Matthew Perkins reflects on individual and team success
A good ol’ Sask boy
A lot of Saskatchewan small town hockey players grow up with dreams of going to the National Hockey League (NHL). This was a dream shared by Matthew Perkins.
Growing up in Balgonie, SK, which is only 15 minutes from Regina, Perkins was surrounded by hockey. His dad and his older brother both played the sport. When his dad moved to Saskatchewan, he began to pick up the sport through the Balgonie Bisons senior hockey team. “Growing up, every Friday night was always exciting at the Balgonie rink, going to watch the Bisons and picking up pucks after warmups for the guys,” said Perkins.
Perkins grew up playing for the Prairie Storm during his minor hockey years right here in the Queen City. The Prairie Storm program taught Perkins that you have to do a lot of training outside of ice time to be successful in the sport. “It was really good for me. They have done a really good job of building ground work and giving guys the ideas of the things you have to do and the amount of effort and work that if you truly want to be a hockey player you have to do.”n“You get to that bantam level and it is basically the end of the season and you get maybe one or two weeks and then it is right back to work.”
Obviously, the training stuck. Perkins went on to play half of his junior hockey career with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s (SJHL) Humboldt Broncos and the other half with the United States Hockey League’s (USHL) Youngstown Ohio Phantoms. During his season in Humboldt, Perkins totaled 59 points in 57 games, scoring 23 goals and 36 assists. Perkins also won the Rookie of the Year award for the team that season. During his time in Youngstown, the Phantoms won the Clark Cup. This was the first time the team had won the USHL championship in their history. Perkins had a 15 goals, 29 assists record in the 60 games played that season, totaling 44 points.
Academic career
All in all, Perkins had an extremely notable junior hockey career. He went on to play at the University of Minnesota, Duluth for two seasons before entering the transfer portal this summer and transferring to Northeastern University. Both are NCAA Division 1 colleges. He is currently in his junior year of finance program.
Perkins says the biggest change between Minnesota and Boston is the location of each campus. Northeastern’s campus is in downtown Boston, and the number of people you see on a daily basis along with the walk to and from classes and the rink versus the drive, was much different from his time in Minnesota. Perkins has made the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) All Academic Conference team twice in his three year long college career. This means that he has maintained a 3.0 or higher GPA and played collegiate hockey. This would be the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) equivalent of the All Academic All Canadians awarded in USports.
It was a super cool, very surreal moment, something you obviously dream of as a kid.” -Matthew Perkins
NHL draft and the Vancouver Canucks
In Jan. 2022, Perkins was ranked on the National Hockey League’s (NHL) central scouting report when he was still playing with the Broncos. On the scout report, he ranked round four, 117 overall. When the 2023 NHL draft took place, Perkins was selected in the fourth round (119 overall) for the Vancouver Canucks. The draft took place in Nashville, Tennessee, though Perkins and his family decided to stay back in Saskatchewan. Perkins recalled the day started like any other. He went to the gym and then came home to have breakfast. His mum was the one who noticed Perkins’ name was called. At first he did not believe her, and then his phone rang.
“I’m pretty sure I blacked out for the phone call, not really sure how many words I got out when he phoned me. It was a super cool, very surreal moment, something you obviously dream of as a kid.”
Since the 2023 draft, Perkins has been a part of three Vancouver Canucks training camps. During these camps, prospects spend a week in the city with coaches and player development staff. They partake in training sessions and volunteer outings. “It’s been super cool learning from those guys and just taking that week to soak in everything you can from them,” he reflected.
The Saskatchewan experience
Perkins announced his commitment to the NCAA on his birthday during his senior year of high school. Although the thought to come back to Saskatchewan to continue his hockey career never crossed his mind. He acknowledged the influence the province had on his development.
Perkins mentions how his time in the SJHL helped him to get to where he is now. When he played for the Broncos, he was only 17 and still in high school. At the time the furthest place away from home that he had lived in was Humboldt.
“I was pretty small still, definitely not the biggest guy out there. Just learning some of the smarts of the game, of when and where. And at that time I had to play a lot harder of a game than I had to in years past and that was a really good learning experience.”
The SJHL has a reputation of being a tougher and meaner league. However, they also produce really well rounded athletes. In Perkins’ draft season the SJHL had 61 athletes who committed to expand their hockey careers.
