FERREIRA NAMED OPJHL WEST DIVISION MVP Great players make the game look easy. They seem to attract the puck at the most opportune moment. Defenders swear that they can make themselves invisible, disappearing in the chaos of a scramble and reappearing alone, unmarked and with only a goaltender to beat. They can slow the game down, speed it up and at times even bend it to their will. They make their teammates better. Perhaps most amazing about those who have a gift for the game is that the difference between them and an average player is rarely physical ability, but the ability to think, create and make decisions under pressure.
The mental game, as it is often referred to, is where most battles are won. You can refer to it as heart or character if you like, but the determination to fight through a check, to win the race to the puck, or to sacrifice the body to get to the net springs from within. Remove this intrinsic strength from a player and you won’t be left with much. Almost without fail, what makes a player great is what’s happening between the ears. I can’t even imagine what’s going on between Matt Ferreira’s ears these days, but whatever is in there, I do know it’s covered by a pretty impressive scar and three metal plates. Last summer, Lefty, as he’s known around Varsity, was coming off an impressive season with the Brampton Capitals of the OPJHL (38G – 36A – 74P) and was bound for the University of Massachusetts-Lowell on scholarship. His friends threw him a going away party one Friday night in late August, a few days before he was to begin his freshman year. On Sunday, everything changed. After a seizure, the first of his life, doctors discovered a brain tumor that required immediate surgery. Forget school. Forget hockey. The doctors weren’t making any guarantees. Amazingly, it would only be five weeks until he returned to the ice, but it was decided that his freshman year at Lowell would have to wait until fall of 2008. Although it wasn’t what he had hoped for, Ferreira rejoined the Capitals. He missed the first 8 games of the season, but when he finally returned, he picked up where he’d left off the year before. In spite of all of the distractions and doubts, Lefty still had that intangible mental strength that had made him the envy of his teammates. The biggest adjustment for Ferreira, believe it or not, was just getting around. “Because of the seizure, I’m not allowed to drive, so I’m always looking for a ride,” confides the 19 year-old. “Chiddy [Varsity Elite Program Member Jesse Chidwick] was chauffeuring me around there for a while, but then he got traded to Port Hope, so now it’s Mom’s taxi most nights.” Adjusting to play on the ice wasn’t as difficult, but there were a few mental setbacks. The 2006-07 All-Star was not selected to this year’s squad, even though he was putting up nearly identical numbers to the previous season. “I was disappointed,” he admits, but if anything, his play only improved.
By season’s end, Ferreira was only one vote shy of being the unanimous choice for MVP in the OPJHL’s Western Division. Not one to pump his own tires, all he would say about the honours was, “it’s pretty cool.” Even when I pressed him for a quote for this article, that’s all he wanted to say about it.
Seriously. What’s going on between those ears? 
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