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The third overall pick in the 2013 OHL Draft, Matt Spencer has been an important part of the Peterborough Petes rebuild. The talented puck moving defenceman put up six goals and 30 points in 64 games this year. Spencer also added a goal in the Petes first round playoff loss. He played big minutes against top opposition and in all situations all season long. Spencer was also part of Canada’s gold medal winning team at the Ivan Hlinka tournament last summer, putting up two assists in five games. He also played a game for Team OHL in the Subway Super Series, and had two assists in seven games in helping Canada to the Bronze at the IIHF Under 18 World Championships this spring. In 2012-13 he was named OMHA player of the year, and led the Oakville Blades to the OHL Cup.
Matt Spencer
Defense — shoots Right
Born Mar 24 1997 — Oakville, ONT
Height 6.02 — Weight 203 [188 cm/92 kg]
Matt Spencer has good size at 6’2″ and excellent skating skills. He has great speed and excellent acceleration in both directions. He can lead the rush, or join as a trailer, and still be able to cover up defensively on many plays. His explosive acceleration allows Spencer to beat defenders wide when he is carrying the puck. Spencer has excellent pivots and edgework, and he has the type of quick first step that allows him to explode forward and throw big hits if a forward tries to beat him to the outside. Spencer could use more lower body strength which would help improve his balance, and give him a bigger advantage in fighting for the puck. He’s pretty good at the OHL level in working in the corners and in front of the net, but could stand to improve in this area before being ready for the pro ranks.
Matt Spencer’s offensive game seems to be decently developed. He makes a very good first pass out of the zone. He also has the ability to make strong passes in the offensive zone. Add in a hard wrist shot with a good release, along with a very good slap shot, and one-timer and he has the offensive tools to put up points. He does have good stickhandling off the rush, but could stand to use some more poise in the offensive zone, and wait for a play to open up. He also could stand to get better at using his strong skating and agility to walk the line and open up shooting and passing lanes in the zone. Right now Spencer is a good offensive defenceman, but he has the tools necessary to be even better if he can just make some refinements in his game.
Matt Spencer maintains very good gap control, and funnels players to the outside and out of good scoring areas when defending one-on-one. He can throw big hits, and while he has improved on his selection of those hits over his rookie year, he still needs to work on picking his spots a little better going forward. He’s willing to battle in the corners and in front of the net, and does well against most in the OHL, but does have some problem with the particularly big forwards. This could be fixed by adding some more muscle to his frame. Spencer shows good positioning and ability to read the play.
Matt Spencer has the ability to be a top 4, two-way defenceman in the NHL and play some big minutes. He has some flaws that need to be worked on, but the ceiling here is very high. I would call Spencer a boom or bust type of pick on the blueline. His game is reminiscent of Ryan McDonagh of the New York Rangers, but this is a stylistic comparison and not a talent one.
Below are some highlights and videos of Matt Spencer in action.
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