Matthew Richard Bartkowski (born June 4, 1988) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who is currently playing for the

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 ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL).

Playing career

Florida Panthers

Bartkowski played high school hockey at Mt. Lebanon High School in suburban

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He was selected by the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the 7th Round (190th overall) of the

2008 NHL Entry Draft The 2008 NHL Entry Draft was the 46th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, on June 20–21, 2008. The Senators were originally awarded the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but because of ...

following his final year in the

USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

with the

Lincoln Stars The Lincoln Stars are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The Stars' home ice is the Ice Box on the former Nebraska State Fair grounds and adjacent to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. History ...

Boston Bruins

On March 3, 2010, the Panthers traded Bartkowski, along with

Dennis Seidenberg Dennis Marvin Seidenberg (born 18 July 1981) is a Germans, German former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New Y ...

, to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

for Byron Bitz, Craig Weller, and a 2nd round

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

choice. On April 29, 2010, Bartkowski was then signed to a two-year entry level contract with the Bruins. On January 10, 2011, Bartkowski made his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins against his hometown team, the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. The Bruins went on to win the game 4-2, with Bartkowski registering two penalty minutes. Matt Bartkowski - Boston Bruins

On June 15, 2011, the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in game seven against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

. Bartkowski got to take part in the Bruins celebration and he also got to raise the Stanley Cup without playing a single playoff game with the Bruins. He did not, however, have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, as a player to have his name inscribed must have played at least 41 games for the championship team during the regular season (provided the player remains with the team when they win the Cup) or played in at least one game of the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

. On May 13, 2013, Bartkowski scored his first NHL goal, notching a playoff goal during Boston's Game seven win over the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in the Conference Quarterfinals of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. On July 14, 2014, Bartkowski signed a one-year extension with the Bruins worth $1.25 million, avoiding arbitration.

Vancouver Canucks

On July 1, 2015, Bartkowski signed a one-year deal with the

. On October 18, 2015, Bartkowski scored his first NHL regular season goal in a 2-1 loss to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

. The goal came in Bartkowski's 137th game played in the NHL. Bartkowski appeared in a career-high 80 games for the Canucks during the 2015-16 season, scoring 18 points. However, the club chose not to re-sign him at season's end, making him an unrestricted free agent. On September 16, 2016, Bartkowski was signed to a professional tryout by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. On October 5, he was released from his professional tryout with the Senators. He returned informally to the Bruins organization in accepting a professional try-out contract with former club, the Providence Bruins of the AHL to begin the 2016–17 season. In 34 games with Providence, Bartkowski added 2 goals and 10 points.

Calgary Flames

On February 15, 2017, Bartkowski was signed to a professional tryout with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

, reuniting him with head coach

Glen Gulutzan Glen Gulutzan (born August 12, 1971) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the Edmonton Oilers. Playing career Gulutzan played junior hockey with the Moose Jaw Warriors, Brandon Wheat Kings and ...

, formerly an assistant in Vancouver. The next day, Bartkowski signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Flames.

Minnesota Wild

On July 1, 2018, as a free agent from the Flames, Bartkowski agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Minnesota Wild. He re-signed with the Wild on another one-year, two-way contract on June 11, 2019.

Later years

As a free agent after three seasons within the Wild organization, Bartkowski agreed to attend the

training camp on a professional tryout basis in preparation for the season. After participating in pre-season, Bartkowski was released by Pittsburgh and signed to a one-year AHL contract with affiliate, the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

, on October 2, 2021. Following a full season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Bartkowski for the second consecutive season went un-signed over the summer. He later joined the Rochester Americans in the AHL, affiliate to 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 ...

, agreeing to a professional tryout contract on October 29, 2022 to begin the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartkowski, Matt 1988 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen American people of Slavic descent Boston Bruins players Calgary Flames players Florida Panthers draft picks Ice hockey players from Pittsburgh Iowa Wild players Lincoln Stars players Minnesota Wild players Ohio State Buckeyes men's ice hockey players Providence Bruins players Rochester Americans players Vancouver Canucks players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players