FRASER, Mich. – Matt Cruz may be a rookie with the Metro Jets, but one would hardly know that from watching him play this season.

An 18-year-old defenseman from New Baltimore, Cruz has grown up playing at Fraser Hockeyland and like many others has always known about the Jets program.

This season, he went from simply knowing the Jets name to wearing it on the front of his jersey.

“This year, I wanted to take the leap to the next stage in hockey where I knew by the end of the season, I would see some powerful results,” Cruz said. “As a player, just from Coach Q’s (Justin Quenneville) practices and everything he says and teaches us, I feel like I’ve already developed so much in a positive way as a player and we aren’t even halfway through the season yet. The entire coaching staff is experienced and having a coach like Jamie (Lovell) for us ‘D’ helps us so much, too.” 

“It’s also very easy to get better every day when you come to the rink and everyone else there has the same mindset as you to take every day as a chance to better yourself and your team for tomorrow.”

On the back end this season, Cruz has been paired with fellow rookie Cory Schwartz. If that duo looks familiar, it should.

“Me and Cory played together last season and we did really good together,” said Cruz. “I always heard about Cory and his brother Jeremy (this year’s Jets captain), but this season is my first time playing with both of them together since we are all in different age groups. I thought that was really cool, but my chemistry with Cory is really high and I enjoy playing with him because we know each other’s habits really well. We always know where to be for each other without having to say much.” 

Quenneville said Cruz is a player that he can have on the ice in any situation.

“’Cruzy’ is one of the players that coaches love and hate to call ‘raw,’” said Quenneville. “His ceiling is so high and now that he is with us, he gets to elevate his game hopefully to a new level. He has all the tools and now, he has to learn to simplify the game. He is a cerebral player and like most young guys, needs to learn to play consistent on both sides of the puck. He shows all the potential of being a reliable D-man who can manage the puck well, and he wants to build better habits. 

“The goal is to continue to push him to develop and benefit from this environment. He was always a skilled player who played hockey, now he gets to be a hockey player who can work on his skills.” 

Cruz explained that he started skating about 14 years ago and it simply took off from there.

“I used to watch my uncle play hockey all the time for his high school and that’s what really got me into it,” said Cruz. “I had a chance to play for a couple youth programs, including the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies 16U team with (current Jets teammates) ‘AC’ (Anthony Cinato) and Jay (Dziegelewski), which is where I won my first national championship.”

And truth be told, Cruz is beyond excited to be a Jet this season.

“The coaching staff at the Metro Jets is absolutely unbelievable, and I love coming to the rink every single day and just learning new things to help improve my game,” Cruz said. “The coaches tell us all the time how spoiled we are, and it is honestly very true. We have a locker room where we get to keep all our equipment, we have an equipment manager, the gym (Michigan Athletic Training) and we have basically everything we want. It’s crazy how lucky we are, and I am very happy to be here playing for the Metro Jets.”

The USPHL Boston Showcase on tap this weekend for the Jets, Cruz has short-term and long-term goals in mind as the season and his career move forward.

“This season, I hope to get better as a player and a person and develop in all aspects of my game,” said Cruz. “I’m using this year as a building block towards next year and the year after that. At the end of this season, I hope to win a national championship and repeat what the boys did last season and the keep the streak alive.

“My long-term goal is to play at the highest level of hockey I possibly can. I absolutely love the sport and my dream is to play it for as long as I possibly can. I would like to take the college route and ultimately move up the hockey ranks.”