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Matt Grzelcyk

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Matt Grzelcyk
Grzelcyk with the Boston Bruins in December 2019
Born (1994-01-05) January 5, 1994 (age 30)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Pittsburgh Penguins
Boston Bruins
NHL draft 85th overall, 2012
Boston Bruins
Playing career 2016–present

Matthew Grzelcyk (/ˈɡrɪzlɪk/ GRIZ-lik;[1] born January 5, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman. He is currently playing with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Boston Bruins with the 85th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.[2]

Playing career

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As a youth, Grzelcyk played in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Middlesex Islanders minor ice hockey team, along with teammates Jon Gillies and Miles Wood.[3]

Grzelcyk attended Belmont Hill School before joining the USNTDP of the USHL, winning a gold medal at the 2012 U18 World Juniors in the Czech Republic. He committed to play for Boston University in the Hockey East Conference of the NCAA.

He was named to the Hockey East All-Freshman team in 2012. He was selected to the preliminary roster for the 2013 World Juniors but did not make the final cut.[4]

He served as captain of the Terriers his junior and senior season.[5] He was named an assistant captain at the 2014 World Juniors but the US did not medal. He scored the overtime winning goal in the 63rd Beanpot that gave BU their 30th title, and was named the tournament MVP.[6] He played 124 games during his four-year career at BU, scoring 26 goals and assisting on 69.[7]

On April 1, 2016, he signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins, starting with the 2016–17 season. He joined Boston's affiliate Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) on an Amateur Tryout Agreement for the rest of the 2015–16 campaign.[8]

On December 14, 2016, Grzelcyk made his NHL debut with the Bruins in a 4–3 OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.[9]

Grzelcyk spent 6 weeks of the 2017-2018 season playing with the Providence Bruins before returning to the NHL on November 22, 2017 [10]

On November 22, 2017, in a game against the New Jersey Devils, Grzelcyk got his first NHL assist on a goal from teammate Jake DeBrusk.[11] On November 24, 2017, Grzelcyk scored his first NHL goal in a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.[12]

During the summer before the 2018–19 season, Grzelcyk signed a two-year contract to stay with the Bruins.[13] Grzelcyk and the Bruins qualified for the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, where he suffered a head injury as the result of an elbow to the head by Blues center Oskar Sundqvist.[14] Sundqvist was suspended for Game 3 of the finals,[14] although the Blues eventually won the Stanley Cup in seven games.[15]

After eight seasons with the Boston Bruins, Grzelcyk left the organization as a free agent and was signed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract for the 2024–25 season by the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2024.[16]

Personal life

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Grzelcyk's father and older brother, both named John, work at TD Garden. John Grzelcyk Sr. started working at Boston Garden in 1967 and has stayed with the organization ever since. On October 25, 2021 Grzelcyk's father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, while undergoing radiation treatments John Sr. continued work at TD Garden.[17] The two elder Grzelcyks are members of the arena's "bull gang", which converts the building from hockey to basketball and back: John Jr. is also a Zamboni driver for certain Bruins games.[18]

Growing up, Grzelcyk lived a block from the Charlestown rink at Edwards Playground. He also grew up with fellow 2012 NHL Entry Draft pick Jimmy Vesey. The two first met when they were around the age of six, playing hockey together for a team named the Middlesex Islanders.[19]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Belmont Hill School HS-Prep 31 2 18 20 30 — — — — —
2010–11 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 36 1 9 10 28 2 0 0 0 2
2010–11 U.S. NTDP U17 USDP 55 2 16 18 40 — — — — —
2011–12 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 24 1 10 11 6 — — — — —
2011–12 U.S. NTDP U18 USDP 60 3 20 23 22 — — — — —
2012–13 Boston University HE 38 3 20 23 26 — — — — —
2013–14 Boston University HE 19 3 8 11 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Boston University HE 41 10 28 38 36 — — — — —
2015–16 Boston University HE 27 10 13 23 36 — — — — —
2016–17 Providence Bruins AHL 70 6 26 32 18 17 0 3 3 8
2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 61 3 12 15 22 11 0 1 1 4
2017–18 Providence Bruins AHL 14 0 4 4 14 — — — — —
2018–19 Boston Bruins NHL 66 3 15 18 68 20 4 4 8 6
2019–20 Boston Bruins NHL 68 4 17 21 34 12 0 1 1 4
2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 37 5 15 20 22 11 1 3 4 4
2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 73 4 20 24 24 5 0 0 0 6
2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 75 4 22 26 28 4 0 0 0 0
2023–24 Boston Bruins NHL 63 2 9 11 37 3 0 0 0 2
NHL totals 445 25 110 135 237 66 5 9 14 26

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 United States U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 1 5 6 2
2012 United States U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 1 0 1 2
2014 United States WJC 5th 5 2 4 6 2
Junior totals 16 4 9 13 6

References

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  1. ^ Kennedy, Ryan. "Boston Fairytale: Bruins Pick Ends Beanpot in Overtime," The Hockey News, Tuesday, February 24 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  2. ^ "Matthew Grzelcyk". National Hockey League. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  4. ^ "Hockey's Future - Matt Grzelcyk". Hockey's Future. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ Conor Ryan (30 April 2015). "Matt Grzelcyk's return prompted by more than just unfinished business". The Daily Free Press. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  6. ^ "Bruins Prospect Matt Grzelcyk's OT Goal Wins Beanpot For BU (Video) - Beanpot - NESN.com". New England Sports Network. Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  7. ^ "Bruins sign BU's Matt Grzelcyk to two-year, entry-level deal". CSNNE.com. April 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  8. ^ "Bruins Sign Matt Grzelcyk To An Entry-Level Contract". bruins.nhl.com. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  9. ^ "Matt Beleskey placed on LTIR, Bruins recall Matt Grzelcyk". CSNNE. 2016-12-14. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  10. ^ "Matt Grzelcyk Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  11. ^ NHL (November 22, 2017). DeBrusk scores on the rush (Motion picture). New Jersey: NHL.com.
  12. ^ Russo, Eric (November 24, 2017). "First Goal Holds Special Place for Grzelcyks". BostonBruins.com. NHL. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  13. ^ "Bruins Sign Matt Grzelcyk To Two-Year Contract". NHL.com. June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Blues' Sundqvist suspended for Game 3". cbc.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. May 30, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  15. ^ Rosen, Dan. "Blues win Stanley Cup for first time, defeat Bruins in Game 7 of Final". National Hockey League. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  16. ^ "Penguins sign Matt Grzelcyk to a one-year contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Grzelcyk's dad still on job at TD Garden after prostate cancer treatment". NHL.com. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  18. ^ Doyle, Bill (December 15, 2016). "Finally, Charlestown's Matt Grzelcyk steps into TD Garden as a Bruin, not a fan". telegram.com. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  19. ^ Prewitt, Alex (November 27, 2015). "Prospects and pals, Matt Grzelcyk and Jimmy Vesey make NHL wait". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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