The Rochester Knighthawks announced today that they have signed forward Joel Matthews to a one-year deal. The 23-year-old, who was added to the practice squad, hit the turf with his new team Sunday morning.
“It’s a great organization. Everyone knows what they’ve done the last three years,” said Matthews. “I just hope to come in here to do my job and do what Curt (Styres) and the coaching staff asks of me.”
Matthews enters his second season in the NLL after playing in two games with the Buffalo Bandits in 2014. The former fourth-round pick scored two goals and collected four loose balls. At his first Rochester practice he was reunited with former Buffalo teammate Aaron Wilson.
“He bangs around. He likes to move bodies and sets hard picks, and gets under the other team’s skin,” said Wilson. “Having a guy like that around is always handy because some guys have to do the dirty work and he’s a guy that does that.”
The St. Catharines, Ontario native grew up playing Junior “A” and Junior “B” in his hometown (2007-12). In his final season of juniors, he was dealt to the Six Nations Arrows, where he played three regular season games and nine playoff games. In five seasons in the Junior “A” circuit, he notched 124 goals and 156 assists in 76 games.
In 2010, he was named a Second Team All-Star as he finished second in the league in scoring. In 2011, he was sixth in scoring in the junior series. Former Knighthawks star Mike Accursi coached Matthews for three seasons in juniors and knows what he brings to the floor.
“He’s a real big body, drives the net hard and sets hard picks. He’s an aggressive forward,” said Knighthawks Team Operations Assistant Mike Accursi. “On offense, we need a guy like that who has some size and some grit. He’ll provide a lot of open space for those other guys.”
This summer, Matthews played for Brooklin and Kitchener-Waterloo in Major Series Lacrosse. He recorded 13 points (5+8) in 10 games, and also appeared in five games with the St. Catharines Saints Senior “B” team. After a solid 2014 season, he was thrilled to join the three-time defending champs and be among some of the most talented players in the game.
“I get to play with the best lacrosse player in Cody Jamieson and the best goalie in the world in Matt Vinc,” said Matthews. “I am just going to soak it all in and learn as much as I can.”
Rochester will open the season on Saturday, January 3rd, when it hosts the Toronto Rock at 7:30 p.m. at The Blue Cross Arena. The contest, which falls during NLL Face Off Weekend, will kick off the 21st season of Knighthawks lacrosse.
