Rangers Spotlight: Kitchener-Native Matthew Sop
Written By: Nikolas Viveiros
“I have pictures of me with Tex the mascot from when I was a kid, it’s pretty surreal and a dream come true.”
Home is where the heart is, and for 4th-year forward Matthew Sop, the Kitchener Rangers embody everything that is home. Born and raised in Kitchener Ontario, Sop grew up cheering on the blueshirts, and now is able to dawn Rangers colors as a player rather than a fan.
Some things do change as you grow older though, such as the jersey number on Sop’s back. Starting with the number 19, Sop made the reverse switch to 91 a couple of years into minor hockey and has not looked back. His explanation for the switch was rather simple.
“The higher number jerseys were made a little bigger. I was a little big, maybe even a little bit of a chunker so it worked out well.”
Growing up, Sop idolized the play of Detroit Red Wings legend, Pavel Datsyuk. From his silky hands to his full 200ft game, Datsyuk served as a perfect model hockey player to study at a young age.
“Detroit was always my favorite team, and I’ve been studying Datsyuk’s game my entire life,” Sop said. “I would always bring the Datsyuk move into my breakaways in minor hockey, so it’s fair to say I’ve tried to replicate parts of my game after him.”
Early on in the season, Sop’s play has looked “Datsyukian.” The forward has 5 assists through the first 7 contests, as his ability to find success playing in different spots in the lineup has been crucial to the Rangers early on.
“Getting on the scoresheets is always nice, but when you’re not winning, it doesn’t mean too much,” Sop said. “Hopefully I can keep it rolling and stay consistent, as we’re still early on in the season.”
For Sop and the Rangers, they’re most definitely rolling. Winners in each of their last three contests with a whopping 17 goals scored in those games. It is the success that Sop knew was possible heading into the 2022-2023 campaign.
“It’s pretty electric right now and the good vibes are definitely within the room,” Sop said. “I think we have a really tight group, the tightest I’ve ever been a part of, so we just gotta keep rolling to build momentum and continue buying into our coaches’ system.”
When speaking of the team’s recent success, Sop was not shy to bring up the name, Filip Mesar. The young Slovak’s play has even surpassed what Sop expected, and he believes the ceiling is nowhere in sight for his newest teammate.
“I know he’s just gonna get even better, his play on the ice is like nothing I’ve ever seen in this league,” Sop said. “How fast he can stickhandle and make plays at that speed is shocking.”
With the Rangers set to battle the Storm for the second time in four days, Sop was nothing short of optimistic about getting another chance to defeat a strong rival.
“They always give us a good fight, so it’s nice to have a rivalry like that especially when you’re the one on the winning side.”
When the Rangers finish on the winning side, Sop always enjoys a post-game dinner with the team. Though there are a variety of places, one in particular stands out most.
“When we look to get a little fancy for a nice meal we’ll treat ourselves to Charcoal Steak House,” Sop joked. “They got a nice steak which is always great after a win.”
When away from the rink, Sop enjoys playing Call-of-Duty with his Rangers teammates. The squad usually consists of Reid Valade, Joseph Serpa and Ty Hollet, with one player in particular sticking out as the worst among the group in Sop’s eyes.
“Reid is the worst,” Sop joked. “He’s got the thinking process down, but he just doesn’t strike me as a video game guy.”
As the season begins to roll on, Sop’s approach to competing everyday is rather simple.
“I just gotta keep playing my game, and I know the success will come with this team.”
