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Matt Petgrave

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Matt Petgrave
Born (1992-01-29)January 29, 1992,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height
Weight 		6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shoots Left
EIHL team
F. teams 		Sheffield Steelers
HK Spišská Nová Ves
HC Pardubice
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2008–present

Matt Petgrave (born January 29, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing with the Sheffield Steelers in the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He has played in the highest national leagues in Slovakia, Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. He goes by the nickname "Gravy".[1] Petgrave was involved in an on-ice collision with Adam Johnson of the Nottingham Panthers on October 28, 2023; Johnson died as a result the injuries he sustained in the collision.[2]

Early life[]

Matthew Petgrave was born on January 29, 1992 in Toronto, Ontario.[3]

Playing career[]

Junior and collegiate[]

Petgrave started his career in Canada with the Bramalea Blues of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He debuted in the Ontario Hockey League with the Niagara IceDogs where he played in 67 games and scored 25 points.[4]

In the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, he played with the Owen Sound Attack, and midway through the 2011–12 season, he transferred to the Oshawa Generals, where he played until 2013. With the Sound Attack, he recorded 62 points in 98 games across two seasons,[3] and for the Generals he achieved 70 points in 78 games across two seasons.[3] In 2011, he was the Player of the Week in the Ontario Hockey League.[5] With the Generals, Petgrave suffered a broken wrist and missed a considerable number of games, which may have cost him an opportunity for an NHL contract.[6]

Between 2013 and 2017, in college, he played for the University of New Brunswick. From 2016 to 2021, he played for a number of teams in the United States and Canada.[4]

Professional[]

Petgrave's first full season as a professional hockey player was during 2017–18 when he played for the Brampton Beast.[6] Petgrave developed a reputation for his effective defense play and adept skating ability.[6] He represented the North Division in the ECHL All-Star game on January 15, 2018.[1][7][8] He signed several professional tryout contracts with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League during the 2018-19 season, but he was returned to Brampton.[9][6] With Brampton, Petgrave was fined and suspended from play indefinitely as result of an in-game action against the Kalamazoo Wings on April 7, 2018.[10]

Petgrave again played for Brampton in the 2018–19 season. At season end he was named an ECHL First-Team All-Star after recording eight goals, 32 assists, and 40 points in 50 games.[11][12]

Petgrave spent the majority of the 2019–20 season with the Brampton Beast. In 41 appearances with Brampton, Petgrave totaled 33 points with seven goals and 26 assists, and had a plus-minus of five.[3]

In December 2020, he signed with the Florida Everblades.[13]

In 2021–22, he played a season in Slovakia for HK Spišská Nová Ves, and was the second most penalized player in the league.[14] In 2021–22, he played nine games in the Czech Republic for HC Dynamo Pardubice.[3] Since 2022, he has played for the Sheffield Steelers in the United Kingdom.[4] In the 2022–23 season, he was the most penalized player in the EIHL.[15][16]

Involvement in the death of Adam Johnson[]

On October 28, 2023, Adam Johnson of the Nottingham Panthers sustained a fatal injury when his throat was cut by Petgrave's skate during an on-ice collision.[17][2][18] A video of the incident showed Petgrave's left skate kick up as he began to fall after colliding with Johnson.[19] The South Yorkshire Police opened an investigation of the death.[20] Former NHL player Sean Avery assessed the alleged kick as intentional, but not an attempt at murder.[21][22] Johnson's teammate Westin Michaud said that Petgrave's actions "were unintentional and anyone suggesting otherwise is mistaken".[16]

On November 13, 2023, Petgrave received a standing ovation at his team's first home game since the incident, albeit Petgrave did not feature in his team’s roster for the game.[23][24] Petgrave, who is black, was subject to online racial attacks in the aftermath of the incident.[25]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wheeler, Scott. "In one: My four wild days trapped in minor-league hell with the Brampton Beast", The Athletic, 2 February 2018. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Adam Johnson: Nottingham Panthers forward dies after neck cut in Challenge Cup match", BBC Sport, 29 October 2023. (en) 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Matt Petgrave (en).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Who is Matt Petgrave, the player who accidentally killed Adam Johnson in a freak accident in UK ice hockey?", 31 October 2023. (en) 
  5. ↑ Matt Petgrave Named OHL Player of the Week (en-CA) (2011-05-02).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Ries, Mike (11 January 2018). Matt Petgrave, A Talent on the Rise (en-US).
  7. ↑ Pemberton, Michelle. "Wayne Gretzky visits Indy for CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic", Indianapolis Star, 15 January 2018. 
  8. ↑ McDonnell, Andy. "Artur Tyanulin to represent Komets at ECHL All-Star Classic", 4 January 2018. (en-US) 
  9. ↑ Cushman, Kyle. "Toronto Maple Leafs Organizational News & Notes – February 1", 1 February 2018. (en-US) 
  10. ↑ ECHL announces fine, suspension (en) (8 April 2018).
  11. ↑ Hetu, Ethan (19 July 2023). Minor Transactions: 07/19/23 (en-US).
  12. ↑ All-ECHL First and Second Teams announced (en) (4 April 2019).
  13. ↑ Everblades Add Defenseman Matt Petgrave (en) (15 December 2020).
  14. ↑ Elite Prospects - Slovakia Stats 2021-2022 (en).
  15. ↑ Corbella, Enrique. "Hockey world horrified by the kick that killed Adam Johnson: It was a homicide", MARCA TV, 31 October 2023. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Premo, Cole. "Who is Matt Petgrave, the hockey player involved in Adam Johnson's death?", 14 November 2023. (en-US) 
  17. ↑ Snow, Emma. "Adam Johnson: Crowds gather to pay tribute to ice hockey player", BBC News, 4 November 2023. (en-GB) 
  18. ↑ Morgan, Tom. "Police investigate Nottingham Panthers ice hockey player’s death after throat cut by opponent’s blade", The Telegraph, 29 October 2023. (en) 
  19. ↑ Melley, Brian. "A man was arrested in the death of a hockey player whose neck was cut with a skate blade during a game", Associated Press, 14 November 2023. 
  20. ↑ Hartley, Joshua. "Official police statement after death of Nottingham Panthers star Adam Johnson", Nottingham Post, 30 October 2023. Retrieved on 31 October 2023. 
  21. ↑ Morgan, Tom. "Matt Petgrave ‘absolutely intended' clash with Adam Johnson in ice hockey death, says ex-NHL star", The Telegraph, 2023-10-31. (en-GB) 
  22. ↑ Corbella, Enrique. "Hockey world horrified by the kick that killed Adam Johnson: It was a homicide", 31 October 2023. (en) 
  23. ↑ Rumsby, Ben. "Ice hockey player Matt Petgrave gets standing ovation in first home game since rink tragedy", The Telegraph, 2023-11-13. (en-GB) 
  24. ↑ Sheffield Steelers 2:1 OT Coventry Blaze (en).
  25. ↑ Ngabo, Gilbert. "Matt Petgrave is ‘a great guy … and a responsible hockey player,’ former GM says", 15 November 2023. 

External links[]

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Matt Petgrave. 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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