Matt Pelech (born September 4, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman/forward who last played for and captained the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He formerly played with the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Pelech was a draft pick of the Flames, selected in the first round, 26th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut in 2009 as a defenceman with the Flames. He has since switched to right wing and become known as an enforcer. His brothers, Michael Pelech and Adam Pelech, also play professionally.
| Matt Pelech | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
September 4, 1987 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 230 lb (104 kg; 16 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defenseman/Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| EIHL team Former teams |
Belfast Giants Calgary Flames San Jose Sharks Schwenninger Wild Wings Graz 99ers ERC Ingolstadt EC VSV | ||
| NHL draft |
26th overall, 2005 Calgary Flames | ||
| Playing career | 2007–present | ||
Playing career
editAs a youth, Pelech played in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Vaughan.[1]
Pelech played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Sarnia Sting, London Knights and Belleville Bulls. In 2007, he was assigned to the Quad City Flames of the American Hockey League. He was recalled by the Flames on April 4, 2009, making his NHL debut that night against the Minnesota Wild.[2] Pelech recorded his first career point, an assist, three nights later against the Los Angeles Kings.[3] He joined the Abbotsford Heat for the 2009–10 season when the Flames relocated their AHL team. He was sidelined in January 2010 with a blood clot in his arm, an ailment team doctors initially feared was season ending. Pelech recovered in time to join the Heat for their playoff run, appearing in all 13 of the team's post-season games.[4]
Pelech appeared in 59 games for the Heat in 2010–11, scoring 3 goals, 2 assists and adding 198 penalties in minutes (PIM).[5] The Flames chose not to offer Pelech a new contract following the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.[6] Pelech signed with the San Jose Sharks, spending the season with their AHL affiliate, the Worcester Sharks. He appeared in 59 games during the 2011–12 AHL season, where he scored eight points and had 168 PIM. He was an alternate captain in Worcester, and was voted the team's "unsung hero".[7] Pelech, who was moved to the right wing and developed into an enforcer role in the Sharks organization,[8] returned to Worcester for the 2012–13 season where he recorded seven points in 58 games and added a career-high 238 PIM. He also appeared in two games with San Jose.[9]
The Sharks again re-signed Pelech to a one-year contract prior to the 2013–14 NHL season.[10] Following a training camp in which he worked to prove he could be more than just a fighter, Pelech was initially assigned to the San Francisco Bulls of the ECHL, but was recalled to San Jose for the season opening game when the Sharks' coaching staff felt the team required a greater physical presence.[8] He scored his first NHL goal – the game winner – against goaltender Roberto Luongo in a 4–1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on October 10, 2013.[11]
On May 13, 2015, Pelech agreed to a one-year contract with German outfit, Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL.[12] He made 49 appearances in his sole season with the Wild Wings, tallying eight goals and twelve assists. In April 2016, Pelech inked a two-year deal with fellow DEL team Hamburg Freezers.[13] However, the Freezers folded the following month.[14] In September 2016, he signed with the Graz 99ers of the Austrian Hockey League,[15]
After one season in Austria, Pelech moved back to Germany for the 2017–18 season as he signed a one-year deal with ERC Ingolstadt on May 23, 2017.[16] On July 10, 2019, Pelech moved to the United Kingdom's Elite Ice Hockey League, signing for defending league champions the Belfast Giants whom he captained.[17][18]
Personal
editPelech's younger brother Michael (born 1989) plays in the ECHL for the Indy Fuel,[19] while brother Adam (born 1994) plays in the NHL.[20] They are nephews of former Vancouver Canucks general manager and NHL player Mike Gillis.[4]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 62 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2004–05 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 31 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Sarnia Sting | OHL | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | London Knights | OHL | 34 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 80 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| 2006–07 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 58 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 171 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 | ||
| 2007–08 | Quad City Flames | AHL | 77 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 141 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Quad City Flames | AHL | 59 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 130 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Abbotsford Heat | AHL | 42 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 125 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 31 | ||
| 2010–11 | Abbotsford Heat | AHL | 59 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 198 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 59 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 58 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 238 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 32 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Utah Grizzlies | ECHL | 15 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 53 | ||
| 2014–15 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 39 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Schwenninger Wild Wings | DEL | 49 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Graz 99ers | EBEL | 48 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 139 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2017–18 | ERC Ingolstadt | DEL | 50 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 116 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | EC VSV | EBEL | 40 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 118 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Belfast Giants | EIHL | 45 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 425 | 18 | 36 | 54 | 1153 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 31 | ||||
| NHL totals | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
- ^ "Wild keep desperate playoff hopes afloat as Flames stumble towards postseason". ESPN. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "Iginla has goal, assist; Flaems can clinch division with regulation win Tuesday". ESPN. 6 April 2009. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ a b Granger, Grant (16 May 2010). "Pelech persevered through health scare". Abbotsford News. Retrieved 28 June 2010. [permanent dead link]
- ^ "Matt Pelech profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ Kinvig, Dan (30 June 2011). "Flames GM Feaster seeks veterans to make impact for Heat". Abbotsford News. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "San Jose Sharks Prospect Report" (PDF). San Jose Sharks Hockey Club. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ a b Pollak, David (2 October 2013). "San Jose Sharks call up Matt Pelech from San Francisco Bulls". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Matt Pelech player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Sharks Re-Sign Defenseman Matt Pelech". San Jose Sharks Hockey Club. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
- ^ "Sharks stay unbeaten with 4-1 win over Canucks". ESPN. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ^ "Matt Pelech increases defensive depth". Schwenninger Wild Wings (in German). 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ^ "News - Freezers verpflichten Torhüter MacIntyre und Verteidiger Pelech". www.hamburg-freezers.de. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Bid to save Hamburg Freezers DEL ice hockey team comes up short | Sports | DW.COM | 25.05.2016". DW.COM. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ "Graz99ers - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
- ^ "MATT PELECH VERSTÄRKT DEN ERC". Retrieved 23 May 2017.
- ^ Matt Pelech joins the Giants for Season 20
- ^ "Belfast Giants News".
- ^ "Michael Pelech". Elite Prospects.
- ^ "Adam Pelech". Elite Prospects.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database