Quick Facts
Biography
Matt Irwin (born November 29, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player under contract with the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Irwin has previously played in the NHL for the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins.
Playing career
He was named best defenseman in the British Columbia Hockey League Coastal Conference two years in a row, 2007 and 2008, while playing for the Nanaimo Clippers. He continued his career playing at the college level for the UMass Minutemen of Hockey East.
As an undrafted free agent, Irwin agreed to a contract with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL. Irwin scored 73 points in his first two seasons, and was signed by parent affiliate, the San Jose Sharks after injuries to Jason Demers and Brent Burns.
Irwin scored his first NHL goal on January 26, 2013 against Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche. In 38 games with the Sharks in 2013, Irwin scored six goals and six assists, while averaging 2.1 shots on goal per game, the most by a rookie defenseman.
On April 3, 2013, Irwin signed a two-year contract extension with the Sharks.
On July 10, 2015, Irwin signed a one-year contract with the Boston Bruins. Irwin made the opening-night roster with Boston for the 2015–16 season. On October 11, 2015, Irwin was waived by Boston after a -5 plus/minus in his first two games. He was re-assigned to Boston's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, the following day.
On July 1, 2016, having concluded his contract with the Bruins, Irwin left as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way deal with the Nashville Predators.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 56 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 60 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 67 | 24 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 18 | ||
| 2007–08 | Nanaimo Clippers | BCHL | 59 | 16 | 37 | 53 | 40 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 22 | ||
| 2008–09 | UMass-Amherst | HE | 31 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | UMass-Amherst | HE | 36 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 72 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 71 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 35 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 38 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 2013–14 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 62 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 35 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 51 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 64 | 5 | 25 | 30 | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 155 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 63 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
