Getting to Know: Matthew Greenfield
The sunbathed streets of Parkland, Florida may seem an unlikely spot to start a hockey career, but that’s exactly where netminder Matthew Greenfield’s story begins. It was a happy coincidence that the family’s neighbours originally hailed from Canada, and were looking for a volunteer between the pipes.
“When I was younger, I had a neighbour from London and he always used to play in the driveway with his son,” explains Matthew, in his booming baritone voice.
“He was three or four years older than me, so I always wanted to be like them and play with them. And they basically just threw me in net.”
It was a happy coincidence that spawned a deep love of hockey, and spurred his parents to sign him up. But he didn’t move right to the rink – in fact, he was almost nine before he finally made it onto the ice.
“I loved it, so after that they signed me up for roller hockey and I played that for a few years before someone told me I should try out for ice. So I did – I tried out for ice hockey and just kind of moved up from there!” he remembers with a fond smile. And his goaltending career started even later; his first season of ice hockey was spent as a forward, until another turn of fate returned him to the crease.
“Our goalie got hurt, or didn’t show, or something… I don’t remember exactly, but we needed a goalie. And I wanted to be one so bad! So I became a goalie then.”
By the age of 12, Matthew was committed to the position, and at the urging of his goaltending coach, he decided to seriously pursue a future in hockey. He found himself under the tutelage of NHL alumnus Robb Tallas, who played in 99 career games for the Panthers, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. Now a goaltending coach for the Panthers, Tallas even dressed as an emergency backup for Florida last season.
“He was the one who said to me ‘you’re good… like you’re really good!’ and told me that I should pursue it. So that was kind of what opened my eyes,” says Greenfield of his mentor. And while Florida might not sound like the place to chase down a hockey dream, the lanky netminder says finding opportunities to play isn’t as difficult as you might think.
“There’s a lot of hockey down there, a lot of recreational teams and travel teams. Especially down south, because there are four or five teams that are located within an hour of each other. So it’s not too difficult to play.”
And it didn’t keep Ontario Hockey League scouts from noticing him. After a season with the Florida Panthers Alliance Under-16 midget team in 2010-11, the Rangers picked up the netminder in the 12th round of the 2011 Priority Selection. With the next step well within his grasp, Greenfield finally left Florida, taking on a role with the Team Illinois Under-18 squad, where he posted a 12-7-3-2 record with a .914 save percentage and a 2.45 goals against average in 2012-13 and got his first taste of winter playing the suburbs of Chicago.
Then the call came from Kitchener. The graduations of John Gibson and Joel Vienneau opened the door for Greenfield, who committed to the team during the summer of 2013. Both Tallas and his agent, Rangers alumnus Serge Payer urged him to make the move to the OHL, but Matthew needed little convincing, saying he had ‘so many reasons’ of his own to join club.
“The biggest is that it’s Kitchener; it’s sold out every night and it’s the best place to play. Look at all of the guys that have come through here and gone on to play in the NHL and done well. Everyone has nothing but awesome things to say about it here,” he explains with a grin. And after starting the season with the Junior B Kitchener Dutchmen, he’s enjoyed a whirlwind of new experiences.
“It’s been everything I’ve expected and more. It was a lot of ups-and-downs to start, especially getting sent down early, but since I’ve been here, it’s been awesome.”
But, he’s also found challenges along the way, particularly in the jump in the level of play. Beyond the talent level of his competitors, he also had to get used to the grind of playing the league.
“As dumb as it may sound, I really didn’t realize how hard it was going to be day-in and day-out. How hard you have to work every day. There are no days off; every day that you’re here, you have to give it everything that you have. You have to get used to that,” explains Matthew, adding that he’s never been one to shy away from putting in the effort.
“I’m here to battle, to compete and to work hard. That’s what the fans can expect from me – I’m never going to give up on pucks and I’m going to try my best and play my game. I want to build confidence from everyone – the coaching staff, the fans, players – I want everyone to have that confidence in me.”
