{"id":12354,"date":"2021-12-10T04:02:43","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12354"},"modified":"2021-12-10T04:02:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T04:02:43","slug":"peca-multilayered-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/?p=12354","title":{"rendered":"Peca: Multilayered Man"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/i>\u00a0January 28th, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n
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MONTREAL – Do you know a lot of players who have embarked on a volunteering trip just a week after being drafted into the NHL?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Well, if you’re a Habs fan, you know at least one:\u00a0Matthew Peca.<\/p>\n

A week after hearing his name being called at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s seventh-round pick (201st overall) in 2011 decided to head to the Dominican Republic with his high school on a humanitarian volunteering trip.<\/p>\n

Over those 10 days down south, Peca worked on a sugar cane plantation, helped paint buildings, and met with children in schools.<\/p>\n

“I had planned it all out with my high school before getting drafted. I was playing Junior A and I wasn’t sure I would get drafted. It was a really rewarding experience. It opened my eyes,” shared the centerman. “When I came back for training camp, I was all skinny and sick, but it was still a great experience.”<\/p>\n

Matthew Peca on his humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic\u00a0Matthew Peca<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Petawawa, ON native affirmed that this was likely not his last humanitarian trip.<\/p>\n

“I’d like to do it again, but I don’t have a lot of time anymore,” he admitted. “Maybe I’ll have some time one year in the summer.”<\/p>\n

A man of many talents<\/b><\/p>\n

By now, we all know what Peca can do on the ice, but the Habs’ No. 63 has some hidden talents off of it that are worth mentioning.<\/p>\n

Peca has already shown off his musical talents to his teammates when they were in Chicago in December.<\/p>\n

“They didn’t know I played piano, so I just wanted to surprise them,” he explained.<\/p>\n

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Peca plays the piano for Xmas<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And if you needed more convincing that Peca possesses raw, natural talent, keep in mind that he never took piano lessons. He’s got a musical ear, as they say.<\/p>\n

“I just decided to do that in my free time,” outlined Peca. “I always liked it, but I never took it seriously. I just like to play music to relax.”<\/p>\n

When asked what kind of music he likes to play, Peca responded that he was open to all different kinds.<\/p>\n

“I like playing a bit of everything, whether it’s new or old, I don’t have a favorite style in particular,” said the first-year Hab.<\/p>\n

In addition to his musical ability, Peca said he planned on also focusing on his more artistic side during the Canadiens’ bye week.<\/p>\n

“We have a lot of free time during the day, that’s why I like doing different things,” described the 25-year-old. “I like to paint and draw.”<\/p>\n

A painting of Jimi Hendrix by Matthew Peca\u00a0Matthew Peca<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Proud Quinnipiac alum<\/b><\/p>\n

Peca finished his degree in business and marketing following the 2014-15 season at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

The forward, who signed a two-year deal with the Canadiens on July 1, picked the college route both due to the importance he placed on his studies, but also on his overall development.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t think I was ready. I wasn’t built physically enough. I needed more time to train,” recalled Peca. “I knew it would be tough to crack the lineup on a professional team if I didn’t increase my muscle mass a bit.”<\/p>\n

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Four years later, Peca is one of three hockey players in Quinnipiac University’s Athletics Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

“It’s an honor. I worked hard to get where I am,” described Peca. “Team results have always been more important for me, but it’s something I’m proud of.”<\/p>\n

Another fun fact about Peca is that he’s the first player to have ever played at Quinnipiac to have also earned a point in the NHL.<\/p>\n

That said, he doesn’t think it’ll take long for the feat to be repeated.<\/p>\n

“It’ll come. More and more Quinnipiac players are playing well and making it into the League,” affirmed Peca. “It’s good, because it’s a pretty small and lesser-known university.”<\/p>\n

Peca closed out his NCAA career with 42 goals and 143 points in 157 games.<\/p>\n

All in all, it’s clear he’s the perfect example of what it means to be a polymath.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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\u00a0January 28th, 2019 MONTREAL – Do you know a lot of players who have embarked on a volunteering trip just a week after being drafted into the NHL? Well, if you’re a Habs fan, you know at least one:\u00a0Matthew Peca. A week after hearing his name being called at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint … <\/p>\n

Read more “Peca: Multilayered Man”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onhee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}