Matthew Soto

OHL: Kingston vs Sarnia, January 13, 2023: Soto totaled 14:52 in ice time including 0:26 while on the power play. He did not play while shorthanded. Although we feel he still looks slight, he has a powerful deep knee skating base that will allow him to carry more weight as he matures. Defensively his head was on a swivel and we like how he kept his stick on the ice as he scanned the surface looking to take away passing lanes. Offensively he played in straight lines looking to shoot when he was in the slot and then he used his quickness to drive the net. Off of a neutral zone turnover he had a back foot snapper in the second period that showed his ability to shoot while his feet are moving and again he drove the net looking for a rebound. Midway through his first shift Soto took a huge hit to make a play after corralling a poor pass in his feet. Truthfully the play showed athleticism and guts as he easily could have bailed on the pass to save himself, but he not only kicked the puck up to his stick he found his linemate on a middle drive. Later in the first on a similar play Soto earned a primary assist as he sucked the Sarnia right defenseman outside of the dot lane to find his middle drive who went in to score. He finished the night +1 with 1 primary assist, 1 shot, 1/1 on face-offs, 0 hits, received 1 hard body check and had 2 shots blocked.

OHL: Kingston vs Peterborough, October 20, 2022: Matthew was really effective in this viewing. He is a high energy winger effective in a 200 foot game. He has speed, and can play with pace at all times. His edge work is terrific and really enhances his ability to win races to pucks low in the offensive zone, spin off and avoid checks while maintaining puck position, separating from opponents and finding open teammates with his passes. He has good defensive awareness as well, and was effective in his end at sliding down toward net when danger lurked to give an extra hand. He is an elite skater who will be looking to improve his offensive production this season.