Matt Iacopelli

Matheson Iacopelli (born May 15, 1994) is an American former professional ice hockey winger. He was drafted 83rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Playing career Amateur Iacopelli joined the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL during the 2013–14 season. He was the leading scorer for Muskegon as a 19-year-old USHL rookie, as he led the league with 41 goals and had 23 assists in 58 regular season games. Although older than most draft-eligible prospects, he was rated as the 98th best prospect going into the 2014 NHL Draft by Central Scouting. Central Scouting director Dan Marr described him as a "late bloomer". The Black Hawks traded Brandon Bollig to the Calgary Flames in exchange for the pick used to select Iacopelli.

During the 2014–15 season, Iacopelli scored 23 goals for Muskegon in his second USHL season, sharing the team lead with Tom Marchin. He had 14 assists and was -16 with 38 penalty minutes that year as well. According to Iacopelli "I never really had to use my body, or protect the puck in the corners, stuff like that. Definitely, last year was a bit of an adjustment. The players are faster, stronger, bigger. This year I think I'm utilizing my size and learning how to protect the puck."

Professional After his sophomore season with the Broncos in the 2016–17 season, Iacopelli opted to end his collegiate career in agreeing to a two-year entry-level contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 29, 2017. He immediately joined AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs, to play out the remainder of the year.

During the 2018–19 season, while stagnating within the Blackhawks AHL and ECHL affiliate's, Iacopelli was traded by Chicago to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Spencer Watson on February 24, 2019. He was assigned to play out the remainder of the season with the Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL.

Having completed his entry-level contract with the Kings, Iacopelli was not tendered a qualifying offer and was released to free agency on June 25, 2019. Unable to attract NHL interest, Iacopelli agreed to a contract with the Kalamazoo Wings of the ECHL on September 9, 2019. After three seasons with the Kalamazoo Wings, Iacopelli was traded to the Jacksonville Icemen in exchange for future considerations on March 14, 2023.

Personal Iacopelli is the son of Marco Iacopelli and Victoria DePalma. He has two sisters and two brothers. Iacopelli graduated from Woodhaven High School in 2012.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2011–12 Texas Tornado NAHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2012–13 Springfield Jr. Blues NAHL 4 3 1 4 0 — — — — — 2013–14 Muskegon Lumberjacks USHL 58 41 23 64 47 — — — — — 2014–15 Muskegon Lumberjacks USHL 56 23 14 37 38 11 5 2 7 10 2015–16 Western Michigan University NCHC 27 1 6 7 6 — — — — — 2016–17 Western Michigan University NCHC 40 20 16 36 20 — — — — — 2016–17 Rockford IceHogs AHL 8 1 3 4 0 — — — — — 2017–18 Rockford IceHogs AHL 50 11 8 19 10 — — — — — 2017–18 Indy Fuel ECHL 10 9 1 10 0 — — — — — 2018–19 Rockford IceHogs AHL 27 2 2 4 19 — — — — — 2018–19 Indy Fuel ECHL 9 4 0 4 4 — — — — — 2018–19 Manchester Monarchs ECHL 12 2 3 5 6 1 0 0 0 0 2019–20 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 41 16 15 31 31 — — — — — 2021–22 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 61 21 15 36 33 — — — — — 2022–23 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 46 16 13 29 23 — — — — — 2022–23 Jacksonville Icemen ECHL 12 4 4 8 4 12 4 1 5 4 2023–24 Jacksonville Icemen ECHL 60 27 13 40 26 7 1 1 2 4 AHL totals 85 14 13 27 29 — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year USHL All-Star Game 2014 First All-Star Team 2014