Matt Nilles got his start at YMCA outdoor rink
By Dee Longfellow
For The Elmhurst Independent
On a list that includes names like Chris Chelios, Nikos Tselios and Dennis Vaske, Elmhurst residents will likely notice a familiar one.
Elmhurst native Matt Nilles, now a resident of Champaign, is part of the 11th class to be inducted into the Illinois Hockey Hall of Fame. Nilles has served as an official ever since he participated as a player himself.
Besides the three listed above in the players category, other names include Derek Martin, also as an official; and in the builder’s category, Andrea Hahn, Pete Humann, Tim Matilla, Tom Miller and Bob Saliba.
Nilles will join others at the IHHF Induction Dinner held in their honor on January 24 at the Belveder Banquet Hall in Elk Grove.
Nilles’ involvement in hockey began in 1969 right here at the YMCA outdoor ice rink in Elmhurst, where his father entered him in skating and house league programs. Spending his summers at the Wagon Wheel Lodge, the home of the Jim Campbell Power Skating Hockey School, he learned the finer points of the game.
But he hit a crossroads in his hockey career in 1976. Being just 4’10” and maybe 85 pounds, playing for York High School seemed treacherous at best. In order to continue his involvement in the sport he loved, Matt turned to officiating.
Nilles officiated more than 2,200 games at every amateur level through Junior A and semi-pro over the course of the past 39 seasons. On-ice highlights were three high school state championship games and three Johnson Invitational tournament championships. He was also selected to work at several Chicago Blackhawks preseason scrimmage games at the old Chicago Stadium, an experience he calls “unforgettable.”
Matt has always found ways to give back to the community through off-ice endeavors, such as serving on the Board of the Illinois Hockey Officials Association (IHOA) for 12 years and working with young officials through mentoring programs. Matt considers his 25 years as a seminar instructor his most rewarding.
He served as Illinois’ Referee-in-Chief and Supervisor of Officials from 1994-97. He also sat on the AHAI Suspension Committee during that time.
With a background in journalism, Matt spent more than 30 years writing and editing stories for the IHOA newsletter, USA Hockey’s Stripes newsletter, and the nation’s signature hockey publication, USA Hockey Magazine.
He currently lives in Urbana with his wife, Phyllis, and is now in his 17th year teaching fourth grade in the Champaign public school system.
