PHPA

Humble Beginnings Lead Strome To Spotlight In Hershey

Tony Androckits, PHPA Contributing Author @TonyAndrock | January 28th, 2025

The transition to pro hockey is rarely a seamless one.

The learning curve is different for every player, whether they're coming out of junior hockey in Canada, college hockey in the NCAA or junior hockey overseas.

Development isn't a straight line from point A to point B, and there might not be a better example of that than current Hershey Bears forward Matt Strome.

Originally drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Strome spent the first two years of his pro career shifting between the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL. It wasn't until his third year that he began to emerge as a full-time player at the AHL level.

Following that 2020-21 season, Strome found himself without a contract heading into the summer - experiencing free agency for the first time in his career.

An opportunity arose with the Hershey Bears, and the rest is history.

Similar to his time with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Strome's first season with the Bears saw him playing in a limited role - appearing in 34 regular season games and bouncing between the game night lineup and a seat in the stands as a healthy scratch.

Strome didn't appear in a single game during Hershey's 2023 Calder Cup Championship run, instead being a good teammate and participating in practices during the Bears' two-plus month run to the championship that ended in late-June in Palm Springs, California.

That stretch of sitting out in the playoffs fueled the fire for Strome heading into the summer, and it was evident by his career-year last season. Strome set career highs in 2023-24 with Hershey in goals, assists and points.

It all culminated in the infamous 2024 Calder Cup-winning overtime goal in Game Six of the Finals this past June.

"Not playing in the [2023] playoffs, I went home in the summer and knew I wanted to be in this moment. Then the [2023-24] season starts and I don't play the first 10 games, so I work even harder," Strome told InsideAHLHockey.com in an on-ice interview after scoring the golden goal to lift Hershey to back-to-back championships.

(Tori Hartman/Hershey Bears)

Strome's determination paid off in a big way last season, and even seventh months later his heroics are not lost by those in Hershey.

"A lot more people kind of know who I am around here now, especially within Hershey everybody kind of knows who you are in town," Strome said earlier this fall. "So it's funny if you're going out for lunch or something after practice and they're like, 'there's Matt Strome, there's Matt Strome'. It's just a cool feeling that every kid wants that's playing hockey. Everybody wants to be the fan favorite."

(Laney Mitchell/Hershey Bears)

A fitting reward for being determined to make a difference and being a good teammate when things weren't going his way, Strome also was sure to mention the support from his family and brothers - longtime NHL forwards Dylan (Washington Capitals) and Ryan (Anaheim Ducks).

"Both my brothers, my parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, all my family. It's kind of been a tough road for me, kind of making a name for myself," Strome said of the support from family throughout his pro career.

And although his family wasn't in attendance at his heroic championship-winning goal, the Stromes were all together watching the game and celebrating.

"They had a video of them jumping around my brother's basement after. I honestly cried after seeing that. It was so awesome to see the support from them back home and yeah, it's just unbelievable to have them in my corner. My brothers have been my biggest fans through the ups and downs. They always believed in me and I just always use them if I ever need advice. And like I said, they're my biggest fans and it's just so cool."

In training camp with Washington this fall, even Capitals star Alex Ovechkin approached Strome and congratulated him on his big goal - something he was taken aback by.

It's safe to say that championship-winning goal last summer being a life-changing moment for Strome would be a massive understatement at this point. But it's something - similar to Strome's pro career as a whole - that has been earned through hard work and dedication to the game.

"We did an autograph signing [before the start of the season] and just all the support from all the fans was so cool. And yeah, I guess it was a pretty big change from kind of being that fourth-line guy, just playing my role, being on the penalty kill, to being the Game Six hero," Strome explained. "Yeah, my life's definitely changed a lot since that's happened."

Strome Takes On Team Representative Role With PHPA

Now in his sixth season as a pro, Strome has found himself more interested in what's happening off the ice.

This year, he is Hershey's Player Representative for the PHPA - assisting his teammates with their questions and needs regarding the players' union.

"I never really knew what goes on in that kind of field. Being the team rep, I really get some good insight on what kind of happens with the league, especially this year with the CBA up," Strome said of taking on a larger role. "It's been pretty cool to see what goes on, kind of behind the scenes. It's been awesome so far."

Strome realizes the importance of understanding everything the PHPA has to offer players and is passing on that knowledge to younger players breaking into pro hockey - making them more aware and engaged.

"When I came into the league, I didn't really know there were so many benefits that we had that we could take advantage of in the off season and during the year," Strome explained. "So just trying to get [younger pro hockey players] on board. I know it's tough for a young guy. You don't really think about that stuff too much, but as you get older that stuff really matters, and they have a lot of good resources for us. So just trying to get the young guys to look into that a little more, for sure."

(Laney Mitchell/Hershey Bears)