Behind the Petes – Matt Timms

It’s time for the first Behind the Petes of 2016, and the honour of first interview of the year went to Petes defenseman Matt Timms.

Something everyone should know about Matt, other than that his mom makes delicious red pepper jelly, is that he has an amazing work ethic. He is a big believer that a player needs to commit to both physical and mental growth to excel at hockey. Matt was drafted with the first pick in the second round of the 2014 OHL Priority Selection, and it wasn’t long before he was trying to improve. Following his first OHL exhibition game, he was itching to watch game footage and hunkered down with a laptop just minutes after the final buzzer to analyze his play. Among many other hockey influences, Matt can attribute his desire to learn from his Dad, who is a teacher and football coach, but we’ll hear more about his parents’ influence later.

Now, here are Matt’s answers to your questions:

Why do you wear the number 4? – Submitted by Hannah

There is really no reason why I wear it. It’s just when I showed up last year it was the number sitting in my stall, so it’s been that ever since.

What are your pre-game rituals? – Submitted by Claire

Basically I come home from school and take a pretty lengthy nap. Then I get up and eat my pre-game meal. One thing I do maybe is just leave my house at the same time for every game, and I like to get to the rink pretty early.

Who do you think is your go-to person on the team? Why? – Submitted by Lizzy

I don’t know, a lot of the guys on the team are easy to talk to, but the person I’ve talked to the most is probably Dylan Wells just because we lived together last year. We’re always talking and always together, but like I said before every guy on the team is pretty easy to talk to, I could go to any of them.

Who did you idolize when growing up? – Submitted by Chris

There wasn’t really a hockey player, if anything it was probably just my parents, how hard they worked for their money and stuff like that. I just can’t thank them enough and I appreciate everything they have done to allow me to play at this level.

What do you like most about playing with the Peterborough Petes? – Submitted by Matt

It’s just a pretty historic organization, so it’s quite an honour to play for this team and see all the big names that come through here. Also, one thing I actually enjoy, believe it or not, is the rink, the ice surface. A lot of guys don’t like coming in here and playing. At first, it takes a little bit to adjust to, but it’s become something I really like.

When did you start playing hockey? – Submitted by Michael

I started skating when I was 3 and started playing when I was 4.

Are you an animal lover away from the rink? Do you prefer dogs or cats? – Submitted by Stella

I know this question is from my billet, so I’m going to give a shout out to Julia. I’d say I’m more of a cat lover.

What is your favourite movie? – Submitted by Jordan

I don’t know, I’m into the more humorous movies, so something like Happy Gilmore or Austin Powers are pretty classic.  

Did you have any advice for the rookies this year on how to be successful? – Submitted by Taylor

We have two young defensemen coming in, Nick Grima and Cole Fraser. I think they’re really proving themselves as young defensemen and playing above expectations. So, I just tell them to keep it simple, make sure you stay level-headed, and don’t worry what people are saying on the outside because being in their shoes last year I can really see how well they are doing.

Thanks to all those who submitted questions. Make sure you submit your questions for next week when I will be talking to Steven Lorentz. If you have a question for Steve, submit it here. Download the free Petes Mobile App for access to even more exclusive content like ‘Behind the Petes’.