Wed 29 May 2024 - 7:00PM

PANTHERS SIGN FORWARD MATT ALFARO

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The Nottingham Panthers have signed Calgary-born forward Matt Alfaro for the 2024-25 campaign.

The 27-year-old joins the Panthers from Germany where he played last season for Ravensburg Towerstars in the DEL2, scoring 14 goals and contributing 22 assists for 36 points in the regular-season.

He added six points in the post-season (3+3) as he helped the Towerstars to the quarter-finals of the playoffs, before losing a thrilling seven-game series to eventual winners Polar Bears Regensburg.

After playing three years of college hockey for the University of Calgary in the USports league, Alfaro turned professional with East Coast Hockey League side Wheeling Nailers in 2020-21.

He made an immediate impact and was named Alternate Captain in 2021-22 and became a top-line centre in the league, scoring 70 points (21+49) in 88 matches.

Alfaro earned multiple call-ups to the highly-rated American Hockey League and secured an AHL contract for the 2022-23 season.

In total, Alfaro has iced in 70 AHL games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Manitoba Moose and Abbotsford Canucks.

"The opportunity to play in the EIHL is something I have thought about for a while," said Alfaro.

"Quite a few of my past team-mates have played in the league and for Nottingham. They have all had great things to say so I feel it will be a really good experience."

Last season, Alfaro played with Sam Herr who iced for the Panthers back in the 2019-20 campaign which was cut short because of the pandemic.

Alfaro continued: "He (Sam) said the Panthers are a great organisation from the top down with good facilities and he had really good things to say about the city.

"I know the Panthers get a lot of fans to game and they are very passionate. I have heard really good things about Nottingham and I'm looking forward to it."

Alfaro becomes the first new face on the roster for the 2024-25 campaign, but what can Panthers fans expect from the new centerman?

"I like to chip in offensively but I pride myself on being able to defend up and down the ice," added Alfaro.

"I like to bring physicality and that's something I always thrive to bring to my game and to be hard to play against.

"Another thing I take pride in is winning face-offs and being that go-to guy to win draws no matter the situation."

Panthers Head Coach, Danny Stewart, said: "In our league and across Europe, really good centres are what teams are always looking for.

"Matt is a big strong guy that plays the middle and he's very skilled on top of that. He can play in all situations.

"He was over 60 per cent on face-offs last year which is an area I value very highly. There is so much good about him.

"Matt had an impressive career in North America and a good first season in Europe with Ravensburg. We're really happy to get him on-board."