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| Photo Credit: greenbaygamblers.com |
Matthew Weis – Forward, Green Bay
Gamblers (USHL)
DOB: May 23, 1995
5'10 / 185 lbs
Shoots: Left
If you're like me, and you follow
the Ohio State men's team, you wonder how a guy as talented as Tanner
Fritz never got picked up in an NHL draft.
He's arguably the most underrated
player from the Big Ten Conference last season, and is a key go-to
for the season ahead.
I have a feeling that this week's
spotlight fits right in with this topic.
Despite being 14th in
the United States Hockey League in scoring this past season, Matt
Weis was not on the final NHL CSS North American Skaters Final Rankings for tonight's NHL Draft in Philadelphia.
Let me tell you Buckeye fans, Matt
Weis is a hidden gem waiting to be unleashed on the Big Ten
Conference.
Weis, a Madison, N.J., native, is
the epitome of a player who worked his way through the ranks in order
to get where he is right now.
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| Weis tallied 42 goals and had 70 assists in 141 games with the Green Bay Gamblers (Photo Credit: winginitsports.com) |
Matt tore it up with the New Jersey
Hitmen of the EJHL (now in the U.S. Premier Hockey League), played
well with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the NAHL, and landed in his
final junior destination with Green Bay, where he spent the last two
and a half seasons.
So what exactly are fans going to
see from Weis come fall?
Allow HockeyProspect.com scout Russ
Bitely to kick things off.
After watching Weis during the 2012
USA Hockey Player Development Camp, Bitely said that “He definitely
has some above-average stick skill as (he) showed great poise with
puck in traffic and around the net. He skates with some good speed
but does not have that explosive, high-end top gear. He has great
offensive abilities and is quite dangerous around the net. He has a
scoring touch along with good playmaking ability. He led the entire
Select 17s camp with eight points in five games played.”
(mynhldraft.com)
So
we know a few things:
- Weis can score. He led the Gamblers in goals last season with 23.
- He can create offense with his remarkable passing. Matt had 34 assists last year, bringing his final season point total to 57, second on Green Bay.
- He has tremendous special teams ability. Weis led the Gamblers with 12 power play goals last season, tied for second in the league in that statistic.
Now
that report was written almost two years ago. The probability that
Matt Weis has gotten faster since then are as good as Luis Suarez
getting hungry for human flesh during the middle of a soccer match.
If
the case is still true that Weis still needs speed development, then
not to worry.
The
workout facilities the Buckeyes have are top notch and strength and
conditioning coach Brian Unverferth is highly regarded around college
hockey as one of the best in the business.
Steve
Rohlik has quite an impressive recruiting class coming in to his
program.
Matt
Weis is only going to add to the firepower that this freshman class
will have.
You know the drill, here's a few video clips of the future Buckeye lamplighter:
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