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Matt Pelech
Matt Pelech 2011
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Height
Weight
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
EBEL Team
F. Teams
Graz 99ers
San Jose Sharks
Calgary Flames
Schwenninger Wild Wings
Nationality Flag of Canada Canadian
Born (1987-09-04)September 4, 1987,
Toronto, ON, CAN
NHL Draft 26th overall, 2005
Calgary Flames
Pro Career 2007 – present

Matt Pelech (born September 4, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for the Graz 99ers in the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL). 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 Calgary 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 Adam Pelech and Michael Pelech, also play professionally.

Playing career[]

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. Pelech recorded his first career point, an assist, three nights later against the Los Angeles Kings. 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.

On July 6, 2011, Pelech was signed by the San Jose Sharks for one year, 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". Pelech, who was moved to the right wing and developed into an enforcer role in the Sharks organization, 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.

The Sharks again re-signed Pelech to a one-year contract prior to the 2013-14 NHL season. 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. 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.

On May 13, 2015, Pelech agree to a one-year contract with Schwenningen Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga [DEL] of Germany. 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. However, the Freezers folded the following month. In September 2016, he signed with the Graz 99ers of the Austrian Hockey League

Personal[]

His younger brothers Michael (born 1989) plays in the ECHL for the Utah Grizzlies and Adam (born 1994) plays in the NHL with the New York Islanders. They are nephews of Former Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis.

Career statistics[]

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 32 3 1 4 73
2012-13 San Jose Sharks NHL 2 0 0 0 7
2013-14 San Jose Shakrs 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
NHL totals 13 1 3 4 38

External links[]

Preceded by
Kris Chucko
Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2005
Succeeded by
Leland Irving


This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Matt Pelech. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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