Matt Pelech

Last updated

Matt Pelech
Matt Pelech 2011.jpg
Born (1987-09-04) September 4, 1987 (age 37)
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

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.

Contents

Playing career

As 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 during his tenure with the Flames. Matt Pelech 2009.JPG
Pelech during his tenure with the Flames.

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

Pelech'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

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
2003–04 Sarnia Sting OHL 62461039501112
2004–05 Sarnia StingOHL3115674—————
2005–06 Sarnia StingOHL1802259—————
2005–06 London Knights OHL34178801900048
2006–07 Belleville Bulls OHL58530351711203322
2007–08 Quad City Flames AHL 77369141—————
2008–09 Quad City FlamesAHL59369130—————
2008–09 Calgary Flames NHL 50339—————
2009–10 Abbotsford Heat AHL4228101251304431
2010–11 Abbotsford HeatAHL59325198—————
2011–12 Worcester Sharks AHL59178168—————
2012–13 Worcester SharksAHL58347238—————
2012–13 San Jose Sharks NHL20007—————
2013–14 San Jose SharksNHL610122—————
2013–14 Worcester SharksAHL3231473—————
2014–15 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 152911441114553
2014–15 Rochester Americans AHL3902280—————
2015–16 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 4981220102—————
2016–17 Graz 99ers EBEL 484101413950338
2017–18 ERC Ingolstadt DEL5018911650112
2018–19 EC VSV EBEL4021214118—————
2019–20 Belfast Giants EIHL 454812123—————
AHL totals42518365411531304431
NHL totals1313438—————

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References

  1. ↑ "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.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. 1 2 Granger, Grant (16 May 2010). "Pelech persevered through health scare". Abbotsford News. Retrieved 28 June 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Matt Pelech profile". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Kinvig, Dan (30 June 2011). "Flames GM Feaster seeks veterans to make impact for Heat". Abbotsford News. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  7. ↑ "San Jose Sharks Prospect Report" (PDF). San Jose Sharks Hockey Club. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  8. 1 2 Pollak, David (2 October 2013). "San Jose Sharks call up Matt Pelech from San Francisco Bulls". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  9. ↑ "Matt Pelech player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sharks Re-Sign Defenseman Matt Pelech". San Jose Sharks Hockey Club. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  11. ↑ "Sharks stay unbeaten with 4-1 win over Canucks". ESPN. 10 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Matt Pelech increases defensive depth". Schwenninger Wild Wings (in German). 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "News - Freezers verpflichten Torhüter MacIntyre und Verteidiger Pelech". www.hamburg-freezers.de. Archived from the original on 1 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  14. ↑ (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.
  15. ↑ "Graz99ers - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "MATT PELECH VERSTÄRKT DEN ERC" . Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  17. ↑ Matt Pelech joins the Giants for Season 20
  18. ↑ "Belfast Giants News".
  19. ↑ "Michael Pelech". Elite Prospects.
  20. ↑ "Adam Pelech". Elite Prospects.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
2005 		Succeeded by
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