Matt Read

Matthew Zachary Jarrett Read (born June 14, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Philadelphia Flyers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2011, and the Minnesota Wild.

Playing career

Minor Read started playing hockey on Vancouver Island playing for the Kerry Park Islanders. At the age of ten, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, and played for Pikes Peak Minor Hockey for four years. He then moved to Ilderton, Ontario, and played for the Ilderton Jets of the OMHA's Shamrock League.

Junior/Collegiate After being a finalist in the OMHA Bantam Championship, Read's team won the championship in his first year of midget, with Ilderton defeating Centre Hastings in four games. From minor hockey, Read played OHA Junior D hockey for the Lucan Irish in the 2003–04 season.

In 2004–05, Read signed with the nearby St. Marys Lincolns Junior B club of the Western Ontario Hockey League (WOHL). He spent two seasons with the Lincolns.

In the 2004–05 season, Read was runner up to future NHLer Logan Couture for the WOHL Rookie of the Year Award. Couture, a graduate of the Lucan Irish of the Shamrock League, played that season with the St. Thomas Stars before being an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) first round draft pick in 2005.

The following season, Read signed with the Milton Icehawks Junior A club of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) for 2005–06. In 2006–07, Read spent a season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL).

Professional Read signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers on March 24, 2011, after playing four seasons of collegiate hockey with Bemidji State University. Read made the Flyers roster out of training camp heading into the 2011–12 season and made his NHL debut on October 6, 2011, against the Boston Bruins. He scored his first NHL goal on October 8 against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. On October 18, Read recorded a career-high four points (one goal and three assists) in a 7–2 Flyers win over the Ottawa Senators. Read participated in the All-Star SuperSkills Competition and finished second in the accuracy contest, behind Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn. Read finished the regular season leading all NHL rookies in goals scored, 24, and ranking fourth among all rookies in points, 47.

During the 2012–13 NHL lock-out, Read moved overseas to Europe to play for Södertälje SK of the Allsvenskan, Sweden's second-tier hockey league. He recorded 24 points in 20 games.

Shortly after play resumed to begin the 2012–13 season in January, Read scored his first career NHL hat-trick on January 26, 2013, against the Florida Panthers, scoring on goaltenders José Théodore and Scott Clemmensen. Following the shortened season, Read was invited to play for Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Championships.

On September 20, 2013, Read signed a four-year, $14.5 million contract extension with the Flyers.

On October 8, 2015, Read scored the first goal of the 2015–16 season for the Flyers in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

On July 30, 2018, Read signed a one-year, two way contract with the Minnesota Wild.

On August 2, 2019, as a free agent from the Wild, Read signed a professional tryout contract (PTO) with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After participating in training camp and the pre-season he was signed to a one-year AHL contract with affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, on September 30, 2019.

Personal life In July 2014, Read married his longtime girlfriend, Erin Cody. On March 17, 2015, they gave birth to their first child, a daughter.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2002–03 Lucan Irish OHAJDL 31 22 27 49 36 — — — — — 2003–04 St. Marys Lincolns WOHL 36 12 13 25 32 — — — — — 2004–05 St. Marys Lincolns WOHL 47 23 29 52 46 — — — — — 2005–06 Milton Icehawks OPJHL 48 34 34 68 52 — — — — — 2006–07 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 58 28 34 62 110 8 2 0 2 6 2007–08 Bemidji State Beavers CHA 36 9 18 27 37 — — — — — 2008–09 Bemidji State Beavers CHA 37 15 25 40 50 — — — — — 2009–10 Bemidji State Beavers CHA 37 19 22 41 32 — — — — — 2010–11 Bemidji State Beavers WCHA 37 22 13 35 34 — — — — — 2010–11 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 11 7 6 13 6 — — — — — 2011–12 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 24 23 47 12 11 3 2 5 4 2012–13 Södertälje SK Allsv 20 6 18 24 12 — — — — — 2012–13 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 42 11 13 24 2 — — — — — 2013–14 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 22 18 40 16 7 1 2 3 4 2014–15 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 80 8 22 30 14 — — — — — 2015–16 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 11 15 26 27 6 0 0 0 2 2016–17 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 63 10 9 19 8 — — — — — 2017–18 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 33 7 9 16 8 — — — — — 2017–18 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 19 1 0 1 2 6 1 1 2 4 2018–19 Iowa Wild AHL 61 16 21 37 36 10 3 5 8 12 2018–19 Minnesota Wild NHL 12 1 0 1 2 — — — — — 2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 48 13 12 25 24 — — — — — NHL totals 449 88 100 188 83 30 5 5 10 14

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2013 Canada WC 5th 8 1 2 3 2 2014 Canada WC 5th 8 2 3 5 2Senior totals 16 3 5 8 4

Awards and honours Award Year College All-CHA Rookie Team 2007–08 CHA Rookie of the Year 2007–08 All-CHA First Team 2008–09 NCAA Frozen Four 2008–09 All-CHA First Team 2009–10 CHA Player of the Year 2009–10 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2009–10