Mathew Barzal

Mathew Barzal (born May 26, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who currently plays for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barzal was drafted (16th overall) in the first round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Junior
Barzal was drafted first overall in the 2012 WHL Bantam Draft by the Seattle Thunderbirds. In his first season with the team, in 2013-14, he appeared in 59 regular season games, scoring 14 goals and 40 assists. In the 2014-15 season, he played in 44 games, scoring 57 points with 12 goals and 45 assists. Barzal's final ranking by NHL Central Scouting for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft was 11th.

At the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Barzal was selected in the first round, 16th overall by the New York Islanders. Barzal played for the Thunderbirds for the 2015-16 season and played in 58 games, adding 27 goals and 61 assists for a career high 88 points with the team.

In his final season with Seattle, in 2016-17, he played in 41 games, scoring 10 goals and 69 assists. The Thunderbirds earned a berth in the playoffs and won the Ed Chynoweth Cup as the league's champions. Barzal scored 7 goals and 18 assits for 25 points in 16 playoff games and was named WHL Playoff MVP.

New York Islanders
On September 10th, 2015 Barzal signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders. He made his NHL debut on October 15, 2016 and played 2 games before he returned to the Thunderbirds for the remainder of the 2016-17 WHL season.

Barzal played his first full season for the Islanders in 2017-18. He scored his first point on October 15, 2017, earning an assist on a goal from teammate Josh Bailey. The following game Barzal scored his first NHL goal in a game against the New York Rangers.

On October 26, 2017 he had his first multi-point game as a rookie, adding a goal and an assist in a 6-4 loss against the Minnesota Wild. On November 5 in a 6-4 Islanders' win over the Colorado Avalanche Barzal set a franchise record for assists by a rookie in a game with 5 and also tied New York's franchise record for points by a rookie in one game.

On December 23, in a 5-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets, Barzal recorded his first career hat trick. He became only the fifth player in NHL history to record two 5-point games in his rookie season before he turned 21 years old. On February 9, Barzal made more history as he became the first rookie to record three 5-point games in his rookie campaign since Joe Malone did in the 1917-18 season. The Islanders' won the game 7-6 in a comeback win against the Detroit Red Wings.

International play
Barzal represented Canada at the 2014 IIHF World U18 Championships and helped the team earn a bronze medal. Barzal was invited to the selection camp for Canada’s Under-18 Team in the summer prior to the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He played 7 games in the tournament and added 2 goals and 5 assists, helping Canada win a gold medal at the tournament. Barzal also participated in the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, playing in 7 games and scoring 8 points, leading Canada to a silver medal.