what to work on and what our strengths and weaknesses were. So now that I'm back in London, I have been focusing on what I need to improve on and training hard 6 days a week.

On Monday (August 3), I will be making my way to Plymouth to work with my goalie coach Stan Matwijiw before I leave for Saskatoon for Team Canada's camp. I'm very excited to go to that camp and show the coaches there what I can do. And now that we're approaching August (wow the summer has gone by fast), I'm looking forward to coming back to Plymouth to start a very exciting year. We are celebrating the 20th year the Whalers have been in the OHL. It's going to be a good one. Can't wait guys!

-Hack

Dear Diary-

Hey fans, sorry it has taken so long for me to finish the last of my summer diaries, but I've been very busy getting ready for this year and attending other camps as well. Over the past two months, I have been to a lot of different places starting off in Saskatoon for Team Canada’s World Junior Camp. I flew from London, Ontario on the same plane as my good friend Nazem Kadri, and other OHLers like T.J. Brodie and Ryan O’Reilly. Once we got to Saskatoon it was about a 20 minute ride to our hotel and we got settled in. I ended up rooming with Joe Colborne, a first round pick of the Boston Bruins in 2008.

The first day we had a welcoming dinner then we went straight to the rink for our first practice. I was on Team Red, which included many OHLers such as Taylor Hall,  Greg Nemisz, Adam Henrique, Ryan Ellis,  Nazem Kadri, Shawn Lalonde, Josh Brittain, Calvin de Haan, and Zack Kassian. The practices were very fast and tough, and everybody could shoot the puck pretty hard and accurately so I always had to be on the top of my game and focused. A couple of days later, we had  a few scrimmages that were very competitive and got very physical! Our team lost the first game, but bounced back to win the next one. The camp flew by so fast and next thing I knew, I was already on my way home.

A couple weeks later, I was back on the ice on my way to Traverse City for the NHL Prospects Tournament.  This was my first time participating in the tournament and included the Detroit Red Wings, Carolina Hurricanes, St. Louis Blues, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Atlanta Thrashers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Minnesota Wild. I was very excited to get started and play my first game. We had a

(Above) We faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the Finals, which included my Whalers teammates Brett Bellemore, Michal Jordan, Beau Schmitz, and captain Chris Terry, who I shook hands with after the game. (Below) It was so cool to wear my NHL jersey because it has been my dream since I was a little kid.

practice the first day we got there followed by a team welcoming dinner to get everyone on the same page. The next day we had our first game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. I started the first game and we ended up winning 2-1 in a good game. My next game was against the St. Louis Blues. This was a crazy game! We were down 3-2 with ten seconds to go with a faceoff in their zone. We won the draw back to our D, who then took the shot that bounced off the back boards and in the air. Zack Torquato (an Erie Otters forward) batted the puck in to tie the game with 2 seconds left! That point put us through to the finals where we would face the Carolina Hurricanes and lose 4-1.

After we the tournament we had individual meetings on how our camp went. I was very excited to hear that I had made it to Minnesota's main camp! I was so excited, I immediately called my parents to tell them the good news. So the next day I flew to Minnesota with the other goalie Darcy Kuemper, who plays for the Red Deer Rebels and the following day we had a welcoming dinner at the arena. I couldn’t believe I was at camp with guys I had been watching my whole life like Owen Nolan, Martin Havlat, Brent Burns, and Nicklas Backstrom. The next day we had practice at 9am and the speed of everything - the shots, the skating - everything was just so much faster than anything I have ever played before! It was so much fun even though my first shot from Benoit Pouliot felt like I broke my hand. I couldn’t feel my hand until the next drill.

The next few days they had scrimmages, but the young guys didn’t participate in them, so we worked out instead. A day later, I got on the ice for practice and as I stepped on I was told by Bob Mason, who is Minnesota's goalie coach, that I was playing the next night in St. Louis against the Blues for my first ever NHL exhibition game! I was in shock and I thought for sure he was playing with me, but nope, he was serious. The next afternoon I was on a jet to St. Louis with all the other NHLers. It was an unbelievable feeling. I mean the plane was beautiful, we had all the food we could want and the chairs were so comfortable! A lot better than the long bus rides on the hard seats, ha ha. And the veterans were so nice to me and Marco Scandella, who were the only 19 year olds in the line up. As we got off the plane we had a bus right there waiting for us to bring us to the arena. As I walked through the dressing room doors, I immediately got chills seeing my stall with the Minnesota Wild jersey with my name on the back. What an amazing feeling!

When we went out for warm ups, my legs were shaking for the first couple shots then I got into it. I didn’t play for the first 2 periods, but before the third Coach came in and said "Hack, you're in kid.’’ I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. Ever since I was a little kid this has been my dream and to get my first taste of the NHL was the best feeling in the world! All my nerves were gone now and I was just jacked up and so ready to play. On the first rush down for them when I went in, they had I had a one timer from the slot and it went in. Even though I had just been scored on all I could keep thinking about was "Wow, am I really playing against guys like Paul Kariya, Brad Boyes, Erik Johnson, Andy McDonald and other great players right now!?" The rest of the game I felt much better and didn’t let anything else by me. After the game I thanked the GM and coaches for giving me the opportunity to play. It was the most amazing and best experience of my life.

Thank you fans for all your support and hope you enjoyed my diaries. Hope to see you at our games the rest of the way this year. I hope the season will be filled with great experiences and memories, just like my summer!

-Hack

-with contributions by Natalie Shaver, Summer of 2009-