Mathew Dumba, the first hockey player with Filipino descent to have ever played in the National Hockey League (NHL) made his presence felt against grizzled veterans last season.
Dumba, who has a Pinay mother and a German-Romanian father tallies a respectable eight goals in the regular season on his sophomore year.
Not only that, the Minnesota Wild skater had a surprising two-goal performance in the tough playoff second round match against the eventual 2014-2015 Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks.
“To get a chance to play against Chicago in the playoff and contribute to the team means a lot to me,” he says.
Dumba, who was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, also landed in eighth place overall among the 30 teams in the power play rankings.
The 21-year-old skater learned to skate at age three and his family later moved to Calgary, where he began playing minor hockey for the Crowchild Minor Hockey Association.
The 6-0 tall defenseman also played minor hockey for Calgary Bronx from 2007-2009 and Edge Mountaineer High (2009-2010) when he was in secondary school, before moving up to the Western Hockey League.
He had split stints in the WHL with the Red Deer Rebels from 2009-2013 and with the Portland Winterhawks from 2013-2014.
Dumba was the 1st round 7th overall draft pick of Minnesota Wild in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, where he stayed for one year with the affiliate of Minnesota, the Houston Aeros (2012-2013) in the AHL.
He has a very aggressive approach to the game and can rush up the ice with the puck with aplomb and can provide huge open-ice hits that change the momentum of the game.
One thing his coach Mike Yeo likes about him is the electric skating ability he possesses. However, he needs to play a little more control in order to maximize his vast all-around potential in the National Hockey League.
