In July 2009 he was briefly detained by police after allegedly throwing a kitchen table from a garage at 3AM. He later stated that in his first years at North Dakota his play suffered due to the amount of time that he spent partying.[3] He was released from the team in August 2009 after being arrested for driving under the influence.[4] Though he almost left college to play professionally, Frattin decided to stay at North Dakota even though he had lost his athletic scholarship. He took one semester off from school and worked two jobs in Edmonton. He worked at his father's two Italian bakeries and for a concrete company run by a family friend.[3][5] Frattin returned to the team in December 2009 and was later found not guilty of all charges.[2][6] He is very close to his North Dakota teammates, many of whom consider him to be a notorious prankster.[2] Several of his teammates have also applauded his humble attitude after returning to North Dakota.[7]
Frattin scored a key goal in North Dakota's playoff victory over their rival Minnesota in the 2010 WCHA playoffs. Another goal that he scored in the playoffs that year was selected by SportsCenter as the play of the day. At the beginning of the 2010 season Frattin won the team's fitness competition after working out extensively during the off season.[2] In 2010 he also made headlines after the WCHA suspended him for one game due to a hit that he delivered against Minnesota.[8]
In the 2010–11 season Frattin was very successful, leading the NCAA Mens Division I in goals scored.[9][10][11] In his senior season Frattin scored more goals than he did in his first three seasons combined.[3] His 36 total goals was the third highest single season goal total in Division I college hockey in the previous 10 years, and the most since Minnesota's Ryan Potulny had 38 in 2005-06. He also accomplished 8 game and 9 game goal scoring streaks during the season.[12] He played a key role in North Dakota's success in the playoffs, scoring two game winning goals in the WCHA playoffs en route to a Frozen Four appearance. He was the WCHA player of the year and was selected as a Hobey Baker Award finalist.[13][14] On April 8, 2011, Frattin signed a two-year entry level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in his first NHL game on April 9, 2011.[15] His first NHL goal was scored on November 19, 2011 against Tomas Vokoun of the Washington Capitals. [16]
Matt Frattin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 23rd, 2013 in a deal with GoaltenderBen Scrivens and a 2nd round pick in the 2014 draft for Jonathan Bernier.
