Jonathan Richard Matsumoto (born October 13, 1986) is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey player who is currently playing for Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL2.

Jon Matsumoto
Born (1986-10-13) October 13, 1986 (age 38)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
DEL2 team
Former teams
Krefeld Pinguine
Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers
Schwenninger Wild Wings
Augsburger Panther
EHC München
Iserlohn Roosters
Kölner Haie
NHL draft 79th overall, 2006
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2007–present

Playing career

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Matsumoto began playing collegiate hockey for the Bowling Green State University Falcons during the 2004-05 season. He became just the third freshman in Falcons' history to lead the team in scoring. After two successful seasons, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the third round, 79th overall, of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Following his junior season, Matsumoto began working out with the Flyers' AHL affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms. Flyers' management liked what they saw, and on March 14, 2007, Matsumoto decided to forgo his senior season and signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers.[1] He was assigned to the Phantoms and made his professional debut on March 16, 2007.

 
Matsumoto during his tenure with the Charlotte Checkers.

On June 26, 2010, Philadelphia traded Matsumoto to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2010 seventh-round draft pick.[2] Four months later Matsumoto made his NHL debut on November 1 against the Flyers. Matsumoto scored his first NHL goal on November 3, 2010 against Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders.[3] The game was also his first multi-goal game in the NHL, as he added a second goal in the third period.[3]

Matsumoto was traded by the Hurricanes to the Florida Panthers on January 18, 2012 with Mattias Lindström, in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov and A. J. Jenks.[4]

On July 12, 2012, Matsumoto was signed as a free agent by the San Jose Sharks. He was directly assigned to the Worcester Sharks to start the 2012–13 season due to the NHL lockout. After scoring 32 points in 60 games, Matsumoto was loaned to the Chicago Wolves to end the year on April 8, 2013.[5]

On July 8, 2013, Matsumoto returned to the Florida Panthers organization as a free agent, signing a one-year contract.[6]

After spending the first 7 professional seasons of his career in North America, on May 26, 2014, Matsumoto agreed to his first European contract, signing a one-year deal with German club, Schwenninger Wild Wings of the DEL.[7] After a season with the Wild Wings, Matsumoto joined fellow DEL competitor, Augsburger Panther on a one-year deal on July 23, 2015.[8] He made 52 appearances for the Panthers, tallying 20 goals and 29 assists.

On May 2, 2016, he put pen to paper on a deal with EHC München[9] that had captured the German championship only some weeks earlier. Matsumoto won German championship titles with München in 2017 and 2018, earning DEL Playoff MVP distinction in 2018. On May 4, 2018, he signed with fellow DEL side Iserlohn Roosters.[10]

Matsumoto continued his scoring pace in the 2018–19 season with the Roosters, potting a DEL personal best of 22 goals and 56 points in just 52 games. Despite interest to remain by the club to remain in Iserlohn, Matsumoto continued to build upon his journeyman status in the DEL, signing a one-year contract with his fifth German club, Kölner Haie, on May 2, 2019.[11]

Following four seasons with the Sharks in the DEL, Matsumoto opted to extend his professional career by signing a one-year contract with second tier club, Krefeld Pinguine of the DEL2, on June 30, 2023.[12]

Career statistics

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Cumberland Grads CJHL 8 2 3 5 2 10 4 7 11 2
2003–04 Cumberland Grads CJHL 51 31 32 63 26 7 5 5 10 6
2004–05 Bowling Green State University CCHA 36 18 14 32 22 2 2 0 2 0
2005–06 Bowling Green State University CCHA 36 20 28 48 43 2 2 0 2 0
2006–07 Bowling Green State University CCHA 38 11 22 33 70 2 0 2 2 4
2006–07 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 16 2 2 4 10
2007–08 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 77 20 24 44 52 12 2 2 4 10
2008–09 Philadelphia Phantoms AHL 78 29 34 63 77 4 1 2 3 4
2009–10 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 80 30 32 62 50
2010–11 Charlotte Checkers AHL 65 20 28 48 36 15 3 5 8 12
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 13 2 0 2 4
2011–12 Charlotte Checkers AHL 41 13 21 34 22
2011–12 San Antonio Rampage AHL 35 10 16 26 28 10 4 9 13 8
2011–12 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Worcester Sharks AHL 60 14 18 32 30
2012–13 Chicago Wolves AHL 5 1 0 1 0
2013–14 San Antonio Rampage AHL 29 6 5 11 24
2014–15 Schwenninger Wild Wings DEL 52 14 10 24 36
2015–16 Augsburger Panther DEL 52 20 29 49 54
2016–17 EHC Red Bull München DEL 51 11 25 36 49 14 6 8 14 2
2017–18 EHC Red Bull München DEL 46 11 12 23 20 16 8 6 14 2
2018–19 Iserlohn Roosters DEL 52 22 34 56 18
2019–20 Kölner Haie DEL 52 13 16 29 36
2020–21 Kölner Haie DEL 37 16 22 38 22
2021–22 Kölner Haie DEL 53 15 27 42 20 5 1 1 2 4
2022–23 Kölner Haie DEL 54 11 27 38 24 6 0 0 0 4
AHL totals 486 145 180 325 329 41 10 18 28 34
NHL totals 14 2 0 2 4
DEL totals 449 133 202 335 279 41 15 15 30 12

References

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  1. ^ Staff (2007-03-14). "Matsumoto Leaves BGSU". College Hockey News. Retrieved 2010-12-02.
  2. ^ Preston, Ken (2010-06-26). "Canes Acquire Jonathan Matsumoto From Flyers". Carolina Hurricanes. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
  3. ^ a b "Islanders vs. Hurricanes". Carolina Hurricanes. November 4, 2010. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  4. ^ "Panthers trade Dadonov, Jenks to Hurricanes for Lindstrom". The Sports Network. 2012-01-18. Archived from the original on 2014-08-17. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  5. ^ "San Jose loans Jon Matsumoto to Chicago Wolves". Chicago Wolves. 2013-04-08. Retrieved 2013-04-08.
  6. ^ "Florida Panthers sign Jon Matsumoto and Matt Gilroy". Florida Panthers. 2013-07-08. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
  7. ^ "Wild Wings commit to Jon Matsumoto" (in German). Schwenninger Wild Wings. 2014-05-26. Archived from the original on 2020-05-24. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  8. ^ "Panthers pick center Jon Matsumoto" (in German). Augsburger Panther. 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
  9. ^ "Erste Personalentscheidungen beim EHC Red Bull München". ehcrb. Archived from the original on 2016-05-02. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
  10. ^ "Angreifer Jonathan Matsumoto verlässt Meister München und wechselt zu den Iserlohn Roosters". www.eishockeynews.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-05-04.
  11. ^ "Jon Matsumoto agrees to contract with Cologne" (in German). Kölner Haie. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
  12. ^ "Krefeld Pinguine sign German-Canadian Jon Matsumoto" (in German). Krefeld Pinguine. June 30, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
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