Christian Matte (born January 20, 1975) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played briefly in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

and

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

Playing career

As a youth, Matte played in the 1988

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

team from

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

. Matte first played competitive major junior hockey with Abitibi Forestiers in the Quebec QAAA before moving on the

Granby Bisons The Granby Bisons were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Granby, Quebec, and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They team was founded in 1981 in after the team moved from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, where they had previousl ...

in the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

. In his first season in 1992–93 he complied 53 points in 68 games to be named in the QMJHL All-Rookie Team. Matte was consequently drafted by the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

in the 6th round, 153rd overall in the

1993 NHL Entry Draft The 1993 NHL Entry Draft was the 31st NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 26, 1993, at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec. First overall pick Alexandre Daigle is widely regarded today as one of the all-time greatest draft busts ...

. After being drafted Matte reported back to the Bisons and played another two years with the team developing a strong scoring touch earning a place in the QMJHL Second All-Star team and scoring 50 goals and 116 points in 66 games his final year there. For the 1995–96 season Matte turned pro and joined the

Cornwall Aces The Cornwall Aces were the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Quebec Nordiques from 1993 to 1995 and the relocated Colorado Avalanche in 1995–96. They were based in the eastern Ontario city of Cornwall and pla ...

in the AHL. The following year the Nordiques relocated to Colorado and Matte joined the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

who became the Avalanche's new minor league affiliate. That same season Matte also made his NHL debut and played in 5 games with the Avalanche. Matte then played the majority of the next three years with the Bears. In the 1999–2000 season, his last within the Avalanche organization, Matte scored an impressive 104 points in 73 games with Hershey to be awarded the

John B. Sollenberger Trophy The John B. Sollenberger Trophy is given to American Hockey League's leading scorer for the season. History The award was named for John B. Sollenberger in 1955. Sollenberger was a long-time contributor to the league as manager and president of ...

as the AHL leading scorer. Despite averaging more than a point per game in the minors Matte was not able to crack the Avalanche lineup and never played more than 7 games in a season with the Avalanche. For the 2000–01 season Matte signed as a free agent with the newly formed Minnesota Wild where he would have a better chance of cracking the starting lineup. However, Matte played only three games with the Wild before being sent to the

Cleveland Lumberjacks The Cleveland Lumberjacks were an International Hockey League (IHL) team based in Cleveland, Ohio. Facts :Owner: Larry Gordon :Logo design: "Buzz"- A beaver wearing overalls holding a homemade hockey stick framed by a circular saw blade :Divis ...

of the IHL for the remainder of the season, leading the IHL in scoring with 38 goals. The next year Matte signed with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

but never played a game with them, instead playing with their minor league affiliate

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, a ...

. From the 2002–03 season until the 2003–04 season Matte played in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

before retiring.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matte, Christian 1975 births Living people Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cleveland Lumberjacks players Colorado Avalanche players Cornwall Aces players GCK Lions players Granby Bisons players HC Ambrì-Piotta players Hershey Bears players Minnesota Wild players Quebec Nordiques draft picks Rochester Americans players ZSC Lions players Ice hockey people from Gatineau