Matt Ladd is a highly-touted goalie who is committed to Colorado College. After a successful youth career in his hometown of Buffalo and a year starting at the elite Avon Old Farms prep school in Connecticut, he played his first season of junior hockey in 2016–17. Although he spent most of the year with the South Shore Kings of the USPHL, Ladd also got some games in with the Minnesota Magicians and Aberdeen Wings of the NAHL, and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders and Chicago Steel of the USHL. With the Steel, Ladd started in Game 1 of the Clark Cup Championship on short notice, and the team ended up winning the series.