Matt Tomkins

History

2009-10: Matt Tomkins skated for the Sherwood Park Squires Midget Minor team that captured a provincial championship in Alberta. He was 8-5-5 with a 2.69 goals against and .900 save percentage as Sherwood Park finished fourth in the AMMHL. In the playoffs he was 8-0 with one shutout and had a 2.08 goals against and .931 save percentage. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the AMMHL North playoffs.

2010-11: Tomkins shared the goaltending duties for the Sherwood Park Kings midget AAA with Adam Clark. He was 6-8-1 with a 3.83 goals against and .890 save percentage as the Kings finished fourth in the AMHL’s Dodge Division.  Tomkins was 3-3 with a 4.14 goals against and .836 save percentage as Sherwood Park reached the Division Finals.

2011-12: Tomkins played in 33 of 60 games for the Sherwood Park Crusaders in the AJHL. He was 18-11-2 with a 3.41 goals against and .894 save percentage. After finishing fourth in the North Division, the Crusaders advanced to the second round of the AJHL playoffs. Tomkins played in all ten playoff games and was 4-6 with one shutout and had a 3.53 goals against and .897 save percentage. He committed to playing college hockey at Ohio State in 2013-14. Tomkins was invited to the NHL Draft Combine and was ranked tenth amongst North American goalies in Central Scouting’s final rankings prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.

2012-13: Tomkins appeared in 44 of 60 games for the Sherwood Park Crusaders in his second AJHL season. He was 22-14-6 with 4 shutouts and had a 2.56 goals against and .924 save percentage. The Crusaders finished eighth in the North Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Tomkins was 5-5 in the playoffs with a 3.26 goals against and .899 save percentage.

2013-14: Tomkins played in 17 games for Ohio State as a freshman — emerging as the starter over sophomore Collin Olson (Carolina), who eventually left school. Tomkins suffered a leg injury in November and after returning in January he split time with Christian Frey, who joined the Buckeyes in December from the USHL. In 17 games Tomkins was 6-7-2 with a 2.78 goals against and .911 save percentage. Ohio State finished fourth in the Big Ten and reached the conference championship game but did not receive an NCAA tournament berth after losing to Wisconsin, 5-4, in overtime.

2014-15: Tomkins returned to Ohio State for his sophomore season — appearing in 14 games as fellow sophomore Christian Frey saw the bulk of the action for the Buckeyes down the stretch. He was 5-7-1 with 2 shutouts and had a 3.25 goals against and .876 save percentage. Tomkins stopped 17 shots in a 2-0 win over last-place Wisconsin in Ohio State’s final regular season game before Frey started both Big 10 playoff games. The Buckeyes finished fifth in the six-team conference,  upsetting fourth-place Penn State before falling to top seed Minnesota in the Big 10 tournament. 

Talent Analysis

Tomkins is a sound positional goaltender who plays a heady game between the pipes.  Consistency is sometimes an issue but he plays a more controlled game that relies more on solid instincts and athletic ability.  Tomkins has the size that many NHL teams seek in a goaltender and it is a matter of fine-tuning his game as he develops in the NCAA.

Future

Tomkins attended prospect camp with the Blackhawks in July and will return to Ohio State for his junior season in 2015-16. With fellow juniors Christian Frey and Logan Davis also returning, the Buckeyes will have a veteran group in net and the competition for playing time should push all three to improve. Tomkins' has shown promise in spurts during his first two college seasons but his long-term potential is difficult to determine.