| Matt Gilroy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Gilroy with theTampa Bay Lightning in 2011 | |||
| Born | (1984-07-20)July 20, 1984 (age 40) North Bellmore,New York, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers Tampa Bay Lightning Ottawa Senators Florida Panthers Atlant Moscow Oblast Spartak Moscow Jokerit SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2009–2019 Coaching career | ||
| Current position | |||
| Title | Assistant coach | ||
| Team | Harvard | ||
| Conference | ECAC Hockey | ||
| Biographical details | |||
| Alma mater | Boston University | ||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||
| 2020–2021 | Los Angeles Jr. Kings (asst.) | ||
| 2022–2023 | USNTDP U17 (asst.) | ||
| 2023–2024 | USNTDP U18 (asst.) | ||
| 2024–Present | Harvard (asst.) | ||
Matthew J. Gilroy (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professionalice hockeydefenseman who last played for theSC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of theNational League (NL). Gilroy played inNational Hockey League (NHL) with theNew York Rangers,Tampa Bay Lightning,Ottawa Senators and theFlorida Panthers. He represented the United States in the2018 Winter Olympics. He playedNCAA hockey withBoston University of theHockey East conference. Gilroy is aHobey Baker Award winner andNCAA champion with the Terriers in his senior year; he is also a three-time All-American.
Gilroy played in the 1998Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the New Jersey Devilsminor ice hockey team.[1] He later playedjunior ice hockey in theEastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) with the Walpole Jr. Stars (currently known asSouth Shore Kings),[2][3] Gilroy joined thecollege hockey ranks withBoston University ofHockey East in 2005–06. Making the team as a walk-on, he was a natural forward but was forced into the eighth defenseman position, the only available role on the team.[2] After his third college season, Gilroy attracted attention from the NHL as an undrafted free agent, but had intentions of completing his degree atBoston University.[2][4]
In his senior year, in 2008–09, he was namedteam captain of the Terriers and recorded a college career-high 36 points in 43 games, first among Hockey East defensemen and third in the NCAA. He went on to lead the Terriers to their thirdBeanpot championship in four years en route to theFrozen Four Tournament. On April 10, 2009, Gilroy was announced as the winner of the 2009Hobey Baker Award.[5] The next day, the Terriers competed for theNCAA championship against theMiami RedHawks. Trailing 3–1 late in the third period, the Terriers rallied with two goals in the final minute to force overtime. Gilroy earned an assist onNick Bonino's game-tying goal with 17 seconds left.[6] The Terriers won in overtime, defeating the RedHawks 4–3, making Gilroy just the fifth player to win the Hobey Baker Award and NCAA championship in the same season.[2] He was additionally given his third All-American honor, becoming just the third NCAA player to earn the distinction as many times, afterRick Meagher (1977) andChris Drury (1998).[7]
On April 17, 2009, Gilroy signed a two-year, $3.5-million contract with theNew York Rangers.[8] He had initially been linked to both theToronto Maple Leafs andVancouver Canucks in contract negotiations.[2]
Gilroy signed a one-year contract as a free agent with theTampa Bay Lightning on July 2, 2011. During the2011–12 season, on February 27, 2012, Gilroy was traded to theOttawa Senators in exchange for fellow defensemanBrian Lee at theNHL trade deadline.[9]
On October 7, 2012, with the2012–13 NHL lockout in place, Gilroy was signed to anAmerican Hockey League (AHL) contract with theConnecticut Whale, marking a potential return to the New York Rangers organization.[10] At the conclusion of the labor dispute, Gilroy was signed to a one-year contract with the Rangers on January 13, 2013.[11]
Gilroy was released to free agency by the Rangers in the off-season and, on July 8, 2013, was signed to a one-year contract with theFlorida Panthers, his fourth NHL club.[12] In the2013–14 season, Gilroy appeared in only 16 games with the struggling Panthers before he was reassigned to the team's AHL affiliate, theSan Antonio Rampage, for the remainder of the season.
With limited NHL interest, Gilroy opted to forgo free agency to sign his first European contract on a one-year deal withRussian clubAtlant Moscow Oblast of theKontinental Hockey League (KHL) on June 25, 2014.[13] After one year with Atlant, and partly due to fact that Atlant would not participate in the KHL from the 2015–16 season, he signed withSpartak Moscow.
As a free agent from Finnish KHL club,Jokerit following the2017–18 season, Gilroy opted to sign a one-year deal with Swiss club, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League on May 15, 2018.[14]
Gilroy was born inNorth Bellmore,New York, to Frank and Peggy Ann Gilroy. Matt Gilroy is one of eight children. His father is a member of the St. John's Basketball Hall of Fame,[4] who was drafted by thePhiladelphia 76ers.[3] He graduated in 2003 fromSt. Mary's High School inManhasset, captaining the hockey team to two New York state championships.[3] In addition to hockey, Gilroy playedlacrosse at St. Mary's and was named team MVP in his junior year, in addition to all-league selections in his junior and senior years.[15]
Gilroy wears the number 97 in remembrance of his deceased brother Timmy, who died as the result of a bicycle accident at eight years old. Separated by 13 months, Matt and Timmy played on the same hockey teams growing up and wore the numbers 98 and 97, respectively, in homage toWayne Gretzky. Traditional team policy with the Boston University Terriers does not permit players to wear high numbers deemed flamboyant and self-endorsing by head coachJack Parker. However, given the circumstances, Gilroy was allowed by Parker to wear 97.[4] Gilroy also has an older brother, Frank Jr., who played basketball forSt. Mary's High School andSt. Anselm College.[4] His younger brother, Kevin, joined Matt on the Terriers for their 2009 championship year.[6] Gilroy is married toJenny Taft, lead sideline reporter forFox College Football.[16]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2001–02 | New York Apple Core | Ind | 74 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | New York Apple Core | EmJHL | 24 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | New York Apple Core | EJHL | 65 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Walpole Stars | EJHL | 55 | 24 | 29 | 53 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Boston University | HE | 36 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Boston University | HE | 39 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Boston University | HE | 40 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Boston University | HE | 45 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | New York Rangers | NHL | 58 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 53 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | Connecticut Whale | AHL | 34 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | New York Rangers | NHL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Florida Panthers | NHL | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 42 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Atlant Moscow Oblast | KHL | 60 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Spartak Moscow | KHL | 49 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Spartak Moscow | KHL | 57 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Jokerit | KHL | 55 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | SC Rapperswil–Jona Lakers | NL | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 225 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 67 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||
| KHL totals | 221 | 29 | 84 | 113 | 44 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 0 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2018 | United States | OG | 7th | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Senior totals | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | ||||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Winner of theHobey Baker Award 2008–09 | Succeeded by |