Matthew Peca

Matthew Peca (born April 27, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Belleville Senators in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the seventh round (201st overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. After playing four years at Quinnipiac University, he made his NHL debut during the 2016–17 season.

Matthew Peca
Peca in 2017
Born (1993-04-27) April 27, 1993
Petawawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team
Former teams		 Ottawa Senators
Belleville Senators (AHL)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft 201st overall, 2011
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playing career 2015–present

Playing career

Juniors

Prior to turning professional, Peca played for the Pembroke Lumber Kings in the Central Canada Hockey League. In the offseason before the 2011–12 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Kitchener Rangers but never played for them due to his commitment to Quinnipiac University.[1]

Quinnipiac University

Peca attended Quinnipiac University for four years, where he played four seasons with the Quinnipiac Bobcats men's ice hockey team which competes in NCAA's Division I in the ECAC Hockey conference. He was recognized for his outstanding play with the Bobcats when he was named as a freshman to the 2011–12 ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team,[2] and in his final season was named to the 2014–15 All-ECAC Hockey First Team and team co-captain.[3]

Professional

After graduation, Peca signed an amateur try out with the Tampa Bay Lightning's American Hockey League affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch[4] before signing a two-year entry level contract with the Lightning on April 1, 2015.[5]

On December 27, 2016, the Tampa Bay Lightning announced that Peca would be called up to the NHL roster.[6] On December 28, Peca made his NHL debut in a 4–3 Lightning overtime win over the visiting Montreal Canadiens.[7][8] On December 31, Peca recorded his first career NHL point, which was an assist on a goal by Alex Killorn.[9] On January 3, 2017, Peca scored his first NHL goal against Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, making him the first Quinnipiac Bobcat to score a goal in the NHL.[10]

On July 5, 2017, Peca signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Lightning.[11] On January 4, 2018, Peca was named to the 2018 AHL All-Star game.[12]

As a free agent, Peca signed a two-year, $2.6 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens on July 1, 2018.[13] During the following 2018–19 season, on 8 November 2018, Peca scored his first goal for Montreal in a 5–6 overtime defeat against the Buffalo Sabres.[14]

In the final year of his contract with the Canadiens in the 2019–20 season, Peca was unable to keep his role in the NHL through training camp and was placed on waivers before he was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket. He appeared in 5 scoreless games on recall with Montreal through the season, before he was dealt at the NHL trade deadline to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 draft pick on February 24, 2020.[15]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Pembroke Lumber Kings CJHL 60 21 26 47 10 15 3 3 6 6
2010–11 Pembroke Lumber Kings CCHL 50 26 46 72 14 14 11 10 21 6
2011–12 Quinnipiac University ECAC 39 8 31 39 12 — — — — —
2012–13 Quinnipiac University ECAC 39 15 15 30 36 — — — — —
2013–14 Quinnipiac University ECAC 40 12 26 38 16 — — — — —
2014–15 Quinnipiac University ECAC 39 7 29 36 27 — — — — —
2014–15 Syracuse Crunch AHL 8 1 3 4 0 3 1 1 2 2
2015–16 Syracuse Crunch AHL 65 8 35 43 10 — — — — —
2016–17 Syracuse Crunch AHL 68 12 29 41 14 22 4 10 14 4
2016–17 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 10 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2017–18 Syracuse Crunch AHL 63 13 33 46 18 6 3 6 9 2
2017–18 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 10 2 3 5 0 — — — — —
2018–19 Montreal Canadiens NHL 39 3 7 10 4 — — — — —
2019–20 Laval Rocket AHL 34 4 9 13 12 — — — — —
2019–20 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Ottawa Senators NHL 9 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 73 6 13 19 6 — — — — —

Awards and honours
Award Year
College
ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team 2011–12 [16]
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 2014–15 [17]
AHL
AHL All-Star game 2018 [12]

References
  1. "Rangers claim Peca". kitchenerpost.ca. August 12, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  2. Sweeten, Ken. "Quinnipiac Ice Hockey's Matthew Peca Featured In Tampa Bay Lightning's Prospect Report". quinnipiacbobcats.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  3. "Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey Lands Five On All-ECAC Hockey Teams". quinnipiacbobcats.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  4. Stockton, Evan (December 25, 2015). "#AHLOTB: MATTHEW PECA MAKING A NAME IN SYR". theahl.com. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  5. "Matthew Peca Signs with Tampa Bay". SB Nation College Hockey. 1 April 2015.
  6. "Former Bobcat Captain Matthew Peca Recalled By NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning". Quinnipiac University.
  7. @BBurnsNHL (28 December 2016). "Peca makes NHL debut against Montreal Canadiens" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. Erlendsson, Erik (December 28, 2016). "Lightning find right injection to serve as remedy in comeback victory". Lightning Insider.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  9. @BBurnsNHL (31 December 2016). "Peca records first career NHL point" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. Smith, Joe (January 3, 2017). "Lightning falls at home to Jets". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  11. "Lightning re-sign Matthew Peca to one-year contract". National Hockey League. July 5, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  12. "Matthew Peca named 2018 AHL All-Star". syracusecrunch.com. Syracuse Crunch. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  13. Cudzinowski, Matt (July 1, 2018). "Canadiens agree to terms with Matthew Peca". Montreal Canadiens. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  14. Hickey, Pat (9 November 2018). "Habs show moxie by battling back all night, but fall 6-5 in OT to Sabres". The Gazette. Montreal. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  15. "Matthew Peca heads to Ottawa". CBS Sports. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  16. "Lightning Prospect Spotlight: Matthew Peca". National Hockey League.
  17. "League Announces Postseason Awards". ECAC Hockey. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-06-04.
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