Matias Maccelli has not experienced anything like this in his hockey career.
The Utah Hockey Club forward was a healthy scratch for 13 consecutive games — the longest he’s been held out at any level of the sport, he said. But after more than a month of watching from the upper decks, Maccelli was ready to make his return to the lineup Thursday night at Delta Center against the Buffalo Sabres.
“I’ve been practicing well the last four or five weeks so I’m definitely more than ready to go again,” Maccelli said during the team’s morning skate. “Obviously it’s frustrating seeing all of the guys go out there and battle for wins and you can’t be there with them. It’s frustrating but I’m playing tonight so I have a chance to stay in the lineup.”
Maccelli hadn’t played since Feb. 8 against the Carolina Hurricanes, as Utah has opted for players like Michael Carcone, Liam O’Brien and Nick Bjugstad to play instead of Maccelli. Now, though, the Club has one extra forward left. O’Brien suffered a lower-body injury Friday in Seattle and is projected to miss four weeks.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) during an NHL hockey game at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
While Bjugstad filled O’Brien’s spot on the fourth line for the last two matchups, head coach André Tourigny feels confident that Maccelli is finally in the right head space to make a difference.
“I believe he’s in a good frame of mind. I think in the beginning when he was scratched, he was not maybe in the right place mentally,” Tourigny said. “I think right now — I like his mindset. I like his desire to prove.”
It was a learning curve for Maccelli. After all, the 24-year-old skated in all 82 games with the Arizona Coyotes last season and posted 57 points (17 goals, 40 assists). Maccelli was third on the team in points just behind Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. This year, Maccelli ranks 10th in points with the Club through 52 games and has struggled to find consistency.
When he first started getting healthy scratched, it was just upsetting for Maccelli. Slowly, though, he began to look for ways to grow and show the higher-ups he was putting in the work. Whether that was extra reps at practice or extended stays in the gym, Maccelli had no other choice than to embrace his situation.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) skates, in NHL action between the Utah Hockey Club and the San Jose Sharks, at the Delta Center, on Friday, Jan 10, 2025.
“I like my conversations with him. I like the work he did and extra, I like the questions he asked, I liked he was really specific on what he wanted to improve,” Tourigny said. “He put his mind and his heart at it instead of just going through the motions. He showed me he’s in.”
Away from the physical side of the game, Maccelli has leaned on his teammates — like friend Barrett Hayton — to help with the mental challenges of not playing.
“At the end of the day, you just have to be ready for when your opportunity arises and you’ve got to be ready to come in and help the group get a win,” Hayton said. “It’s good to see him back in tonight.”
The two came into the NHL around the same time. Hayton had been in the Coyotes organization for two seasons but only played a cumulative 34 games before COVID-19 shut the league down. Hayton went over to Finland during that time on loan to Liiga’s Ilves team which Maccelli was also on. They got a handful of games together in Maccelli’s home country before heading back to Arizona for the 2021-2022 campaign (which was Maccelli’s rookie year).
(Jayne-Kamin-Oncea | AP) Utah Hockey Club center Barrett Hayton controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Club, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Now in Utah, Hayton has been one of the guys to check in on Maccelli and make sure he’s not losing confidence.
“Definitely just trying to keep him in the right mind frame. At the same time, we know he’s going to do that and he’ll be ready to go,” Hayton said of Maccelli. “No matter what’s going on, you try to interact with guys. I don’t think when you’re in that situation you want to be treated any differently or whatever. You just want to be part of the group. We all know it’s tough being out of the lineup.”
Coming into Thursday’s game, Utah sat four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and hoped Maccelli’s return could be a useful offensive spark in this final stretch.
Maccelli is trying to level with the pressure of coming in at such an important time of the year.
Utah Hockey Club left wing Matias Maccelli (63) shoots against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Oct 28, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Melissa Majchrzak)
“Keep it simple early and then let the plays come to me,” Maccelli said. “It’s just like play my own game. Making sure there’s not too many turnovers and that I defend well and stuff like that.”
Tourigny and company know Maccelli has a lot more to give than what has been displayed this season. They’re giving Maccelli the chance to show why he should be a nightly player in Utah now.
“It’s a great opportunity for him. Now it’s up to him to burn that bridge and make sure we’re not going back there,” Tourigny said. “There’s two ways you can look at it — you can feel sorry for yourself or you can jump in this game and prove what you can do. We want the latter. We want Maccelli to be himself and what he’s been for us for a long time.”
