Jarrod Skalde’s task to rebuild the Cardiff Devils for the upcoming 2021-22 season has picked up pace in recent weeks.
The Devils have been able to re-sign Mark Louis, Sam Duggan and Stephen Dixon, whilst acquiring Josh Waller and Brendan Mikkelson.
Cardiff has bolstered their defensive ranks with the excellent signing of blueliner Matt Register.
The Calgary native had to fight his way into the professional game after a junior career spent in the lower reaches of Alberta.
After making an impression in the Central Hockey League with Allen Americans, Tulsa Oilers and Arizona Sundogs, Register caught the eye of then ECHL outfit, Ontario Reign.
Thirteen points in seven games for L.A’s affiliate set Register on his way to a lengthy career in North America, albeit mostly at the ECHL level.
The 31-year-old has 43 games in the American Hockey League under his belt, split between Chicago Wolves, Hartford Wolf Pack and Iowa Wild. His longest spell was a thirty-game stint for Iowa during the 2019-20 campaign but it’s in the ECHL where Register was a highly sought-after commodity.
The Canadian was named 2013-2014 ECHL Defenseman of the Year and selected for the First All-Star Team in his rookie season.
Register would be selected to the ECHL All-Star First team on four occasions in all and was a two-time All-Star Second team member.
A three-time recipient of the ‘Defenseman of the Year’ award, he would claim that title in back-to-back seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Winning championships at any level is a difficult feat. Let alone three consecutive titles for different teams.
Register managed that feat as he hoisted the Kelly Cup with Allen Americans in 2016 before winning with Colorado Eagles (now an AHL team) in 2017 and 2018.
In 2017 the Canadian defenseman was the Kelly Cup MVP.
During his last win, he wore an ‘A’ for the Eagles.
A player who always rose to the occasion in the ECHL, Register has posted one hundred points (26-74) in 131 playoff games.
Through nine ECHL regular seasons, Register suited up on 472 occasions, netting 91 times and accumulating 374 points.
The move to Cardiff with be Register’s first foray overseas though he had displayed interest in signing in Germany and Hungary before now.
Cardiff fans will be expecting goals from the blue line and I expect that they won’t be disappointed.
Register can flat-out shoot the puck.
Whether it’s a booming one-timer, a slap shot or a seeing-eye wrist shot on the power play, the defenseman has a penchant for getting the puck on net and scoring with regularity.
How hard can he shoot the puck? This hard.
He’ll be a real asset adding offense from the blue line though perhaps the biggest shot in the arm to Cardiff will be on the power play.
Possessing a player who owns a cannon of a shot, inevitably creates space for others.
He also has a flair for the dramatic.
It would be unfair to label Register as all offense, however.
He has worked hard on the defensive side of his game throughout his career and isn’t afraid to play a physical brand of hockey either.
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