Dylan and Matthew Krayer are living in the moment.
This season may be the last time the two brothers play on the same team.
“We are cherishing it,” Matthew said. “We want to build memories and have fun with each other.”
Dylan, 19, and Matthew, 18, play for the Tri-City Storm in the USHL. They’re not just teammates — they’re linemates. Dylan plays left wing, Matthew the right, and Jackson Smith centers them.
They’re also the Storm’s most productive line. Dylan leads Tri-City with 16 points in 13 games, Smith is second with 15, and Matthew is fourth with 12. Three of the Storm’s top four scorers are on one line.
Kearney, Neb., is roughly 1,500 miles from where this started.
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The Krayer brothers grew up in Concord, Mass. They began their competitive hockey careers with the Assabet Valley Patriots before suiting up for the Middlesex Islanders.
Then came the move to Mount St. Charles. Dylan, being the older brother, made the move first in 2021. A year later, when Matthew was eligible to play for the 14U team, he followed suit to Woonsocket, R.I.
“It was a great experience,” Dylan said.
After two-plus successful seasons at Mount for both Dylan and Matthew, the Krayer brothers jumped to juniors. That was the first time the two went their separate ways.
Dylan moved to the BCHL to play for the West Kelowna Warriors at the start of the 2024-25 season, and halfway through that same season, right after the CHL ruling, Matthew left Mount for the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs.
The two being in different places didn’t last long, though, as Dylan left the Warriors to join his younger brother in the QMJHL for the conclusion of the season. Both wanted to stay in Saint John the following season too.
At least that was the plan.
Dylan got cut during the last day of training camp before the 2025-26 season, while Matthew made the team.
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“It was tough. It was hard at the time because I worked super, super hard that summer,” Dylan said. “I was pretty devastated that day. It was a long drive home, but I believe that everything happens for a reason.”
As a result, Dylan returned to West Kelowna and racked up 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) in 54 regular season games. “I made it a point to get a lot better,” Dylan said.
Even though Matthew made the team in Saint John, he wasn’t without struggles either. In 58 regular season games, he registered just 13 points.
He felt confident he was in for a big season, felt he had the training camp and preseason to prove it, and was being rewarded for his efforts.
“I just lost confidence as the year went on, and was kind of battling myself, and it was tough — it was hard,” he said.
Despite being across the continent from each other, the two remained in constant communication. They constantly pushed and motivated each other; they both feel like they're where they are today because of that.
Both Dylan and Matthew needed a fresh start after last season. That’s where Tri-City came into focus.
“I think coming here and jumping the next level up from the BCHL before college was really important,” Dylan, who is committed to Arizona State, said. “I was ready to take the next step.”
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“To come to a new place and restart was the perfect thing not only for my play, but for my mind too,” Matthew added.
The Storm held both Krayers’ rights, and with John Torchetti, a coach with NHL head-coaching experience, behind the bench, both brothers saw Tri-City as the right fit.
Now, as both settle in at what’s likely their last stops in juniors, it’s about growing as hockey players. Torchetti said there were questions about “their overall 60-minute game consistency” entering the season.
“They’re putting the time in,” Torchetti said. “They built a work ethic into our team because of how hard they work, and the other guys see it.”
Ivan Fenes, an assistant coach for Tri-City, echoed a similar sentiment.
“I see their faces after every practice, every meeting,” he said. “They always have questions. They aren’t just talking, either. They are proving it in practice and in games.”
They’ve been rewarded for that drive. They play top-six minutes, and play on both the power play and penalty kill together, too. But they aren’t satisfied.
Dylan has taken pride in improving his defensive game. People didn’t talk about that as a strength of his before. Now, he thinks people will.
“Over the past year, that’s changed a lot,” he said. “I’ve really changed my defensive game. You have to learn how to play both ends of the puck. And when you play good defense, you’re just gonna play more offense.”
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Matthew is working on the smaller details: being the third forward in the offensive zone, finding a trailer on a rush, supporting the blueliners down low in the defensive zone.
The Krayer brothers finally found the place where they can both excel. Tri-City had owned both their rights since 2023 and 2024. It still took them years to get there.
When asked whether either Dylan or Matthew had any regrets about their previous decisions, they paused to think.
“I don’t really have any, to be honest,” Dylan said first. “I’ve had tons of ups and downs. There’ve been some tough times when you don’t live up to expectations.”
“I’ve learned a lot about myself. I have honestly no regrets now, based on this season and where I’m at now. I’m very happy to be here,” he concluded.
“Obviously, you can look back and say, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have done that,’ but at the time, in those moments, I think every decision I made was the right one,” Matthew said, following his older brother. “Things didn’t always go as planned, but I think I’ve taken away a lot of good from junior hockey.”
Dylan also offered advice to younger players navigating the junior hockey landscape. It boiled down to four words that the brothers live by as they enjoy playing together.
“Stay in the moment,” Dylan said. “There’s a lot to stress about in junior hockey, whether that’s your schooling or your billet family, or even the coaches and stuff. Just live in the moment, make the most of it.”
