Matthew Caito vs Mike Matheson

[Mathletic]

Just wondering if you people who have watched Dubuque play this season could compare Caito and Matheson. How big a gap is there between the 2?

[herbst20]

I have seen Dubuque 5 times this year so I can give you what I have seen.

Caito: A two way Defenseman that plays with grit and toughness. He isn't flashy but gets the job done. He isnt going to wow you with a great stick handle or 100 mph slap shot, but he is going to find his openings to let one rip. I believe he is the QB on the 2nd PP line if I am not mistaken. He is a Blue liner that I would definately want on my team.

Matheson: He is a highly skilled Offensive Defenseman that turned the puck over in his own zone quite a bit when I have seen him. He likes to pinch down in the offensive zone which led to some odd man rushes going the other way. He is a good stick handler and skates very well. Very good on the PP and I believe he QBs the first line unit. I would also like him on my team, but if and only if I had a good stay at home defenseman to be matched with him. He is a defenseman with a forward's menality IMO.

Hope this helps.

[AmericanDream]

Matheson has the talent no doubt, but I will agree with the above comments about his giveaways...really needs to work on shoring up the puck and he needs to make smarter passes overall.

I think he is going to be a player, but definitely will use 3 years of college to get to the next level.

[Mathletic]

thanks for the answers!

do you think there's any chance Caito turns out the better player of the 2 in the long run?

[herbst20]

Right now it is tough to tell because Matheson is so much more skilled then Caito. The upside I see with Caito that I do not with Matheson is toughness. I would even classify Michael as "Soft". Caito will get into the dirty areas and win puck battles whereas Matheson would rather play in open space if that makes sense. I guess I was expecting more out of Matheson coming into the season being as highly rated as he was. I think some scouts must be seeing the same things because he has dropped in draft ratings throughout the year.

[Edges7]

Originally Posted by herbst20

Right now it is tough to tell because Matheson is so much more skilled then Caito. The upside I see with Caito that I do not with Matheson is toughness. I would even classify Michael as "Soft". Caito will get into the dirty areas and win puck battles whereas Matheson would rather play in open space if that makes sense. I guess I was expecting more out of Matheson coming into the season being as highly rated as he was. I think some scouts must be seeing the same things because he has dropped in draft ratings throughout the year.

Caito performs much bigger than his size. Definite Letang type.

Matheson was another NHLCSS ranking that was a puzzler to me - not as much as Debouw but up there. Then I remembered that MM's Canadian which adds 30pts.

Unless you're Kevin Roy then you subtract 30.

[OutdoorJoe]

Being a season ticket holder in Dubuque I can add the above comments are pretty much spot on. Caito plays way bigger than his size with a tremendous amount of grit. (+ 16). Matheson is one of the best skaters ive seen. An offensive defenseman That's Very aggressive on the back check and in d zone. which leads to a lot of turnovers. When he gets beat he tends to throw a temper tantrum and usually ends up taking a bad penalty. Caito will get down and dirty while matheson tends to pick and choose his battles. He has gotten more physical in the last couple of weeks