OSHAWA, Ont. – The Ontario Tech University men's hockey team is starting the 2020 recruiting class with a big announcement as they have confirmed Matthew Barron (Yarmouth, N.S.) will join the Ridgebacks in September.
 
Barron, who was named the Maritime Hockey League's (MHL) character player of the year and league all-star this week, will add additional fire power to the Ridgebacks offence.
 
A rare five-year player in the MHL, The 20-year-old hometown captain set a career high with 79 points this season, which placed him fifth overall in league scoring. His 55 assists were fourth most in the MHL, and he had 25 multi-point games. A leader on and off the ice, Barron helped the defending Canadian Tire Cup champion Yarmouth Mariners capture their third straight Eastlink South title. This season he set franchise records for games played, assists and points.
 
"I have been lucky enough to get a chance to watch Matt Barron craft his game from day one," said Mariners head coach and general manager Laurie Barron. "He started with this program as the stick boy and he leaves it as all-time leader in games played, assists and points. His love for the game and his hockey IQ is through the roof and even though he's very gifted offensively he will never cheat for offence. In my past four seasons coaching him I have seen him mature physically and he has taken his game to the next level. His leadership this season has been the cherry on top of a great junior career and Ontario Tech is getting a good one."
 
The Yarmouth native also captured personal and team awards throughout his time with the hometown team. During his rookie season in 2015-16, Barron earned a rookie all-star team nod, while he also led his team to a league championship in 2018-19, while being named playoff MVP.
 
"Matt is a player who I have been watching and keeping tabs on for the past three seasons as he has developed his game in Yarmouth," said Ridgeback head coach Curtis Hodgins. "He is a tremendous two-way player who is very creative offensively and can put the puck in the net, while also being very responsible on the defensive side of puck. We feel he has the potential to be a strong contributor right away at the U SPORTS level and we look forward to welcoming him to our Ridgebacks' family."
 
There will be familiarity for Barron upon entering the Ridgebacks room, with familiar faces in Leif Hertz (Kingston, Ont.), Noah McMullin (Beaver Bank, N.S.) and Pierre-Luc Lurette (Val-d'Amour, N.B.). Hertz and Barron spent three seasons, 2015-2018, as teammates with the Mariners, while McMullin was a Mariner during the 2016-2019 seasons. Barron and McMullin were both on the championship Mariner team in 2018-19, which beat Lurette's Campbellton Tigers in the final.