Recent trade great for both Avs, player

Brian Huebel and the Alaska Avalanche received a nice gift heading into the holiday weekend — the return of forward Matthew Friese to the team.

Friese, a 2010 Wasilla High School graduate who skated for two seasons with the Avs before giving the United States Hockey League a shot, was reacquired by the Avs in a deal with the USHL’s Chicago Steel early last week.

And Friese is quickly picking up where he left off last season with the Avs, recording points in each of his first three games back with the team. The Avs will certainly profit from the addition of a player who finished third on the team with 43 points last year, but in the long term, it’s Friese who could benefit the most by the move.

Friese is undoubtedly one of the top hockey players the Mat-Su Valley has produced in recent years and does have the talent to skate in the Tier I USHL. Friese showed flashes of that talent, posting two goals and four assists in 14 USHL games this season. But he’s still a young player and hadn’t quite solidified himself a permanent spot in the lineup with the Steel.

At 18, Friese is still growing, maturing and improving as a hockey player, and the only way he can do that is playing in the lineup every night.

He can do that with the Avalanche.

After the trade, Friese said he was excited to rejoin his old team, and admitted there are things he needs to work on.

“To be able to get the skill set to be able to play in college, I need to correct some bad habits,” Friese said. “I need to be playing every night, put on the power play, on the penalty kill.”

Look at it like a top Major League Baseball prospect taking some extra time in Triple-A. Take the opportunity to play every night.

But with this analogy, I’m not saying the North American Hockey League is nothing more than the USHL’s minor league.

The USHL, the country’s lone Tier I junior hockey league, is certainly elite. But it’s not the only league producing top collegiate talent. Last season, 94 North American Hockey League players committed to Division I programs.

That list included former Alaska standout defenseman Jake Parenteau, who is now at the University of Minnesota.

With 19 goals and 24 assists last season, Friese proved to be a top scorer on his team. This season, he could be among the top talents in the league.

That may help the Wasilla product draw that much more attention.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiesman.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/matsu_sports.