From Unknown to OHL Top Prospect, Matt Minchak Thriving in First OHL Season
OHL Kingston Frontenacs

From Unknown to OHL Top Prospect, Matt Minchak Thriving in First OHL Season

Published on December 18, 2025 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Kingston Frontenacs News Release


Kingston, ON - Matt Minchak is all smiles as he sits in the stands, fresh off an upset victory over the vaunted Windsor Spitfires.

And why not? Everything has been coming up Millhouse - perhaps Minchak - of late for the Kingston Frontenacs goaltender.

Just days after being named to Team East in 2026 Connor McDavid OHL Top Prospects Game next month, the Cranford, N.J., native kicked aside 23 shots in a huge 4-3 win by the Frontenacs over the Spitfires, who came into the game as one of the league's top clubs as leaders of the Western Conference.

A smiling and relaxed Minchak admitted he's looking forward to the prospects game, which gathers the league's top NHL draft-eligible players in an all-star game format.

"It's definitely an honour," Minchak said with a smile, admitting that he had his sights set on the game coming into his first Ontario Hockey League season. "It's something that I feel was one of my goals this year, coming into the league as a new guy. I feel like it was a little bit of a lofty one, but I'm so excited to get the opportunity."

Just as he took a few moments to celebrate his club's win over the Spitfires before focusing on his next start (which came two days later in a 3-0 shutout win over Oshawa), Minchak said he took a few minutes to quietly celebrate the prospects game announcement before getting back focused on the now.

"It's a little bit away, I kind of enjoyed it for the first day, I talked to my parents about it," he said. "But now it's focused on the games, and that's all that matters for right now. When it happens, I'll be ready for it, but for now, it's just the games and focusing on getting some wins here."

Minchak, at 18, stands at 6'5" in stature and weighs 197 pounds, a far cry from the pint-sized future puck stopper he'd become when he first put on a pair of skates.

"Oh, man, I started playing probably when I was maybe five years old, four years old," he guesstimated when asked when he first laced up his skates. "One of my buddies in preschool played hockey, so I got on the ice, played mite for my local house league team."

In those days, he wasn't stopping breakaways, though.

"I didn't start out as a goalie," Minchak said. "I turned to goalie probably when I was about seven years old, the last year of mite hockey. I kind of took off from there."

Before he found his home in the crease, Minchak said he tried his hand at pretty much every other position on the ice.

"Oh, man, I was all over place," he said with a laugh as he thought back to his early days. "Quite frankly, I wasn't a good enough skater to be a player, but I feel like that's why I kind of stepped into the goal. I love it, I love playing goalie. And I didn't know it was going to go this far, to be honest, but I've just been playing and enjoying it, and that's all you can do."

Minchak chuckled when asked if he remembered his first game in net, his first win or first shutout.

"I do," he said. "I think I gave up like one goal, it wasn't anything crazy. I actually put the pads on backward, which is kind of funny, but other than that, it was pretty cool."

Goaltending, Minchak said, was a work in progress.

"When I started, my goalie coach always used to say I looked like Bambi out there," he said. "I just kind of slid around, with my long limbs. It definitely was a work in progress."

But Minchak won that first game and he's really been winning ever since.

As for that first shutout, Minchak added: "I don't exactly remember. I just remember I was a big kid, so we played on the half size nets when I was just getting into it and I would just sit down and cover up the whole net."

These days, he's covering up the whole net, but they're regulation sized. In 18 games with the Frontenacs this season, Minch, as his teammates call him, has put up sizzling numbers. His 2.27 goals-against average and .928 save percentage rank among the OHL's best. He's accounted for eight of the Frontenacs 13 wins and has helped lead the Frontenacs to a three-game winning streak.

It was, Minchak said, a labour of love.

"I worked hard at learning to play goal," Minchak said. "And I feel like once I got a little bit older, a little more mature, maybe around 13, 14, I believed in myself, and I knew I could do something with hockey."

In other words, he bet on himself. He'd cash in that bet this offseason, when the Frontenacs brought Minchak aboard this season as a free agent.

Minchak speaks with the same confidence that he displays in goal. When asked about some of the people who've helped him on his hockey journey, he doesn't hesitate.

"Definitely my parents," he said. "I mean, of course, they're probably the biggest factor. They have believed in me, spent countless hours driving me the rink, spent a lot of money - hockey's a big investment - and I can never thank them enough for it. I'm very grateful for them."

The other was his goalie coach from back home, George Bosak, who also mentored Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, to name some.

"George has been with me from the start, has believed in me from the start, has been there for me through the highs and lows and everything," Minchak said. "I feel like the biggest thing is he's believed in me throughout it all. Even through some rough patches, he always thought that I could make the step to the next level. He's someone who I still train with in the summers, and who I'll always be with. I'm very thankful for him, too."

Frontenacs General Manager Kory Cooper also believed in Minchak, bringing him to Kingston this summer for a tryout, before signing him to an OHL Scholarship and Development agreement.

Minchak joined the Frontenacs from the Pittsburgh Penguins' Elite 18U AAA program. In 30 appearances during 2024-25, he recorded a 16-14-0 record with 2.06 GAA and 0.931 save percentage. He has an NCAA commitment to Colgate University following his time in the OHL.

"I wanted to make the jump to the OHL," he said. "I felt like I was ready for it. It's probably the best junior league in the world at this point, and I felt like it would be great for my development, great for my career, so I made the jump. Instead of going to the USHL, I wanted to head over to the OHL."

The Frontenacs weren't Minchak's only suitors in the offseason.

"I had some other teams inquiring," he said. "One team was pretty interested."

Enter Cooper, who knew Minchak's aforementioned goalie coach, Bosak, and reached out to inquire.

"They talked about it. Kory said they needed a goalie, so they looked into me. I came up here to skate in, I think May or June. They liked me. They didn't sign me right away, but they got me in the summer and I'm very grateful and very thankful to end up in Kingston. It's such a great town."

Minchak's patience were tested early during his tenure in Kingston, where he waited his turn to play behind the highly touted Gavin Betts, who came into the season projected to be the No. 1 goalie of the future for Kingston. Betts was selected in the second round of the OHL Priority Selection in 2024 and seemed poised to be "the man" in Kingston's goal. Betts would start the lion's share of the games early in the season.

But Minchak said and did all the right things as he waited for his opportunity. His first came four game deep into the season, when he turned aside 42 of 43 shots in his OHL debut, a 2-1 win over the Battalion in North Bay, a tough building to win in.

"I didn't really think about it that way," he said when asked how difficult it was to wait to get his first opportunity between the pipes for Kingston. "It's not really about other people. You've got to look inward at yourself and what you're doing. If you're putting all you can into practice, working as hard as you possibly can and focusing on that stuff, the little details, the rest will come. And I feel like it did, and you get rewarded for it."

The rewards still didn't come quickly, as Betts continued to start the majority of games. But with each quality start from Minchak, head coach Troy Mann couldn't deny him.

"You go into the games, compete, play it like it's your last and good things will happen," Minchak said. "Good things have happened. It's about just focusing on yourself and taking things day by day."

The gawdy numbers Minchak has put up this season have earned his coach's trust, and the netminder more starts. Asked what he attributes his success so far this season to, Minchak credited his teammates in front of him, who play a responsible, tight-checking game, but he also feels some may have overlooked him.

"I think I was a little underestimated," he said. "Especially maybe the first game. I really came in competed. The biggest thing, I think, for me is not caring about the numbers at all, just trying to win games. When you start to look at the numbers is when you start to fall off and get focused on the wrong things. I just focus on making saves, taking it save by save, and that's kind of all you can do. The rest kind of happens."

"But I do owe a lot to my defence," he added.

Staying focused hasn't been an issue for either netminder this season, as the club's offence is among the league's lowest, making every game a close game for the puck stoppers.

"I love the pressure," Minchak said, noting that when a team gets up by three or more goals, it's easier to lose your focus. "I feel like that's where I thrive, and I don't really get nervous very often. I just kind of live in the moment, and when it's a 2-1 game, those are my favourite. There's nothing like that feeling when it's a 2-1 game going into the third where you've either got to keep it at two or you've got to keep it at one and win the game."

As the Frontenacs battle for position in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings, Minchak said he has no regrets at all about coming to Kingston.

"I really like my billet family. They're great. Very caring. I'm so grateful for them letting me join their home and join their family and be a part of it. And it's been great in the city itself. It's got some character."

He also praised his goaltending coach with the Fronts, Tyson Teichmann, and the coaching staff.

"I feel like they've done a great job and have helped me a lot with my development. And they believe in me, which is the most important thing."

As Minchak leads the Frontenacs into 2026, his spectacular numbers have garnered a lot of attention - and deservedly so - from National Hockey League scouts. Asked if the NHL is the dream, Minchak kicked out the question like he does a first-period save.

"I knew in this league, if you're playing well, you'll get the looks, but I feel like it's never about that," he said. "It's about focusing on how you're doing and yourself in these games and giving your team a chance to win every night and the rest will come."

Pressed, he opened the door slightly.

"It's always been my dream," he said. "I feel like hockey's always been my thing and I want to play it for as long as I can."

Check out the Kingston Frontenacs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Ontario Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central