Matthew Kinash '18 Recruiting Profile

Hi, I'm Matthew Kinash,

I'm a northern boy from Canada working to be the best student athlete I can be. My goal is to get good college (NCAA) education while playing hockey and receive an academic and/or athletic scholarship. After hearing stories of my mother and cousins going the college route in the NCAA, I knew it was my dream too.

I have been playing in the Canadian Sports School Hockey League (CSSHL) for two years. It is top tier hockey requiring the players to travel all over Western Canada. Lots of long bus rides just like a WHL player and requires you to become a good time manager in order to keep up your grades.

I've been playing hockey since I could walk. While growing up I also played competitive soccer, golf, football and inline hockey winning provincial titles (similar to state) championships in hockey, football, soccer and inline hockey. Additionally, I won a city championship in golf and competed at the provincial level. For me, it came down to hockey or golf.  Some encouraged me to choose golf thinking that I had a better chance to get to the NCAA in golf because I was somewhat undersized growing up. But hockey always stood out from the rest. The team atmosphere/camaraderie with players working to win each shift not just for themselves but for their teammates made every game and practice fun for me. Hockey was never too hard for me, there were ups and downs but looking back on those times I never felt overwhelmed when faced with adversity. This ultimately led me to put my heart and soul into hockey while keeping myself at the top of my class in grades. No matter where I go I will never regret the sacrifices I've made for hockey because of the life skills I've learned, the experiences I've had, and the friendships I've made.

In terms of what is inside me, I'm sure my past and current coaches would describe me as a role model-someone who is extremely self motivated, determined, dedicated (to improving myself and my teammates everyday), and someone who cares for his teammates and the organization.  As a hockey player they would describe me as a very skilled and smart forward with a nack for scoring goals and/or dishing the puck while being responsible defensively. 

Academically I have maintained a GPA of 3.8-3.9 for the last 5 years. Amongst the various academic and sporting awards I have won in my life, I'm extremely proud of winning the student athlete of the year in the CSSHL in my 10th grade.

As a '99 born in December and being undersized until recently,  I had to play against many bigger and older players most of my minor hockey career. It pushed me to be faster, stronger and more mentally tough and I now I'm seeing the rewards for my hard work. The adversity I faced in sports has helped me grow as a person and a player. Being cut from some of the top teams in minor hockey helped me develop a strong sense of perserverence. This combined with my natural passion for the game helped me to push myself everyday and eventually surpass my peers. 

When I'm not playing hockey, or studying or working out or practicing my off-ice drills, I like to play golf (but that is a short season in Canada) or watch several different sports and manage a fantasy sport teams. After hockey I would like to pursue a career in environmental sciences and more specifically sustainability. I realize how much more there is to life outside of hockey and I would like to make a positive impact in the world when I'm done playing hockey competively.