With a solid work ethic along with some tough play in his own zone Pepe made waves during the exibition schedule and as a result was named the Rangers' first ever wild card underager.  The 'wild card' was a concept to allow each team to carry one underager taken after the first two rounds of the OHL draft to play for the team.  Hence Matt Pepe became the first ever Kitchener Rangers' wildcard, and in the process also the lowest drafted underager to make the team.  In the near future, at least Pepe figures to remain the lowest drafted underager for a while.

Due to some of the Rangers' backend injuries to overagers: Marcus Smith and then Alex MacDonell who replaced him, Pepe became the first Ranger in recent history to play in several "Double-headers," first aiding the Cambridge Winterhawks, the Rangers' farm team and then going to battle for the Rangers giving the Rangers some much needed defensive depth down the stretch run.

While patrolling the blueline for the Cambridge Winterhawks, Pepe also displayed a flair for the offensive totalling 17 points in only 29 games.  With the Rangers he was occasionally guilty of trying to make the big hit at inopportune times in order to impress while on the bigger stage in the OHL.

In stature Pepe would remind fans of former defender: Jason Johnson, though it would appear with a jump start on Johnson that Pepe has a significantly greater upside.  To be effective Pepe needs to work on moving the puck and continue to use his solid body to dish out checks as well as impede the progress of opposition players.