Matt Niskanen

Matt Niskanen
Matt Niskanen
	Niskanen with the Capitals in 2016.
Born	December 6, 1986 (age 37); Virginia, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Right
NHL team; Former teams	Washington Capitals; Dallas Stars; Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	United States
NHL draft	28th overall, 2005; Dallas Stars
Playing career	2007–present

Matthew Norman Niskanen (born December 6, 1986) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman of Finnish origin who currently plays for the Washington Capitals. He was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the first round, 28th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

Niskanen attended the University of Minnesota Duluth. In 2005–06, during his freshman season, he recorded 14 points in 38 games. Before that, Niskanen played for the Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl boys' hockey team and helped bring the Blue Devils to their first state high school tournament appearance. During 2006–07, his sophomore season at UMD, he recorded nine goals and twenty-two assists in thirty-nine games. Niskanen was named to the 2006–07 All WCHA First Team,^[2] and the All WCHA academic Team.^[3]

Niskanen decided to leave college and turn pro after his sophomore season at UMD.^[4] On March 19, 2007, he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Iowa Stars for the rest of the season; he later signed a three-year NHL contract with the Dallas Stars which began in 2007–08. He subsequently made the Stars' 2007–08 roster out of training camp.

Professional

Niskanen made his NHL regular season debut against the Colorado Avalanche on October 3, 2007. He recorded his first NHL points against the Boston Bruins two nights later with two assists. His first NHL goal came on October 29, 2007, against the San Jose Sharks. Niskanen had an excellent rookie start with the Stars, leading the team in plus/minus at mid-season, which resulted in his being invited to the Young Stars game during the 2008 NHL All-Star weekend.

On February 21, 2011, Niskanen was traded, along with teammate James Neal, to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Alex Goligoski.^[5]

On March 4, 2014, Matt Niskanen had his first multi-goal game with a two-goal effort in a 3-1 win over the Nashville Predators at the Bridgestone Arena.^[6]

In the final year of his contract with the Penguins and approaching free agency, Niskanen finished the 2013–14 season establishing new career highs in goals (10) & assists (36) for 46 points.

On July 1, 2014, Niskanen signed a seven-year, $40.25 million contract as a free agent with the Washington Capitals.^[7]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005–06	Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	38	1	13	14	40	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	39	9	22	31	42	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Iowa Stars	AHL	13	0	3	3	6	12	2	5	7	10
2007–08	Dallas Stars	NHL	78	7	19	26	36	16	0	3	3	10
2008–09	Dallas Stars	NHL	80	6	29	35	52	—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Dallas Stars	NHL	74	3	12	15	18	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Dallas Stars	NHL	45	0	6	6	30	—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	18	1	3	4	20	7	0	1	1	0
2011–12	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	75	4	17	21	47	4	1	2	3	6
2012–13	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	40	4	10	14	12	15	0	2	2	11
2013–14	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	81	10	36	46	51	13	2	7	9	8
2014–15	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	4	27	31	47	14	0	4	4	0
2015–16	Washington Capitals	NHL	82	5	27	32	38	12	0	3	3	6
NHL totals			655	44	186	230	351	81	3	22	25	41

International

Year	Team	Event	Result	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2006	United States	WJC	4th	7	0	0	0	6
2009	United States	WC	4th	9	1	2	3	2
Junior totals				7	0	0	0	6
Senior totals				9	1	2	3	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	2006–07

References

^ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League.
^ "Niskanen selected to All WCHA First Team". UMD Bulldogs. 2006-03-30. Retrieved 2010-07-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "All WCHA Academic Team announced". UMD Bulldogs. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2010-06-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "Matt Niskanen to sign with Stars". Duluth News Tribune. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2008-07-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) ^{[dead link]}
^ "Penguins acquire James Neal and Matt Niskanen from Stars for Alex Goligoski". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-02-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/results/2013-2014/recap57937.html
^ "Capitals add two Penguins defencemen in free agency". Washington Post. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Mark Fistric	Dallas Stars first round draft pick 2005	Succeeded by Ivan Vishnevskiy

[draft-1] "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League.

[2] "Niskanen selected to All WCHA First Team". UMD Bulldogs. 2006-03-30. Retrieved 2010-07-20. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[3] "All WCHA Academic Team announced". UMD Bulldogs. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2010-06-07. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[4] "Matt Niskanen to sign with Stars". Duluth News Tribune. 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2008-07-06. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) ^{[dead link]}

[5] "Penguins acquire James Neal and Matt Niskanen from Stars for Alex Goligoski". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-02-21. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[6] ttp://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/results/2013-2014/recap57937.html

[7] "Capitals add two Penguins defencemen in free agency". Washington Post. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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