Jon Matsumoto Explained

Jon Matsumoto
Birth Date:13 October 1986
Birth Place:Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:184
Position:Centre
Shoots:Left
League:DEL2
Team:Krefeld Pinguine
Former Teams:Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers
Schwenninger Wild Wings
Augsburger Panther
EHC München
Iserlohn Roosters
Kölner Haie
Draft:79th overall
Draft Year:2006
Draft Team:Philadelphia Flyers
Career Start:2007

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.

Playing career

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.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

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03Cumberland GradsCJHL823521047112
2003–04Cumberland GradsCJHL5131326326755106
2004–05Bowling Green State UniversityCCHA361814322222020
2005–06Bowling Green State UniversityCCHA362028484322020
2006–07Bowling Green State UniversityCCHA381122337020224
2006–07Philadelphia PhantomsAHL1622410
2007–08Philadelphia PhantomsAHL77202444521222410
2008–09Philadelphia PhantomsAHL782934637741234
2009–10Adirondack PhantomsAHL8030326250
2010–11Charlotte CheckersAHL65202848361535812
2010–11Carolina HurricanesNHL132024
2011–12Charlotte CheckersAHL4113213422
2011–12San Antonio RampageAHL35101626281049138
2011–12Florida PanthersNHL10000
2012–13Worcester SharksAHL6014183230
2012–13Chicago WolvesAHL51010
2013–14San Antonio RampageAHL29651124
2014–15Schwenninger Wild WingsDEL5214102436
2015–16Augsburger PantherDEL5220294954
2016–17EHC Red Bull MünchenDEL51112536491468142
2017–18EHC Red Bull MünchenDEL46111223201686142
2018–19Iserlohn RoostersDEL5222345618
2019–20Kölner HaieDEL5213162936
2020–21Kölner HaieDEL3716223822
2021–22Kölner HaieDEL531527422051124
2022–23Kölner HaieDEL541127382460004
AHL totals4861451803253294110182834
NHL totals142024
DEL totals4491332023352794115153012

Notes and References

  1. News: Matsumoto Leaves BGSU. Staff. College Hockey News. 2007-03-14. 2010-12-02.
  2. News: Canes Acquire Jonathan Matsumoto From Flyers . Preston . Ken . Carolina Hurricanes . 2010-06-26 . 2010-06-26.
  3. Web site: Islanders vs. Hurricanes . Carolina Hurricanes . November 4, 2010 . November 4, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110809080125/http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/boxscore.htm?id=2010020166 . August 9, 2011 . dead .
  4. Web site: Panthers trade Dadonov, Jenks to Hurricanes for Lindstrom . . 2012-01-18 . 2012-01-18 . 2014-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140817030418/http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=385443 . dead .
  5. Web site: San Jose loans Jon Matsumoto to Chicago Wolves . . 2013-04-08 . 2013-04-08.
  6. Web site: Florida Panthers sign Jon Matsumoto and Matt Gilroy . . 2013-07-08 . 2013-07-08.
  7. Web site: Wild Wings commit to Jon Matsumoto . . 2014-05-26 . 2014-05-26 . German . 2020-05-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200524195754/http://www.wildwings.de/web/news/news-detailseite/?tx_news_pi1=detail%2F . dead .
  8. Web site: Panthers pick center Jon Matsumoto . . 2015-07-23 . 2015-07-23 . German.
  9. Web site: Erste Personalentscheidungen beim EHC Red Bull München. ehcrb. 2016-05-02. https://web.archive.org/web/20160502231347/http://www.redbullmuenchen.de/de/news/erste-personalentscheidungen-beim-ehc-red-bull-muenchen. 2016-05-02. dead.
  10. Web site: Angreifer Jonathan Matsumoto verlässt Meister München und wechselt zu den Iserlohn Roosters. www.eishockeynews.de. de. 2018-05-04.
  11. Web site: Jon Matsumoto agrees to contract with Cologne . . 2019-05-02 . 2019-05-02 . German.
  12. Web site: Krefeld Pinguine sign German-Canadian Jon Matsumoto . . June 30, 2023 . June 30, 2023 . German .