At first Matthew Souliere didn’t know much about the Trenton Golden Hawks; but after a visit to the Duncan McDonald Memorial Community Gardens and a chat with head coach Derek Smith, the London, Ontario native was ready to sign up with the club.
"Near the end of the season, Derek reached out to me, and I eventually came here to look at the rink and everything. He sold me on it," he said. "I couldn’t be happier being a Golden Hawk."
"I had no idea about Trenton, but coming here, it’s just such a nice small town that’s very community-based."
The move from the Strathroy Rockets to Trenton, has been seamless for the power forward who has tallied 12 goals and 19 points through nine games. Souliere has also grown to appreciate the passionate fanbase.
“They come out every night. We love seeing the crowd and how loud it is, and hopefully, we can take it far for them,” he added.
In southwestern Ontario, Souliere built many lasting friendships through hockey, but one of the most meaningful was with his childhood teammate Jett Luchanko.
Luchanko recently made history with the Philadelphia Flyers, making his NHL debut on October 1st becoming the youngest player to ever suit up for the franchise.
Souliere played with Luchanko on the London Jr. Knights. He is still in touch with many players from the organization.
"It’s awesome seeing a guy you grew up with make it to his dream, Souliere said of Luchanko. "It’s nice watching him and being able to text him after and get his thoughts on the game."
As for Souliere himself, his dedication and hard work has paid off nicely, with a scholarship offer from Princeton University.
"Princeton reached out to me near the end of last year, and they kept in contact," Souliere said. "At the showcase, their assistant coach made a commitment to me, and I just had a gut feeling right away that it was gonna be the choice."
A visit to the prestigious Ivy League campus in New Jersey over Canadian Thanksgiving was a highlight for his family.
"It was unreal. The rink looks even better in person, and the campus is unbelievable, he said. "It was my mom’s dream school, so her being able to go there and get a hoodie was really special."
Education has always been a priority for Souliere, with his family emphasizing the importance of academics alongside hockey.
"Education’s always been important to my family. Like, if I didn’t get good grades, I wasn’t able to go to practice, and lucky for me, I never missed practice," he said. "So having that Ivy League education, my parents are very proud," he said.
While Souliere had initially applied to Ontario universities for engineering, he felt that Princeton might open doors to other career paths.
On the ice, Souliere is focused on sharpening his game and sticking to his strengths as he prepares to play at the collegiate level.
"With me, just sticking to my shot, my speed, and working on my skating and edge work," he said.
He’s confident in the chemistry that the Golden Hawks have built and believes the team is well-positioned for a strong season.
"I feel like the guys have blended super well," he said. "The lines have been connecting, and being able to have that success early and growing from it, I think will really take us far down the road," Souliere said.
Souliere has done so well in fact, he took OJHL's East Conference Player-of-the-Month honours for September.
"It’s nice to have that post and everything because all my friends back at home and family sent me a text," he said. "It’s nice to get that recognition for all your hard work."
As Souliere continues to make his mark with the Golden Hawks and with a Princeton scholarship in hand, his future looks brighter than ever.
Bình luận