Matt Lorito

Matt Lorito (born July 3, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings.

Playing career

College Lorito began his collegiate career for the Brown University Brown Bears during the 2011–12 season. During his freshman season, he played in 24 games, missing the first eight games of the season due to injury, where he recorded four goals and 13 assists. He was Named ECAC Rookie of the Week for his performances against Princeton and Quinnipiac.

During the 2012–13 season in his sophomore season, Lorito recorded 22 goals and 15 assists in 36 games. Lorito was named to the Second Team All-ECAC team for his outstanding performance during the season. He finished the season as the Bears' leading scorer with 37 points, while also leading the team with eight power play goals, three game-winning goals, and sharing the lead with one short-handed goal. He Ranked sixth overall in the ECAC in scoring. During the 2013 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Lorito was the team's leading scorer recording seven goals and two assists, including a six-game goal scoring streak. Lorito helped the Bears advance to the ECAC Championship for the first time since 1993. Following an outstanding tournament, Lorito was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team. Following his collegiate career, Lorito joined the Devils during the 2014–15 season, where he recorded three goals and nine assists in 11 games. During the 2015–16 season, in his first full professional season, Lorito led the Devils in scoring with 18 goals and 36 assists in 71 games. Among American Hockey League (AHL) rookies, he ranked sixth in points, tied for fourth in assists, tied for third in power play assists (19) and third in power play points (24). He tied for third on the team in playoff scoring with three goals and four assists in 11 games.

On July 1, 2016, the Detroit Red Wings signed Lorito to a two-year, two-way contract. On April 7, 2017, Lorito was recalled by the Red Wings. Prior to being recalled, Lorito recorded 21 goals and 33 assists in 59 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, tied for the team lead with 54 points, and tied for 16th in the league in scoring. He also ranks among club leaders with 21 goals (3rd), 33 assists (1st) and 131 shots on goal (T5th). He made his NHL debut for the Red Wings the next day in a game against the Montreal Canadiens. Following the conclusion of the Red Wings season, Lorito was assigned to the Griffins. In two games with the Red Wings, he recorded one assist with six shots on goal in 14:26 average time on ice.

On January 4, 2018, Lorito, and teammate Matt Puempel, were the only two Grand Rapids players selected to play in the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic game.

On July 2, 2018, having left the Red Wings as a free agent, Lorito agreed to a two-year contract in which the second year would be on a one-way basis with the New York Islanders.

Lorito remained with the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers through the duration of his contract. In his final year under contract in the during the 2019–20 season, Lorito registered 23 points in 50 games before he was traded by the Islanders at the NHL trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Jordan Schmaltz on February 24, 2020.

As a free agent from the Maple Leafs heading into the pandemic delayed 2020-21 season, Lorito agreed to continue his career in the AHL, signing a one-year contract with the San Diego Gulls, affiliate to the Anaheim Ducks, on January 29, 2021.

Following his seventh season in the AHL, Lorito left North America as a free agent and signed his first European contract in agreeing to a one-year deal with Swedish club, Djurgårdens IF of the SHL, on August 21, 2021. After only 14 regular season games played, Lorito's contract with Djurgården was terminated. On November 10, 2021, Lorito opted to move to Kontinental Hockey League, signing as a free agent with Latvian club, Dinamo Riga, for the remainder of the season. Lorito made 17 appearances with Dinamo, collecting 3 goals and 7 points as the club finished outside of the playoffs. As a free agent, on February 4, 2022, Lorito opted to return to North America and signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2021–22 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the primary affiliate to the New York Rangers.

As an un-signed free agent over the summer, Lorito was belatedly signed to a one-year contract for the 2022–23 season with German club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on December 22, 2022.

Lorito ended his 8 year professional playing career following his lone season in Germany. On August 30, 2023, he was hired as a professional scout to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of the NHL.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2008–09 St. Catharines Falcons GOJHL 47 14 20 34 20 11 2 1 3 14 2009–10 Villanova Knights OJAHL 56 32 46 78 20 6 2 9 11 0 2010–11 Villanova Knights OJHL 41 28 54 82 16 10 6 6 12 2 2011–12 Brown University ECAC 24 4 13 17 18 — — — — — 2012–13 Brown University ECAC 36 22 15 37 6 — — — — — 2013–14 Brown University ECAC 29 10 19 29 8 — — — — — 2014–15 Brown University ECAC 29 11 12 23 8 — — — — — 2014–15 Albany Devils AHL 11 3 9 12 2 — — — — — 2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 71 18 36 54 26 11 3 4 7 4 2016–17 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 22 34 56 25 19 7 6 13 4 2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2017–18 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 59 23 26 49 28 — — — — — 2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 23 5 11 16 12 5 2 2 4 2 2019–20 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 50 9 14 23 16 — — — — — 2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 8 0 5 5 6 — — — — — 2020–21 San Diego Gulls AHL 27 6 5 11 14 — — — — — 2021–22 Djurgårdens IF SHL 14 2 4 6 8 — — — — — 2021–22 Dinamo Riga KHL 17 3 4 7 10 — — — — — 2021–22 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 30 8 10 18 10 — — — — — 2022–23 Grizzlys Wolfsburg DEL 18 2 3 5 10 10 2 1 3 6 NHL totals 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —

Awards and honours Award Year College ECAC Second All-Star Team 2013 ECAC All-Tournament Team 2013 All-Ivy First Team 2013 All-Ivy Second Team 2014, 2015 AHL Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins) 2017 All-Star Game 2017, 2018