Matt Needham loved being a Kamloops Blazer.
He spent his entire five-year career in Kamloops playing 317 regular season Western Hockey League matches and another 33 in the playoffs.
“It was a good ride and I had a lot of fun,” said Needham, who lived with his family during his final season after experiencing being with billet families.
Needham, who was drafted by the Blazers at 14 and played his first game at 15, said he hasn’t put a lot of thought into reaching 300 games, which took place in early February.
“I thought it was a pretty big deal for myself. When you look at the organization, the players before you that have done that … it’s a special feeling being able to do that. To do it here with such a rich history.”
Needham came seven games short of tying Aaron Gionet, for third all-time with 324 games played. Brendan Ranford holds the record with 348 career games. Needham’s best offensive season came in 2014-15 when he put up 25 goals and 76 points in 71 games. The highlights for the Penticton Minor Hockey product is experiencing the playoffs in his first two seasons. In his 16-year-old season, he recalled Game 6 against the Portland Winterhawks.
“We came back from I think down 5-1 in the third period, won it 7-6,” said Needham, as they scored with 30 seconds left to win and send it to Game 7. “That was a pretty special moment.”
There was also this year against the Kelowna Rockets in Game 2. They trailed 3-1 heading into the third and battled to win 4-3.
“We scored two goals in the last minute. I’ve had some pretty cool games,” he said. “Pretty amazing experiences.”
Needham said he had some fantastic coaches in his career, including Guy Charron and finishing up with Don Hay. Needham said having Hay while he was an older player really taught him how the game should be played, about the work ethic and professional habits. Doing that every game and not only when it suits the players. With Hay being in the game for so long and coaching many great players, Needham said he knows what it takes to win and how to do things the right way.
“He instills that in his guys. He whips you into shape right away, gets you on the same page,” said Needham. “He really creates a good, winning atmosphere.”
During Needham’s time as a Blazer, he grew maturity-wise. He experienced winning at a young age, then became captain as an 18-year-old. He also experienced tough seasons after they lost key players. As hard as it was to go through that, Needham said it was a good learning curve. The big influences in his career was his billet family, who treated him like their own son, as well as Hay, a few teammates, but especially trainer Colin Robinson. Needham said he’s the unsung hero of the Blazers.
“He’s a very special man. He’s always been there for me. Just a fantastic guy,” said Needham. “He keeps everything upbeat in the room. He might have moulded me the most out of anyone. For all the injuries and everything you go through, you could talk to him a lot. He’s always been there for me.”
Needham is happy with his career and the way things went. To do it in Kamloops and have his family be a part of it was awesome for him.
“I can’t thank Kamloops enough for having me here,” he said.
The next chapter looks to be taking him to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport level of hockey. He has several schools that are interested in him.
“The WHL scholarship package is fantastic. Heading into the CIS league is as good as minor pro,” he said. “Playing there is definitely an option for me. I’m still looking to sign a pro contract if something that suited me came up. It would have to make sense. Throwing away five years of school for an average deal doesn’t really make sense.”
