FRIDAY FEATURE: Ten Years Later, De St Phalle Reunited With Gruden As Pros With the Penguins

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After playing together and winning a national championship with Honeybaked Hockey 14U, Mathieu De St Phalle and Jonathan Gruden took different paths to pro hockey.

But, ten years later, the two have returned side-by-side after De St. Phalle joined the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this past spring. And now they're chasing their NHL aspirations together just like they dreamed of when they were teenagers.

"It's really cool. Playing together when we were 14 years old and now playing pro, it's pretty special," Gruden said of being reunited with De St Phalle and also playing with another former Honeybaked Hockey alum in Penguins forward Jagger Joshua this past season.

While Gruden and De St Phalle briefly crossed paths again in 2016-17 with the U.S. National Development Team Program, the two went their separate ways while developing their game.

For De St. Phalle, he spent the next three years in the USHL before attending Wisconsin University (NCAA) the past four years. After putting up 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists) in 110 games across his final three seasons at Wisconsin, De St Phalle joined the Penguins organization this past spring - reuniting with Gruden and getting a head start on his pro hockey career with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

"He showed me around and made me feel welcome right away," De St Phalle said of teaming up again with Gruden, this time at the pro level. "And [he's] such a funny guy. He's got such a good voice in that room too."

Altogether, De St Phalle appeared in seven games with the AHL Penguins at the tail end of the regular season - scoring his first career pro goal in his pro debut.

"It's obviously a lot different of an atmosphere, but I think I adjusted really well, really fast," De St Phalle told InsideAHLHockey.com following his exit interview with the Penguins. "But yeah, definitely looking to add some strength this summer and keep working on my game, and come back next year hitting the ground running."

De St. Phalle is a bit undersized, listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, but he's the kind of player that plays bigger than his smaller stature might suggest. In his short sample in the AHL this past spring, he was more than willing to go to the dirtier, harder areas of the ice in the corners and at the net-front.

"100%, and that's something I have to do, right, to be effective - especially at this level," De St Phalle said of having a knack for getting in on the forecheck and battling at the net. "So yeah, I just got to keep working on that and find more ways to make an impact."

He headed back to Wisconsin to finish his schooling after exiting the Penguins facility, and planned to spend his summer training in Chicago where he lives, but he was armed with positive feedback and encouragement from assistant GM Jason Spezza following his exit-day interview with the Penguins.

As for what he was told to work on?

"Just skating and shooting, and skills in traffic - so kind of just tight spaces. I think those are three areas that I would totally agree on that can be improved," De St Phalle told InsideAHLHockey.com. "And honestly, any part of my game, you can always get better, right? So just having thatwide range of things to work on this summer will be good, just so I can it mix it up. I'm glad they gave me some good, honest feedback."

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