Get to know Badger legacy Matthieu De St. Phalle

Madison, Wis. — As a second-generation Badger, Mathieu De St. Phalle is eager to make his mark on the University of Wisconsin. His father, Jacques De St. Phalle, joined the Badger men's hockey team as a transfer student from RPI for the 1982-83 season, claiming the national championship that year. Today, his son is among the Badger's elite freshmen class.

Born in Illinois, De St. Phalle grew up in Connecticut before making his way back to the Midwest to play for Detroit Honeybaked and then the Chicago Mission, playing alongside former Badger Alex Turcotte and current sophomore Owen Lindmark. The forward spent the 2019-20 hockey season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL, tallying 30 goals and 30 assists in just 49 games, leading the league with 60 points.

Although this season will look a little different, De St. Phalle is ready to hit the ice with the Badgers.

Why did you choose Wisconsin?
Visiting here, the facilities and the campus and the lifestyle, and especially the tradition of this program, I fell in love with it right away, along with the coaching staff. The way everybody treats everybody around here and the whole culture of Wisconsin was just something I couldn't say no to. And the fans too.

For someone who hasn't had a chance to see you play yet, how would you describe your game?
I think I'm a high-energy forward with a lot of skill. I'm quick with good vision and high IQ. I think I can make plays with a lot of guys and make my teammates better.

Did your father have any influence on you choosing Wisconsin?
Definitely, yeah. I actually got to visit up here with him and he was showing me around a bit, so it was really cool to do that stuff. I remember he told me how much he loves it here as well, so that kind of played into it. Growing up I was on the East Coast in Connecticut so I was going to a lot of BU, BC, Yale college hockey games out there so I didn't really have a favorite college hockey team in particular. Once I committed, that's definitely when I became a Badgers fan.

What does your dad think of you committing to his alma mater?
He was thrilled. It's obviously a dream to see your kid do the same thing you're doing.

What does it mean to you to play for the same school as your dad?
Everything. When I visited, there was a picture of him in the Kohl Center from his 1983 team. He won a national championship here. I walked around that concourse recently going up to the shooting room and I see that picture and it motivates me to give it all I have like he did when he was here. It's just that cool little family tradition factor.

What was your best moment in hockey?
Probably playing in the Clark Cup Finals in 2019 against Sioux Falls. We went to play a couple games there and it was completely sold out with 15,000 fans and growing up you dream about that atmosphere so that was probably my best memory.

How much has COVID-19 changed the experience of playing hockey at a high level?
I guess I can't really speak to that yet because our season just got outright canceled from it last year when I was with the Chicago Steel, and so far this year we haven't really played a game yet. Definitely with practices it's a little bit different. You have to keep your distance and we're doing smaller groups and now we're getting back to larger groups, but it's kind of the whole 'stay-away-and-wear-a-mask-when-you're-working-out' that can make things more difficult and stressful, but it's nothing too crazy and we're not going sit back and make excuses for it.

What are you hoping to achieve this season?
First of all, to play as many games as we can this season and really come together as a group and work as hard as we can. I think we have a lot of talent in the locker room. Just show up and come to work everyday and hope for the best results. I think I'm coming in as an older freshman, I have a lot of experience playing in juniors, so I think I'm bringing in a lot of energy and skill, so I think I can mesh well with a lot of the guys on this team.

How did you get recruited to Wisconsin?
I played at the Chicago Mission with Alex Turcotte and Owen Lindmark. I think all three of us were on [head coach] Tony Granato's radar when he got the coaching job. I remember he came to a bunch of our games at the start of the season watching us. All three of us were talking about it and we all committed around the same time, so it was super exciting. I know [Granato] went to a bunch of games later on that year. He's been awesome checking up on me ever since I came here so I'm very thankful to have someone like him as my coach.

What's it like playing for Tony Granato?
I like to talk about this because he comes in with the same attitude everyday. He's a guy you never know if he had a bad day or not. He's big on culture and how he carries himself and that's something I really look up to. He's very professional and a player's coach. He has his own little relationship with every guy and I think I could hang out with him all day and it wouldn't even feel like he's my coach. He's a guy that's there for you. You can talk about anything with him. He's just a very impressive guy with the way he handles himself everyday.

What's your favorite thing to do away from the rink?
Definitely watching sports, watching hockey, football, playing video games, golf in the summer, hanging out in the dorms. That's a really cool thing about being in the dorms, you can all hang out in the hallway and go to other guy's rooms and mess around. That's what I like to do is be around people.

What's your most interesting class?
I'm taking entomology which is the study of insects, so me and Ryder Donovan actually were out in the forest last week looking for insects filming a documentary, so that was definitely a different experience, but that class has been really fun. We did it on a little larvae and we're watching it grow every day, taking pictures of it. And Cole Caufield, can't leave him out, he'll be upset.

Who's one person you look up to and why?
Definitely my dad I want to say just cause he's so hardworking and from a young age he taught me the game, and just seeing the way he carries himself everyday and when he played too, just the way people talk about him that played with him or against him. That's the way I want to be remembered when I'm done playing. He's definitely a role model for me and someone I look up to.

Favorite non-hockey athlete?
Probably Joe Burrow, I like him a lot. He's on the Bengals now but I loved watching him last year at LSU. I really like Donovan Mitchell too, he's in the NBA. Those are two guys I think are pretty awesome athletes.

What's your favorite movie and why?
Miracle, it's a classic. You probably hear that one everyday. Honestly, I have probably seen that movie 20 times and it gets better every time. Just the whole story of that team, and that there's actually Badgers on that team too. Their whole story and how they beat the Russians and the whole process of how they were a horrible team to start and just got better and better. That's definitely something I've been a part of too. One of the best movies I've seen.

What's the coolest thing you've gotten to do because of hockey?
Last year for sure going to the Frosty Cup, we went down to Dallas and we played against the Green Bay Gamblers outdoors at the same rink they played the Winter Classic. It was a super cool experience, the ice was so smooth because they made it for the NHL. We were all wearing eye black and it was probably 45-50 degrees, it was just awesome. All the parents were in the stands, so, that was probably my favorite hockey memory.

Best part about living in Madison?
Just the whole experience of it, walking down state street, campus and everything. Especially in the summer, we'd go down to the terrace. The views are unbelievable. Just meeting other people and meeting the other freshmen and going to the rink everyday with these breathtaking facilities and workout room, and getting to skate on the ice at LaBahn and getting our new gear. It's just really exciting and we can't wait to play.

What's something in your house that you trashed by playing hockey or shooting pucks?
When I was growing up we put the net in front of the garage and every time we'd miss the net there'd be a significant amount of dents in the garage and my mom would come out and yell at me and my dad would have to calm her down. That stopped at a young age though because the bills were coming in.

If you weren't playing hockey what would you be doing?
Probably another sport. I really like golf and at one point I was getting pretty good but I started taking too much time off. Definitely be playing another sport, maybe soccer, I was also big into lacrosse growing up on the East Coast.

University of Wisconsin Athletics

Get to know Badger legacy Matthieu De St. Phalle

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Cole Caufield

Mathieu De St. Phalle

Ryder Donovan

Owen Lindmark

Alex Turcotte

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