Reece Matier is confident he can make the next step up the hockey ladder.
The 17-year-old Thorold native will suit up with the Fort Erie Meteors of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League this season after spending last year with the Niagara North Stars U18 squad.
“I’m super excited,” the Denis Morris student said. “I’ve waited a little bit, but it’s the place where I want to be. I wanted to play junior, so I’m super excited to come here to Fort Erie and play in front of a huge crowd.
“I want to win. I came to a lot of their games last year in the playoffs and I saw them win and I saw the losses against St. Catharines. I want to be in that same situation, just on the winning side. I want to go farther than they did last year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it.”
Matier was selected in ninth round (181st overall) by Niagara IceDogs in 2024 OHL Priority Draft and chose to play at the U18 level last season.
“He was a guy that probably could have played in this league last year, but went to U18 and had a good year,” Fort Erie head coach/general manager Nik Passero said. “He was well coached by Brody (Kritsch) who gets the guys ready to play. He’s come here and he’s been really good overall.
“We’re looking for him to have a little breakout season. We’re very local and have a lot of kids that have played together for a long time. So when guys return for their third, fourth years, Reece is just going to be able to step into a locker room that has a culture and a standard.”
Matier felt his season playing for Kritsch was invaluable in his development.
“I owe it all to Brody, honestly,” he said. “He helped me a lot, especially as soon as the season ended in my draft year. He came up to me and asked what my plans were. His skates are awesome. He does it the right way over there. He puts in a lot of effort. He treats that team like it’s a junior B team at heart.”
Kritsch loves Matier’s approach.
“Every day he brought positive energy, work ethic, attention to detail,” Kritsch said. “He was such a great teammate. He was a true joy to coach. What he brought on a daily basis was really impressive. He put his time and effort to work on video with me.
“He just wants to get better. I think he’s going to do very well this year. He’s getting bigger, stronger, faster. I think he’s going to have a great season.”
Passero feels Matier is ready to step in a play a significant role with the Mets.
“He’s a big body that controls the middle of the ice,” Passero said. “He skates really well for his size. He’s getting in the 6-foot-4 range. He’s a big, big kid. We’re just going to work on his game and make him more comfortable in the middle of the ice.
“I think in the end he’ll be an offensive guy. But to start we need him to play 200 feet. We have our offensive centres like (Sam) Tonelli and we’re going to need Reece to play a role and I think he’s ready for that.”
Matier quickly noticed the difference from U18 to junior.
“It’s just faster. I feel like every time I touch the puck, I gotta move it a quick second more. Everything is just so much more detailed. It’s faster, but I think I’m ready for it with that preparation,” he said.
Matier also feels playing with more skilled, experienced players can help him with his game.
“It makes it a lot easier. It also makes me more confident in my abilities,” he said. “If somebody catches a pass that I give them, they’re going to put it in the net. It makes me more confident and I hope it makes the guys around me confident. With the vets on our team, they make it a lot easier. They make it a great experience as a rookie coming into junior B. I already feel super welcome and practices have been unreal here so far.”
The Meteors, who are 2-1 in pre-season, conclude the exhibition schedule with games Friday at St. Andrews College and Sunday at Ridley College.
“I’m looking for us to start to get dialled in slowly here as we implement some systems and make sure it’s not information overload for these guys,” Passero said.
The Meteors open the 2025/26 regular season at home Saturday, Sept. 13 versus Caledon.
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