Matty Mayhew is returning to the scene, generally speaking, of previous success.

The 18 year-old hockey goaltender had ventured to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) during his minor midget campaign, playing a ton and posting som very impressive numbers as the clear-cut #1 netminder with the Don Mills Flyers.

He parlayed that showing into a back-up position with the Rayside-Balfour Canadians to begin the 2017-2018 season. But with veterans Mackenzie Savard and subsequently Brayden Lachance holding a firm hand in the starter's position in Chelmsford, Mayhew agreed to a trade that would send him to the last-place French River Rapids.

It was a given that his numbers would take a hit. But it wasn't about the numbers. "When I got moved to French River, I got that number one role and got to play a ton," noted the recent graduate of St Charles College.

"When I got moved, I really didn't know about it until the day of the trade, and the next night, I was starting against Kirkland Lake. It was a pretty easy transition because I got to jump right in, right away. There was no down time, really."

"I just wanted to try and make our team a better team," Mayhew added. "It was definitely a good year for development, once I got over there." When the season ended, however, it was time to move on.

"I kind of reached out to a couple of teams, see what they were doing for their goaltender situations, and my Don Mills' coach kind of moved me in the righ direction, talked to a couple of coaches for me."

Last month, Mayhew was traded to the Toronto Jr Canadians of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. "Last year, they were pretty much a middle of the pack team," said Mayhew. In fact, the team posted a record of 33-18-1-2, good for fourth place in the South Division of the South West Conference, easily the toughest bracket in the league.

The Canadians dropped their first round playoff series in six games, a post-season stretch that Mayhew and his mates would definitely like to see extended come March of 2019. With a pair of 2000 puckstoppers between the pipes, things are up for grabs in the crease in Toronto.

"My goaltending partner is Christian Mattiaci," said Mayhew. "He was the goalie with JRC when I was with Don Mills. He's the same age as me, so it should be a good battle for the number one spot."

Working out with local personal trainer Brock McGillis, Mayhew has some work to do before heading south in mid-August. "I want to skate a ton, especially since I was off last year the first week of March. I took almost two months off the ice, just spending time in the gym."

Mayhew plans to take some courses through both the University of Toronto and some on-line courses through Laurentian University, with an eye on studying in Sports Psychology somewhere down the road.