![]() ![]() Matthews remains in touch with Davidge, Jody Shelley, broadcast director Russ Mollohan and Bob McElligott, who replaced Matthews. He was thrilled to follow the franchise’s record-breaking season, and believes the Blue Jackets are a playoff contender for “years to come” with the injection of talented young players such as Seth Jones and Zach Werenski. He continues to watch about 20 Blue Jackets’ games a season in his “man cave,” which is a decorated with CBJ and other NHL artifacts. Matthews’ only regret is not calling more wins in Columbus. “Billy and I and all the fans around thought we were going to take the Stanley Cup and be part of a parade on High Street because we jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first game. “In that first year, we did some of our broadcasts from the upper part of the lower bowl in Nationwide Arena,” Matthews said. On the timepiece’s backside, Matthews had inscribed, “Oct 7, 2000,” marking the team’s first regular- season game – a 5-3 loss to the Blackhawks. We’re talking about a former employee who recently spent $175 to repair a watch given to him at the club’s first charity golf outing. The Blue Jackets are never far from Matthews’ thoughts. ”From what I saw, he’s a quality NHL prospect who has all the tools.” “(Dubois is) what I call a five ‘S’ player –size, skate, shot, stick handles and savvy,” Matthews said. The Islanders were eliminated in the playoffs by the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, who enjoyed a strong postseason effort from forward Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Blue Jackets’ first-round pick in 2016. “He’s onboard with anything to help the team.” ![]() He even changed his Twitter handle to a former NHL broadcaster, he gave us instant credibility as we were going through our rebrand,” said Islanders’ director of sales and marketing Jason MacLean, no relation to Doug. He calls games and makes public appearances to support the team. As Matthews prepared to leave the Jackets during the 2013-14 season, he approached the Islanders and volunteered his talents. The QMJHL club, formerly known as the PEI Rocket, nearly went under four years ago until a group of local investors rescued it. He’s still broadcasting junior hockey – Matthews is the voice of the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League – working for “10 cents on the dollar.” Matthews retains a passion for the game and his craft. Three years since calling his final Blue Jackets’ game, the diminutive play-by-play man still has his wit, an occupational necessity for anyone who chronicled the organization in the age of Jan Caloun and Serge Aubin. Matthews pauses for a second before adding: “You can paraphrase that one any way you’d like, big fella.” This isn’t the minor leagues, don’t (bleep) it up.’” This is the first game ever for the city of Columbus. “Doug came in (the booth),” Matthews recalled recently from his home on Prince Edward Island. Enter the club’s former team president and general manager Doug MacLean, who helped Matthews land his dream job. 14, 2000 and Matthews and Bill Davidge are preparing to call the action from high above the ice at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. Origin is closing its doors soon, so you're in the right spot to find and buy EA games.George Matthews rolls back the years during a 45-minute phone interview, his enthusiasm growing with each story, until the indefatigable former Blue Jackets’ broadcaster man puts his listener inside the booth for the franchise’s first preseason game. Sorry, you are ineligible to sign up for this newsletter. If you still have troubles receiving the emails, please contact EA. Please check your spam folder for the above email. You’ve already signed up for Rocket Arena newsletters with the above email. Unsubscribe at any time by changing your email preferences. You've successfully signed up to receive emails about Rocket Arena and other EA news, products, events and promotions. ![]() ![]() Sign up today to receive the latest Rocket Arena news, updates, behind-the-scenes content, exclusive offers, and more (including other EA news, products, events, and promotions) by email. I can unsubscribe at any time by changing my email preferences, contacting privacyadmin.ea.com, or writing to Electronic Arts Inc., ATTN: Email Opt-Out, 209 Redwood Shores Pkwy, Redwood City, CA, 94065, USA. ![]()
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