Sheffield Steelers: Matt Greenfield on being in the firing line, where it all started and the drive to win again
WHEN Matt Greenfield took the decision to move abroad for the first time in his career by signing with Sheffield Steelers in the summer of 2022, he knew he was taking a step into the unknown.
Three years later, the Florida-born netminder has enjoyed his time so much in South Yorkshire, he has committed himself to stick around until at least the end of the 2027-28 season.
What helped his decision was the challenge to emulate - or at least come close to - his career-high season of 2023-24 when he back-stopped the Steelers to the Elite League treble.
The following year may have yielded no silverware, but that didn’t deter the 30-year-old from deciding his future remained in Sheffield, despite options elsewhere earlier this summer.
It could all have been so very different, though, had it not been for an unexpected opportunity to get between the pipes for his Coral Springs Cobras for the first-ever time when he was aged just seven-years-old.
Greenfield had played in defence since he first took to the ice with the Cobras in 2001, but the failure of his team’s regular goalie to turn up for a game one weekend proved to be a turning point from which he never looked back.
It’s often said that you have to be a bit different to be a goalie, maybe even a bit mad, in any sport.
Greenfield’s wish to be the man getting in the way of the puck as opposed to scoring with it at the other end first came to the fore on the driveways and streets near to his home in the city of Parkland in Florida,
Deemed too small by the older, neighbouring kids to play out, it was decided he should go in goal. Things were never the same again.
“Growing up in Florida, my neighbour was from Canada and he had a kid that was 3-4 years older than me,” recalled Greenfield.
“And he would always be playing in their driveway with his friends, playing street hockey, so they said I could play but I had to be goalie - and I was like ‘perfect’!
“So there I was, in goal, I must have been all of 4-5 years old with a baseball glove, some older player’s shinguards and a tennis ball - that’s basically what got me into it.
“When my parents signed me up to play on ice, I was a defenceman to start with but I was always begging them to be goalie and then, one day, our goalie didn’t show up and that was basically the end of it.”
Was there ever an urge to go back to playing out?
“Not really,” he said. “I think, once I got going I realised that being a goalie was for me and it was all I wanted to do.
“Goalies are definitely a different breed and I think you have to have a different mentality as a goalie.
“It’s a different sport, almost. There is nowhere to hide as a goalie. You’re probably going to get too much credit when you win and too much blame when you lose. You’re in the firing line and you don’t really have anyone else to lean on, like in the moment.
“The guys in front can go hide if they are not feeling it, they can dump the puck, go hit somebody and get to the bench but there is no bench for goalies and that shot is coming whether you are ready or not.
“So I think it takes a different mentality to be able to prepare for anything like that.”
For three years, Greenfield has been the first-choice netminder for the Steelers.
His initial arrival was as part of a goaltending tandem with Oskar Östlund, but a pre-season injury to his Swedish team-mate enabled Greenfield to quickly establish himself as the main man, something his achievements since have backed up.
For the past two seasons he has been the Elite League’s MVP, while last season’s Champions Hockey League exploits by the Steelers saw him named as the competition’s top goalie.
He is determined to retain his leading role - he has been joined by fellow American Eamon McAdam this season - and is relishing the challenge of helping his team secure more silverware.
“The responsibility is something that I thrive on and really enjoy,” he explained. “It comes with the territory of being a goalie, knowing that win, lose or draw you are likely to have had a big impact on the result.
“That is something I find a lot of fun in and it is definitely one of the perks of being a goalie.”
Aside from winning the BCHL Championship in junior hockey with West Kelowna Warriors in 2015-16, success was generally hard to come by for Greenfield during his time in North America.
But in the Steelers, he saw an opportunity to experience that winning feeling again.
“I’d had some pretty crap luck in junior when I was with Kitchener (Rangers, OHL) when we weren’t very good and then with Kansas City (ECHL), when we weren’t very good either and I really wanted to go somewhere where there was a chance of winning,” he added.
“I knew the Steelers would be competitive and I’ve definitely been able to establish myself as a solid, professional goalie here and kind of build a bit of a legacy - that is something that has been really important to me.
“It was a huge move for me at the time, my first time going abroad. I only found out like a week before training camp that I was coming and that summer was just crazy stressful.
“We didn’t know where we were going to go, we kind of knew that we wanted to go over to Europe. Calgary wanted me back in their system but it wasn’t going to be anything solid and then the Steelers came up and, to be honest, it just kind of felt right.
“The money was less than anywhere else, but I’d heard such good things about the city and the fans and the ownership and the coaches and the way you were treated as a player, so it was a case of coming over to enjoy it for a year and then figure it out from there.
“And then that 2023-24 season was obviously the best year of my career, I mean it’s hard to top that, winning three trophies and some good individual accolades that came along with that .
“But there is time yet for us to go and try and match that, maybe even this season. We’re in the mix for all three and that’s all you can ask for, to have an opportunity to win.”