Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) National team New Zealand Name Matthew Harvey Positions Defenseman | Shoots Right Website AIHL profile Role Ice hockey | |
Born 17 October 1985 (age 38)
Calgary, AB, CAN ( 1985-10-17 ) Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb) AIHL team
Former teams CBR Brave
Okotoks Drillers
HC Kufstein
Lamarit
High River Flyers | ||
Matthew Harvey (born 17 October 1985) who is better known as Matt, is an New Zealand / Canadian ice hockey player who plays as a Defenceman for the CBR Brave in the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).
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Club career
12 April 2014, Harvey was announced as a CBR Brave player for the 2014 AIHL season. Harvey joined the Brave’s defensive unit along with Canadian import Mike Giorgi. Harvey joined the Brave after an extensive time spent in European hockey in Austria and Finland. Harvey would not be taking up an import spot in the squad due to his New Zealand citizenship, which was seen as a coup for the Brave.
Harvey was given the number 65 jersey at the Brave and was sponsored by PDA Marble & Granite in 2014. 12 April 2014, Harvey made his debut for the club in round one of the 2014 season at home at Phillip Ice Centre, Canberra against the Newcastle North Stars. The Brave would go on to lose the match 2-0. Harvey scored his first goal for the Brave in the fourth game of the season on the road in Newcastle vs the North Stars as he rounded off the match with a late goal in the third period to lead the Brave to a 4-2 victory.
Half way through the 2014 season, Harvey was the second highest scoring leader for a defenceman in the Australian Ice Hockey League.
Harvey's season with the Brave continued in the second half of the season as Harvey finished the season with the club’s fourth highest point score of 24 points through seven goals and seventeen assists. Harvey’s performances contributed to the club finishing third in the regular season and qualifying for the AIHL Finals, the first time a Canberra team had achieved this in the AIHL era. Harvey played in the semi-final match against the Melbourne Ice but the Brave lost the match 1-6.
Despite the loss in the Finals and the missed chance at winning the Goodall Cup, Harvey was named CBR Brave Best Defender for 2014 at the maiden Brave post-season Awards Presentation Night at the Woden Tradies Club, Phillip, ACT.
11 June 2015, Harvey re-signed with the CBR Brave for the remainder of the 2015 AIHL season after recovering from his serious knee injury. Matt linked up with the Brave on 4 July 2015 for the road trip to Melbourne to take on the Melbourne Mustangs.
Playing style
Harvey's style of play has been described as an aggressive attacking defenceman who acts as an offensive catalyst from the back.
Personal life
Matt Harvey was born on 17 October 1985 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. 26 April 2013, Harvey published his very first fictional novel named A Hockey Nightmare through Mirador Publishing. The novel is based around a fictitious Canadian ice hockey player starting his career out in Austria where everything is not quite as it seems. Harvey wrote the book while recovering from surgery after tearing a major ligament in his knee using stories and anecdotes by teammates he played with in Europe as a basis for the novel. Harvey is currently studying a master's degree in Counselling Psychology. He enjoys cycling, playing tennis, watching Netflix, coffee in Kingston, making pancakes with lots of maple syrup and checking out the nightlife in Canberra. Harvey has a younger brother, Jeff Harvey, who also plays ice hockey. The two brothers played together for the CBR Brave in 2014.