Matthew William Bradley (born June 13, 1978) is a Canadian
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
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 ...
scout and former player. He currently is a scout for the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
. Bradley played in the
National Hockey League
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 ...
for the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
,
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 ...
, Washington Capitals and 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 ...
. He began working with the Washington Capitals as part of their scouting staff in 2015.
Playing career
Bradley grew up in the Ottawa suburb of Stittsville, Ontario, and played most of his minor hockey for the local Stittsville Rams "C" teams as well as AA for the Ottawa Valley Titans of the ODHA.
After a solid Bantam season in 1993–94 with the Titans, Bradley was drafted and signed with the Cumberland Grads of the Central Junior Hockey League (CJHL). He spent the 1994–95 season with the Grads before being selected in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 1995 OHL Priority Selection by the Kingston Frontenacs.
Bradley was drafted by the
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
in the
1996 NHL Entry Draft
The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season.
...
, in the fourth round, 102nd overall. Prior to signing with the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
, he also played for 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 ...
and
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
.
Though he was not an offensive powerhouse, Bradley effectively carved out a niche for himself as a tough, checking line winger. In the
2007–08 season, Bradley doubled his fight total from the previous year, had a career-high 111 shots on goal, and was third among Capitals forwards in hits, even though he had the second lowest amount of ice time. Bradley improved his plus/minus rating in every season from 2003 to 2008.
Bradley was re-signed by the Capitals on May 27, 2008, to a three-year contract at $1,000,000 per season.
On July 3, 2011, Bradley signed a two-year, one-way contract with 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
2011–12 season, Bradley appeared in only 45 games, his lowest since his rookie season, recording 8 points. With a limited role and dwindling future prospects in June 2012, the Panthers placed Bradley on waivers and subsequently bought out the remaining year on his contract.
With the
2012 NHL lockout
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
in effect, and with limited interest, Bradley signed a month-by-month contract with Finnish second-division club TuTo Hockey on October 29, 2012. After just one game with TuTo, Bradley suffered another concussion and opted to end his agreement and return to Canada for rehabilitation on November 5, 2012.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
Awards and honours
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Matt
1978 births
Living people
Canadian ice hockey forwards
Dornbirn Bulldogs players
Florida Panthers players
Ice hockey people from Ottawa
Kentucky Thoroughblades players
Kingston Frontenacs players
Pittsburgh Penguins players
San Jose Sharks draft picks
San Jose Sharks players
TuTo players
Washington Capitals players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland