Matt Pelech

Matt Pelech
Born	(1987-09-04) September 4, 1987 (age 36) 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.

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.

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 inked 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	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		58	3	4	7	238		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	San Jose Sharks	NHL		2	0	0	0	7		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	San Jose Sharks	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
2017–18	ERC Ingolstadt	DEL		50	1	8	9	116		5	0	1	1	2
2018–19	EC VSV	EBEL		40	2	12	14	118		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Belfast Giants	EIHL		45	4	8	12	123		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				425	18	36	54	1153		13	0	4	4	31
NHL totals				13	1	3	4	38		—	—	—	—	—

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. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
3. "Iginla has goal, assist; Flaems can clinch division with regulation win Tuesday". ESPN. 6 April 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
4. 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. 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.

External links

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

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