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Matthew Clackson (born April 26, 1985) 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 ...
-born
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 ...
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 h ...
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 six seasons in 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) for five different teams. His father,
Kim Clackson Kimbel Gerald Clackson (born February 13, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 106 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 271 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Clackson played for the Winnipeg ...
, 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 ...
(NHL) 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
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 ...
.


Playing career

Clackson attended
Peters Township High School Peters Township High School is a public high school that is located in McMurray, Pennsylvania, United States. The current building was built in 2021. This new building was constructed just up the road from the old school, and was constructed at a c ...
in
McMurray, Pennsylvania McMurray is a census-designated place (CDP) in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,736 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Its zip code is 15317, which it shares with neighboring ...
, and played for the school's varsity ice hockey team, winning two
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
State AA Ice Hockey Championships. He was a teammate of NHLer Christian Hanson at Peters Township. After high school, he played two seasons of Junior A with the
Chicago Steel The Chicago Steel are members of the United States Hockey League, joining the league in 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois, since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in Bense ...
of the
United States Hockey League 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 strictl ...
(USHL) and was selected 215th overall in the
2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...
by the
Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
. Following his draft, he spent three seasons with
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...
of the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
circuit. After his junior season, he decided to forgo his senior year by signing with the Flyers on March 19, 2008. That same day, he was assigned to the
Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum. During schedule ...
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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL); he played two games with the AHL team to close out the 2008–09 season. Clackson then played three full seasons with the Philadelphia/
Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and ...
, re-signing with the Flyers following the 2009–10 season. On June 7, 2011, Clackson was packaged into a trade that sent him, a 2012 third round draft pick and future considerations, to the Phoenix Coyotes, in exchange for goaltender
Ilya Bryzgalov Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov (; russian: Илья Николаевич Брызгалов; born 22 June 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coy ...
. Failing to come to terms with the Coyotes on a new contract, he became an
unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...
on July 1. Several months later, he was invited to 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 (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
on a tryout basis during the team's training camp. On July 14, 2012, Clackson signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals. He will earn $525,000 at the NHL level and $75,000 at the AHL level. On April 2, 2013, he was traded from Washington to the Phoenix Coyotes in return of
Joel Rechlicz Joel Rechlicz ( ; born June 14, 1987) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Rechlicz is well known for playing the enforcer role. By signing a three-year entry level contract with the New York Islanders in May 2008, Rechlicz beca ...
.


NHL video explanation

During the 2011-12 pre-season, Clackson was illegally hit from behind by
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 ...
forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond. In handing down a five-game suspension against Letourneau-Leblond,
Brendan Shanahan Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player who currently serves as the president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the direct ...
, the new head of NHL discipline, posted on the NHL website video of the hit on Clackson to illustrate his ruling - the first of what would become Shanahan's trademark video explanations.Letourneau-Leblond suspension Video - NHL VideoCenter


Career statistics


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clackson, Matt 1985 births Adirondack Phantoms players American men's ice hockey left wingers Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Living people Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players People from Washington County, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Saskatoon Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players