Northeastern received its second commitment from a Quebec native forward in 24 hours when news broke early Thursday that Matthew Maltais, an ’04 currently playing for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, committed to the Huskies for 2025-26.
Maltais was previously committed to the University of Nebraska-Omaha, to whom he committed back in 2019 when he was only 15 years old. Recently the Omaha logo was noticed missing from the Lincoln line chart, indicating a change, and the Huskies acted fast to land his re-commitment. Maltais is currently the captain of the Lincoln Stars and linemates with 2025 Northeastern forward recruit Jack Pechar. Maltais has a 12-17-29 line in 36 games (T-4th on the team in points; Pechar leads them with 40), with a 7 game point streak active as of this writing. This is his second season in Lincoln, and prior to that he played for Alberni Valley in the BCHL and Kimball Union Academy, one of the top prep hockey programs in New England.
Maltais is a 6-foot-2, 185 pound left shot forward who has been playing wing this year but Elite Prospects has him listed as a center. He is expected to be able to play both at the collegiate level. Neutral Zone scouting services list him as in the range of 3.75-4/5 stars, and in their most recent viewing commented “Maltais has a knack for putting himself in scoring positions. In the offensive zone he constantly finds the quiet areas in the slot, allowing him to receive pucks and quickly get them on net.” If this skill translates to the college level, it would potentially open up a new part of the NU offense that has been lacking around the crease. Neutral Zone further compliments Maltais on his ability to get shots off and on net while in traffic and under tight pressure, “creating chaos in the net-front for himself and his linemates to have second chance opportunities,” and notes that he has the speed to get past defenders in transition.
In a press release from the Lincoln Stars, Maltais said “it’s a great program. It was honestly a dream school growing up. I’ve always talked about wanting to go there. For it to be in a great city like Boston, just a great culture and a winning team is exciting for me and my family since it’s close to home. It’s only about four hours from home and they’ll be coming to plenty of games.”
Lincoln Stars head coach Rocky Russo added, “”We’re really happy for Malts. I think it’s a good fit for him academically. Certainly, from a hockey perspective, going to the Hockey East is a great conference and challenging hockey night in and night out. It’s closer to home for him and I think all around a really good fit. We’re looking forward to Matt joining them next season.”
Maltais will turn 21 in September after enrolling this Fall to Northeastern and we project him as likely starting in the bottom six with the upside to play further up the lineup as he matures and grows. His synergy with Jack Pechar could present a unique offensive opportunity for production if they get lined up together in college as well.
Congratulations to Matthew on his commitment to Northeastern. As always, go Huskies!