North Bellmore’s Matt Gilroy, Boston University Class of 2009, pretty much has been around the hockey world. The lean defenseman has played Broadway, Canada’s capital city of Ottawa, Moscow and Helsinki, to pick just four of his bases.
Now he takes the road less traveled to Pyeongchang, South Korea — to represent the United States in the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, which begins on Valentine’s Day.
While Patrick Kane, Auston Matthews, Phil Kessel, Brock Boeser, Ryan McDonagh slog through the winter dog days of an interminable NHL season that breaks for Christmas, bye weeks and All-Star activities, but not the Games.
“I’m the first guy to say that NHL players should be there,” Gilroy told The Post last week. “For sure, everybody thinks that. But at the same time, this is a dream of mine that I thought was out of reach, but now it’s come true.
“I can’t describe the pride I feel in representing my country at the Olympics. It’s once in a lifetime.”
Gilroy was a free agent signee with the Rangers in 2009 out of college. A mobile defenseman who could make the first pass and get in on the play but had issues defending and in traffic, he played two seasons with the Rangers before brief spells in Ottawa and Tampa Bay. He came back to New York for a time in the 2012-13 lockout year and then had a brief run with Florida before leaving the NHL and North America.
He is in his fourth season in the KHL. After three years with Moscow-based clubs, he is in his first year with Jokerit, which plays in Helsinki.
Traveling man, all right.
“It’s crazy,” Gilroy said. “The travel and the schedule are almost indescribable. We just got back from an eight-day road trip where we played in four cities that were like at the ends of the earth. There’s not a glamour in it, but Helsinki is a great spot and Jokerit is a first-class operation.”
Except that Gilroy’s wife, Jenny Taft of FOX Sports, the daughter of 1976 Team USA Olympic defenseman John Taft, lives in the United States.
“That part of it is hard, but we make it work,” Gilroy said. “She comes over when she can. She was here over New Year’s and we’ve been to some pretty cool places together. She’s coming to [the Olympics], so are my parents, and that’s going to be great having the family over. We’re all pretty excited.”
Gilroy never was the most excitable personality. Rather, he was low-key and even-keeled. He allows that this is not the career he envisioned for himself, but he has no regrets. He is, after all, playing hockey for a living.
“The main thing is that I’m still playing the game that I loved as a 10-year-old,” he said. “I get to go all over the world, see all these different cities and experience all different walks of life.
“And as far as hockey, it’s brought me back my confidence. I had lost it all back home. I find myself alone and I think about the game. I think I’ve found a great niche here. I miss home, but playing hockey is what I love to do.”
Don’t get Gilroy wrong. He would love another shot at the NHL. He had what he described as, “some feelers from a few teams” following the end of last season.
“I had a good year, and I got some attention off of it, and I thought there might have been a shot at signing, but it didn’t work out,” Gilroy said. “And then when it became likely that the NHL guys weren’t going to be allowed to go [to the Olympics], it was on my mind that I might have a chance.”
Gilroy, who has represented his country at the 2010 World Championships (and the 2016 and 2017 Deutschland Cup tournaments), laughed out loud when asked if he had ever before been an Olympic team candidate moving through USA Hockey.
“No, I wasn’t good enough,” he said. “I got cut from every team possible. I never even made it to a state tournament.”
Now, though, at age 33, he will step onto the ice wearing the colors of the United States of America at the Olympics.
“None of us has illusions about why we’re on the team, but in the end, we’re wearing ‘USA’ across our sweaters, and we’re all proud to represent our country,” Gilroy said. “We are Team USA and we are going after the gold and going to do our best to win a medal and make everyone proud of us.”