Matthew Minchak

Matthew Minchak is a goaltender selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the sixth round (191st overall) of the 2026 NHL Draft. Born May 23, 2007 in Cranford, New Jersey, the 6-foot-5 netminder — one of the biggest goaltenders in the class — catches with his left hand and is committed to play NCAA Division I hockey at Colgate University.

He became a goalie almost by accident: "I wasn't a good enough skater to be a player," he told the Kingston Frontenacs, "but I feel like that's why I kind of stepped into the goal" — a kid his first coach said "looked like Bambi out there." Years later he is a self-described pressure-lover: "When it's a 2-1 game, those are my favourite." He credits his parents for the "countless hours driving me to the rink" and New Jersey goalie coach George Bosak, who has trained him from the start and still works with him every summer.

His rise is the kind scouts love. He wasn't drafted into the OHL at all; the Kingston Frontenacs signed him as a free agent in July 2025, out of the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 18U program, after their GM inquired about him through Bosak. One season later he had gone, in the league's own words, from unknown to an OHL Top Prospects Game selection — sharing the net in a tandem yet posting the second-best save percentage in the entire OHL at .928. NHL Central Scouting ranked him 15th among North American goaltenders, with McKeen's scouting director calling him the top draft-eligible goalie out of the OHL. InGoal Magazine will expand its coverage as his career develops.