Spitfires hire Stan Matwijiw as Goaltending Coach
WINDSOR, ON. – The Windsor Spitfires Hockey Club is excited to announce Stan Matwijiw (ma-twiv) as the clubs’ new Goaltending Coach.
At age 16, Matwijiw played for the Strathroy Blades team of the Ontario Hockey Association’s Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL) before going out West to the SJHL in 1990. Matwijiw was drafted by the Western Hockey League (WHL)’s Prince Albert Raiders. Matwijiw played for the Raiders for three seasons from 1991-2004 before being dealt to the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Through 3 seasons Matwijiw played in 104 games for the two clubs and recorded a 3.56 GAA and a save percentage of 89%. In 1993-94, he was invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs camp. Over the next four seasons, Matwijiw would play with the Flint Generals, Saginaw Wheels and Saginaw Lumber Jacks of the CoHL. As well as one year in the SHL with the Jacksonville Bullets. In his final two years, he appeared in five games with the Nashville Nighthawks and five games with the Fort Worth Fire of the CHL.
After Stan’s playing career he worked as a goalie coach for the University of Michigan from 1999-2006 followed by a stint with the Plymouth Whalers and Flint Firebirds of the OHL from 2007-2017.
Matwijiw is excited to be joining his hometown team.
“It’s awesome, I am really excited for this opportunity.” Stan Matwijiw said. “Bill has put together a great staff, and I know last year tough go, but we are headed in the right direction. It’s surreal, as a young boy my dad had season tickets and we went to the barn, and I aspired to be a Spitfire. It’s definitely a coming home, to come back and be a part of the organization it means the world to me as a young boy.”
General Manager Bill Bowler spoke on the addition of Stan to the staff.
“Stan’s work with current goalie prospects and his extensive resume in the OHL is what attracted us to him.” GM Bill Bowler said. “We are looking forward to him working with our goaltenders.”
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