Hey, everybody.
It’s me, Matt Cavender. It’s been a good while since my title here at Tech Hockey Guide has changed. Editor in Chief sure has a nice ring to it, but it’s also my responsibility to oversee all of the content that Tech Hockey Guide pushes out and this has already proven to be no small task.
Many of you know me, have seen me at games, have read content that I’ve published, yelled at me through your car radio for my hockey opinions on the Chasing MacNaughton Podcast or enjoyed a readable article here on THG thanks to my editing. I just wanted to take some time to speak a little about myself, give a quick life update and share my vision for the future of Tech Hockey Guide.
After graduating from Michigan Tech in the winter of 2018, I had a bit of a rough time out on the job trail. I worked a few odd jobs while searching for my “big boy job,” most notably in a brewery kitchen. It was a blast, but it wasn’t how I envisioned my first steps outside of Houghton to look. As horrible as the coronavirus pandemic has continued to be for this day, the dine-in shut down ended up being a blessing for me as it opened up the door for me to get my first “real” job; contracting as a web editor for a local health system.
Since then, I’ve accepted a full-time salaried role with the company and things are looking great for me, even though my path looked a lot different than a lot of others coming through Tech. It was not long after the ink was dry on my offer letter that Alex Slepak, Tech Hockey Guide’s first Editor in Chief decided to step down and hand the reins to me. While Alex is an extremely gifted editor and maestro of the English language, he’s gradually grown farther away from the sphere of knowledge of Michigan Tech hockey. It was his opinion that the position was best left in my hands, as he believed that I have the knowledge and passion to be the logical successor to the position. While Alex has decided to step down from one of the most high-profile roles on the blog, he still occasionally pops in to do edits for us. I would be remiss if I didn’t take time to thank Alex for the tireless work he’s done and continues to do on this blog. I truly could not have asked for a better mentor.
So, what does this change mean for Tech Hockey Guide? Well, in the short term… Not a whole lot. However, it is my personal goal to make sure we’re pushing out content on a consistent basis and to make our content more approachable for every Tech fan, whether they’ve been graduated since ’65 or are just beginning to fall in love with our favorite NCAA hockey squad. I’ve looked to accomplish this first by assisting the creation of a consistent content schedule. You may notice that articles come out at the same times on the same days pretty much every time. This is no accident, and hopefully our readership has been enjoying knowing that we’re starting to get into the groove of a nice content cadence.
The second part of my goal is one that I need your help with. While we’re lucky to have an incredibly active readership here at Tech Hockey Guide, the vast majority have had Michigan Tech degrees in hand for longer than they’d care to admit. One of the key things that is going to keep this blog going is being sure that our readership continues to expand to younger generations, from those just coming off of campus, those still on campus and those who are about to stand with the Misfits or put on a goofy hat with the Huskies Pep Band for the first time. If we aren’t staying relevant, we’re dying. All that to say, if you have anything you’d like to see from us, or think that you can write something better yourself, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or anybody else on the Tech Hockey Guide Team.
Even through graduation and the beginning steps of my career, few things are more important to me as a person than this hockey team. I’m extremely grateful for the trust and responsibility that has been entrusted in me and I will continue to see to it that the Huskies will continue to have fantastic independent coverage for as long as my hands are on the deck.
Thanks for taking the time to listen to me and as always, go Huskies!
-Matt Cavender
Matt Cavender graduated from Tech in 2018 and is a former President of Mitch's Misfits, serving two terms. Matt serves on the Tech Hockey Guide staff as Editor in Chief. He currently works as a Digital Marketing Specialist in Grand Rapids, MI
Matt, no doubt you’ll do a fine job. However, the “younger generation” is going to have one hell of time figuring out what that machine is in the picture you show with your letter. Anything we can do, let us know.
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