MONDAY FEATURE: Matthew Strome Making The Most Of Expanded Role With Phantoms

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - It hasn't come without its bumps and bruises along the way, but entering the final year of his entry-level contract it looks like Matthew Strome has turned a corner in terms of his development track.

For the first time in his pro career, he looks like an American Hockey League (AHL) mainstay - something that has taken him some time, and probably a little bit more than he would have liked. But as he turns just 23 years old next month, Matthew, the youngest of the three Strome brothers, is starting to quiet the critics who have doubted him.

"I've always liked him as a person, but now he's showing me and he's showing everybody that he belongs in this league," Lehigh Valley Phantoms' head coach Ian Laperriere said after his team's win Sunday vs. Hartford.

Upon entering the pro ranks full-time to being the 2019-20 season, Strome - a 4th round pick in 2017 - began the year in the AHL with the Phantoms, playing a limited fourth line role and recording two goals and two assists in 19 games before spending the rest of the season in the ECHL with Reading, where he tallied 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 25 games.

The pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season wasn't kind to Strome, as the Phantoms' ECHL affiliate in Reading was one of several teams in that league to opt out of the season entirely.

Without a role in Lehigh Valley, the Phantoms eventually loaned Strome to another ECHL team in Greenville, SC where Strome was at least able to get regular playing time in a season where he managed four goals and three assists in 26 games.

Coming into the 2021-22 season, Strome made a good impression in the Phantoms preseason and AHL training camp, though he ultimately began the season in the ECHL with Reading.

Strome credits that time spent in Reading to begin the year - a six game stint where he tallied seven points (four goals, three assists) - for not only playing a lot of minutes but instilling confidence in his game and getting him ready for his eventual call up to Lehigh Valley amid the injuries and call ups to the NHL that AHL teams face every year.

On Saturday night against Cleveland, Strome was more than noticeable - he was one of the team's best performers.

In the second period, and on the power play, Strome won a puck battle down low in the corner and flung a pass cross-ice to the top of the left point for Cal O'Reilly, who got it to Egor Zamula at the center point for a shot that went in and tied the game at 2-2. Then, in the 3rd period, Strome led an odd-man rush and centered for a trailing Adam Clendening goal that put the Phantoms ahead 3-2 in what ended up being the game-winning goal.

"Yeah, I felt good. I think, you know, getting a little more confidence in my game now that I've been here for a couple weeks," Strome told InsideAHLHockey.com Sunday. "Just trying to do my thing. I think that first assist on the power play, that's kind of my game. See those plays, make those plays."

Yes, the biggest knock on the Phantoms' forward has been his skating, but it's something the player has been working on and continues to work at every time his skates touch the ice.

"I may not be the fastest skater, but I just know where to be in the right place. So instead of going straight line I can kind of use my knowledge of the game to get where I have to be before the pucks even there," Strome explained. "I think that's a big thing for me."

While he may lack blazing speed, he's a strong forward along the walls, down low and at the net front - positioning his 6-4, 210 pound frame atop the crease and making it difficult for opposing goaltenders to see the puck.

"He just needs to keep working on his skating, keep pushing himself in practice and play like he played [this weekend]," Laperriere said, complimenting the play of Strome and his linemates Isaac Ratcliffe and Hayden Hodgson in the team's last two games.

Another change in Strome's game is the position he's playing. Laperriere liked what he saw of Strome playing in the middle during the Phantoms' preseason and it has been where he's played most of the season.

"I don't think he's played much center in his life, but he's so responsible that that's the place I see him that's the place we see him and he's been playing good hockey for us for sure," Laperriere said of Strome's switch from left wing to center.

Strome said Sunday his confidence level is at an "all-time high" right now, and while some of that stems from the Phantoms getting out of an eight-game winless skid over the weekend it's also coming from the fact that Strome is playing well and starting to get rewarded for it offensively. Saturday's two-assist effort was his first multi point game at the AHL level, where he has three assists in his past three games and four total in 10 games with the Phantoms this season.

"Yeah, obviously I wanted to be here since I started, but it just didn't work out that way," Strome said Sunday, adding, "I think just trying to be a good team guy the whole way through I mean, whether I'm playing three minutes or playing 23 minutes I'm always gonna be one of the guys, if somebody blocks a shot, the first one standing up. I think all the guys in the room see that and just know, like I'm here to work. I'm here to support everyone. I think it's it's difficult not playing a lot when you think you should be out there, but then when you get the opportunity to just kind of make the most of it. I think I've been doing that recently, so just got to keep it going."

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