Simon Motew’s path to RPI has been an unconventional one, and one that college hockey fans 10 years ago wouldn’t have been able to fathom. Motew hails from Highland Park, IL, just like former RPI center Zach Dubinsky. He was a standout for the Chicago Mission in AAA, before moving up to Ontario to start a great career with the Kitchener Rangers. Motew played 4 seasons in the OHL and was highly successful, but aged out prior to the NCAA’s inclusion of the CHL. He spent 1 year at St. Francis Xavier in USports where he was very good, before transferring over the border after the rule change to Ben Barr’s Maine Black Bears. Motew fell out of the lineup for Maine and now comes to RPI in search of regular minutes. There is a lot to like about Simon’s game, and I think RPI is a great place for him to develop with his final 2 years of NCAA eligibility.
Dependable, 2-Way Game
Motew plays a very reliable 2-way game that is so coveted by Lang’s staff. He has good size at 6’1, 190lbs and even plays a bit bigger than that with his physicality. What intrigues me most about Simon’s play is his ability to defend attackers looking to gain zone entry, as his size, speed, and long reach make him very difficult to gain entry on. He uses this reach to keep attackers to the outside and then move play back towards the neutral zone. He has above average speed for a defenseman of his size and seems very comfortable with the puck on his stick in transition. There’s clearly some offense in the tank too given his offensive output in the OHL and at St. Francis Xavier.
Developing Offense
Motew has produced points at every level except for Maine, with most of his offense coming as a blue-line facilitator. He has good speed and passes it well, thus I expect him to benefit from a slightly slower pace of play in the ECAC. I’d like to see his processing and deceptiveness at the blue line improve to get to the next level. I don’t expect him to see a primary offensive role at RPI, as Sobieski, Klassek, and Burzynski figure to get the lion’s share of PP time on the back end. However, he is skilled enough as a 2-way that he can help out on both ends.
This pickup pretty effectively threads the risk-reward needle that makes sense for the program right now. What I mean by that is, the team is in transition and is looking for high upside players that can be pieces to build with. You just saw 4 defensemen leave for the portal in an effort to get younger and more skilled. Motew has the upside to fit this theme, and his OHL and Hockey East pedigree is attractive even if he hasn’t found a collegiate home to stick at thus far. However, the defensive unit is also going to be very young, and Motew is 23 with a lot of hockey under his belt. In some sense you are getting a safe bet to balance the youth, but there seems to be more upside here than with some of the other options that were on the table.
Motew seems like a solid pick-up to me with the chance to earn a major role. He has attended Senators and Canadiens development camps, and is clearly well regarded in hockey circles. What he needs right now is ice time to develop, and RPI has room to provide that for him. Sobieski will garner the most minutes on the right side, but it seems Motew, James Guo, and Landen Hilditch will be competing for the last 2 spots. Congrats to Simon and we look forward to watching him this coming fall! Let’s go red!