Finn finds motivation in rejection
By Daniel Girardi, Toronto Star
It marked the first time Matt Finn was cut from a team.
Last summer, fresh off a solid rookie season with the OHL’s Guelph Storm and a gold medal for Team Ontario at the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, he failed to grab one of the seven defence spots on the Canadian squad for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in the Czech Republic.
While it was “definitely a disappointment,” Finn used it as motivation. He focused even more on his off-season workout routine, determined to get himself in the best shape of his life and prove he belonged on the team.
“It definitely sucked at the time but it just made me want to work harder than ever,” recalls Finn, a 17-year-old from Etobicoke. “Obviously it’s the coaches’ decision but you hope maybe you can show they were wrong.”
Even without Finn, Canada won gold in Europe for the fourth straight year. But the former Toronto Marlboro has carried the motivation of missing that chance to participate into his sophomore OHL season, logging big minutes, tightening his defensive game and cracking the top 10 in rearguard scoring.
“And I still think there’s room for him to grow,” says Storm head coach Scott Walker. “That’s the exciting thing about his game.”
Walker calls Finn “a very smart hockey player,” who seems to intuitively know when to pinch, the right pass to make and how to play a two-on-one. The only deficiencies come with fatigue, which is born of him still needing to get in even better shape to handle ever-increasing ice time, the coach says.
