Taylor Matson (born September 16, 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 ...

player currently playing for HV71 in the

Swedish Hockey League The Swedish Hockey League (officially SHL; sv, Svenska Hockeyligan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the highest division in the Swedish ice hockey system. The league currently consists of 14 teams. The league was founded in 1975, an ...

(SHL). He was drafted 176th overall by

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 ...

in the

2007 NHL Entry Draft The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at Nationwide Arena in the city of Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007. The draft ...

. Prior to turning professional, Matson spent four years at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

and 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) and

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

Playing career

Matson was a two sport athlete at the Academy of Holy Angels, playing both tennis and ice hockey. In 2005, Matson led his schools hockey team to the 2005 Class AA state hockey championship. Although he was drafted 25th overall in the 2005

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 strictly ...

(USHL) Draft by the

Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede are a Tier I junior ice hockey team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Stampede are members of the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team plays home games at the Denny Sanford Premier ...

, Matson chose to complete high school before joining the USHL. In varsity tennis, he was named captain his junior and senior year and qualified for the State championship. At the conclusion of the 2006–07 season, Matson was named a finalist for the

Minnesota Mr. Hockey The following is a list of ice hockey players who have been selected over the years to receive the Minnesota Minute Men Mr. Hockey Award as the most outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. The recipients are reviewe ...

award and named a second team all-state. After graduating, Matson joined the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL to conclude their 2006–07 season. While playing with the Buccaneers, Matson was drafted in the 6th round of the

by the

. That year, Matson signed a Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division 1 ice hockey for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2008-09 season.

Collegiate

Matson began his freshman season with the Minnesota Golden Gophers while majoring in Kinesiology. His 2008–09 rookie season with the Gophers was cut short with a knee injury in a 6–3 loss to the Michigan Wolverines in December. He underwent surgery for his knee in December and was projected to miss the remainder of the season. Matson returned for his sophomore season with Gophers healthy after missing 34 games the previous season. He recorded his first collegiate assist on Mike Hoeffel's goal in the season opener against North Dakota. However, he played a total of 19 games before suffering an ankle injury which cut his season short. He won the teams Most Determined Player award at the conclusion of the season and was named to the WCHA All-Academic team. However, Matson bounced back for the 2010–2011 season and played in a career high 33 games as a junior. He recorded 10 goals and three assists and won the Mike Crupi Most Determined Player for the second time. His season was once again cut short due to an injury he suffered on March 4 against Bemidji State and Matson was forced to miss both the final game of the regular season and the post season games against Alaska Anchorage. He was also named to the WCHA All-Academic team again at the conclusion of the season. In his senior year, Matson was named team captain. On March 24, 2012, Matson and the Golden Gophers qualified for the

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

for the first time since 2005 after beating North Dakota. In the 5–2 win, Matson ended a 17-game goal scoring drought. However, the Golden Gophers would lose to the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisio ...

in the Frozen Four 6–1 on April 4.

Professional

On April 7, 2012, after graduating from the University of Minnesota, Matson signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) with the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League and are the top minor-league affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the C ...

of the

(AHL). After recording two points in five games, Matson signed a professional contract with the team for the 2012–13 season. Matson made the

opening night roster for the 2012–13 season. Matson attended the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, that began play for the 2013–14 season. The team plays at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, as the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The team was f ...

training camp prior to the 2013–14 season. On December 27, 2013, after playing in 26 games for the Iowa Wild, he was reassigned to the teams

affiliate, the

Orlando Solar Bears The Orlando Solar Bears are a professional ice hockey team that plays their home games at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and are affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning of t ...

. Matson was named the ECHL Rookie of the Month of February after recording 19 points in 12 games. On March 1, 2014, Matson was recalled to the Iowa Wild after being honored as ECHL Player of the Week. He was reassigned to the ECHL on March 12, along with Colton Jobke. He signed with Rögle BK of the HockeyAllsvenskan in Sweden on July 28, 2014 to compete in the 2014–15 season. In his first season with the team, Matson helped them qualify for the

, the top tier league in the country. He signed an extension with the team on April 12, 2017. Prior to the 2018–19 season, Matson extended his contract with the team and was named an alternate captain alongside Jesper Williamsson and

Ted Brithén Ted Brithén (born November 25, 1990) is a Swedish professional ice hockey forward. He is currently playing with Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Playing career He made his Elitserien (now the SHL) debut playing with Rögle BK dur ...

. Following his seventh season with Rögle BK, helping the club reach the

Le Mat Trophy The Le Mat Trophy ( sv, Le Mat-pokalen, "Le Mat Cup") is the trophy awarded to Swedish champions in ice hockey, which since 1976 has been the winners of the SHL playoffs. The Le Mat is the oldest trophy competed for by professional athletes in S ...

finals, Matson left as a free agent and signed with newly relegated Allsvenskan club, HV71, on June 2, 2021.

Personal life

Matson was born on September 16, 1988, to parents Scott and Lisa Matson.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matson, Taylor 1988 births American men's ice hockey centers American men's ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Des Moines Buccaneers players HV71 players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Iowa Wild players Living people Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL) players Rögle BK players Vancouver Canucks draft picks