Cheyne Matheson Waiting Patiently For A New Opportunity To Begin

Cheyne Matheson like many hockey players, is waiting for the season to get start. But he got a little closer, a little farther from home, than most to playing.

In fact, he started his preseason before the second wave began in Germany, where he will play this year, and across Europe.

“It’s feeling kind of surreal getting back into it,” Matheson told CKSN a few weeks back before plans changed due to a resurgence of the virus. “We’ve all been waiting a while to play a game as many of us haven’t played since March.”

When game play does fully resume, Matheson is excited for the feeling of being back in competition.

“Going to feel great getting a few games in to feel out the level and speed of the game here.”

Matheson will be playing for EG Diez-Limburg after playing for Kiruna AIF in Sweden last season, and the Liege Bulldogs in Belgium the three seasons prior.

The Wheatley product, who is an alumni of the Wheatley Sharks and Leamington Flyers is adapting to life in Germany, and like most, is just waiting for things to get back to normal.

“Life in Germany has been great so far. For the most part the people have been friendly and welcoming. Was a bit tough adjusting to the time change this year. A bit of jet lag. For the most part I feel comfortable here and it seems like similar land as in Belgium when I was there. The German language has been difficult so far but it’s fun learning new languages,” he said.

The push back of the season has been frustrating for most athletes, as are restrictions, but it’s nothing new in Germany or Europe, as restrictions look very similar to those in Canada.

“Already this season has been pushed back to the beginning of November so they are still taking precautions to COVID,” Matheson explained.

“Arenas will only be allowed certain amounts of fans depending on the size and capacity of their rinks. Our rink will allow 700, and some others can allow more, say 1500 and some less. Other than that, things are similar to back home. Wear masks into stores, and into arenas.”

As for his EG Diez-Limburg Rockets, Matheson describes it as a unique mix between youth and veterans.

“This season we have a very unique team. The atmosphere in the room is great, good group of guys and I am excited to see how we can perform. The ages vary from 19-40 so we have a wide age gap which is nice. Many of the guys have played in the top leagues here in Germany. The skill level on the ice has been good so far.”

Matheson predicts his squad to start middle of the pack, but as with any athlete, he and his teammates are hoping to climb the ranks.

“We are hoping we can rank higher than that at the end of the season.”

Let’s hope for Matheson and his EG Diez-Limburg teammates, that the season starts soon, so they can begin that upward trajectory.