Tyler Motte talks NHL Prospect Tournament, upcoming year with Blackhawks
By @MichaelCaples –
TRAVERSE CITY – Tyler Motte admitted that it was a little weird in warm-ups.
After all, the University of Michigan product was shooting on a goaltender he spent three seasons trying to score on.
That’s how it goes as players leave college and enter the pro ranks – they never know who will be joining them in the locker room.
For Motte, it’s looking up and seeing former Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand waiting for his shots prior to puck drop.
“A little bit, joked around quite a few times here because I like low blocker,” Motte said when asked about how weird it was. “That’s all I’ll say now.”
The former NTDP and Michigan stand-out forward is skating at his first NHL Prospect Tournament this week, after he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round of the 2013 NHL Draft.
“It was great,” Motte said of his first game. “A little emotions going, some nerves added into the game, but once you get halfway through warm-ups you kind of settle in, get a few touches in the first period and you kind of settle down.”
The St. Clair native is making a gradual adjustment to the professional ranks, after he played in five regular-season games and three playoff games with the Rockford IceHogs – AHL affiliate of Chicago – last spring.
Actually being able to call himself a professional hockey player is part of that adjustment.
“It’s a great feeling,” Motte said. “I think that’s every hockey player’s goal at some point is to make that jump. For a lot of guys, it’s just about timing. For me, it was the right time and I’m excited to be here.”
The NHL Prospect Tournament serves as an annual event for talented youngsters to prepare for their respective teams’ training camps. For Motte, it’s a chance to transition from summer training to competitive in-season hockey.
“Get better,” Motte said, when asked what he wanted to take out of the Traverse City experience. “Get back into game shape. Work on some of the things you can’t always work on with just practices and stuff and be in the best shape I can heading into training camp.”
His NHL parent club gave him an extra responsibility for the tournament, putting the captain’s ‘C’ on Motte’s sweater.
“It was awesome, found out a day or two ago. It’s just nice to see they recognize some leadership. Might’ve just been because I was one of the only guys to have a few games of experience in Rockford, but just a little recognition is nice, but in the short term, I guess you’ve got to have everyone clicking and communicating on the same page. It’s nice to have, but at the same time, everyone’s still got a leader no matter what tournament you’re in.”
Had he returned for a senior season with the University of Michigan, he may have been wearing that same letter on his chest. Motte acknowledged that he’s missing his teammates in Ann Arbor at the moment.
“A little bit, talked to some of the guys. Don’t miss the class that they just started going back to, but you miss some of the relationships for sure.”
There are plenty of University of Michigan alums and Michigan natives to keep him company in Traverse City, however.
“It’s good to see some familiar faces out there. I’m sure everyone will tell you once the puck drops it’s game time. You can’t be friends on the ice, but off the ice it’s good to see some guys from Michigan having some success.
“It’s good to see, like I said a lot of Michigan names, natives having success so it’s great for the state.”
After the prospects tournament, Motte and the rest of the participants head to NHL training camps. It will be a new experience for Motte, who wants to put on a good showing for his parent club.
“Just got to go to training camp and compete. You hear it all along, guys are gonna be in battles, you’ve just got to go in and do what you do best and play to the best of your ability and make it a tough choice on them.”