Valley product returns home

By JEREMIAH BARTZ

Frontiersman

PALMER — Matthew Friese is back with the Alaska Avalanche.

The former Alaska forward and Wasilla High School standout was traded by the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League to the North American Hockey League’s Avs for future considerations, Alaska head coach Brian Huebel confirmed on Wednesday.

The Wasilla High graduate played two seasons with the Avs before graduating to the USHL and the Junior A Tier I level during the offseason. Even though he’s taking a temporary step back to the Junior A Tier II level, Friese said it’s good to be heading back to the Avalanche.

“I’m excited, to be honest with you,” Friese said by cell phone from Fresno, Calif., Wednesday, where he was meeting his old team.

Friese was in the lineup during Alaska’s game at Fresno and scored twice on the power play during a win over the Monsters.

Friese, a 5-foot-10 forward, has skated for a pair of USHL teams this season. He started the season with the Tri-City Storm, the team that selected him in the 2009 USHL Futures Draft. After a promising preseason, in which he posted a goal and three assists in five games, Friese played in only four regular-season games with the Storm. After going scoreless in four games, Friese was part of a three-player deal that shipped him from Tri-City to Chicago.

As a member of the Steel, Friese collected 2-4-6 totals and was a plus-5 in 10 games.

While Friese had some success in the USHL — the league widely considered as the top junior hockey league in the United States — Huebel said the key for Friese is consistency. A big part of that is consistent playing time.

“It’s going to be nice to have him back in the lineup all the time,” Huebel said.

Huebel compared the move for Friese to a touted baseball player spending some extra time at Triple-A.

“It’s the same thing as bringing a kid up to the Major Leagues and sitting him on the bench,” Huebel said.

Friese spent his time with the Steel as a third- and fourth-line forward.

“If you’re a third- or fourth-line player in the USHL, you’re in and out of the lineup,” Huebel said. “That’s not a good situation for Matty.”

Friese agreed.

“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.”

Friese, a player who finished the 2009-10 season third on the Avs in scoring, will certainly be put in every situation with the Avalanche. Last season, he posted 19 goals and 24 assists in 56 games. He was second on the squad in goals (19) and third in assists (24) and points (43).

Friese was also a plus-14, posted 4-4-8 totals on the power play and was a top player on the penalty kill units.

At 18, Friese is still young. He could potentially play two more seasons of junior hockey and Huebel said the Chicago coaches have left the door open for a possible return for Friese to the USHL.

But right now, Huebel said, it’s about Friese getting better.

The addition of Friese will help ignite an offense that’s scoring just under three goals per game. He’ll also join fellow 18-year-olds Jake Barber (17-10-27) and Brandon Brossoit (12-13-25), who have been scoring points in bunches for the Avs this year.

“We expect him to produce,” Huebel said. “But more importantly for Matt, we want him to improve, become a better hockey player. It’s the same with every kid. We feel like we’ve got good hockey players and we need to make them better.”

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