Matthew J. Gilroy (born July 20, 1984) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who last played for the

SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers The SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers are a professional ice hockey club from Rapperswil, Switzerland and are members of the National League. History The Lakers were founded in 1945 and were known as SC Rapperswil-Jona until 2005, when the club change ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL). Gilroy played in

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

and the Florida Panthers. He represented the United States in the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics ( ko, 2018년 동계 올림픽, Icheon sip-pal nyeon Donggye Ollimpik), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (french: Les XXIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver; ko, 제23회 동계 올림픽, Jeisipsamhoe Donggye Ollimpi ...

. He played

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

hockey with

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

of the

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

conference. Gilroy is a

Hobey Baker Award The Hobey Baker Award is an annual award given to the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player. It has been awarded 41 times. It is named for Hall of Famer Hobey Baker, who played college hockey at Princeton Universit ...

winner and NCAA champion with the Terriers in his senior year; he is also a three-time All-American.

Playing career

Amateur

Gilroy played in the 1998

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with the New Jersey Devils

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team. He later played junior ice hockey in the

Eastern Junior Hockey League The Eastern Junior Hockey League (EJHL) was a USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior A ice hockey league. Founded in 1993 by Dan Esdale, the EJHL had fourteen teams from across the Northeastern United States. The EJHL champion then competed for th ...

(EJHL) with the Walpole Jr. Stars (currently known as

South Shore Kings The South Shore Kings are a Tier III Junior A ice hockey team playing in the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL). The team plays at the Foxboro Sports Center located in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The organization fields Tier III teams in th ...

), Gilroy joined the

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

ranks with

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. After his third college season, Gilroy attracted attention from the NHL as an undrafted free agent, but had intentions of completing his degree at

. image:Matt-gilroy-97.jpg, left , 180px, Gilroy at

In his senior year, in 2008–09, he was named captain (ice hockey), team 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 third

Beanpot A beanpot is a deep, wide-bellied, short-necked vessel used to cook bean-based dishes. Beanpots are typically made of ceramic, though some are made of other materials, such as cast iron. The relatively narrow mouth of the beanpot minimizes evap ...

championship in four years en route to the

Frozen Four The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I cham ...

Tournament. On April 10, 2009, Gilroy was announced as the winner of the 2009

. The next day, the Terriers competed for the

NCAA championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

against the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

. 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 on Nick Bonino's game-tying goal with 17 seconds left. 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. He was additionally given his third All-American honor, becoming just the third NCAA player to earn the distinction as many times, after

Rick Meagher Richard Joseph Meagher (born November 2, 1953) is a Canadian former ice hockey player. Meagher played almost 700 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues. He wo ...

(1977) and

Chris Drury Christopher Ellis Drury (born August 20, 1976) is an American professional ice hockey executive and former player. He has served as the president and general manager for the New York Rangers since May 5, 2021. He previously served as the genera ...

(1998).

Professional

On April 17, 2009, Gilroy signed a two-year, $3.5-million contract with the

. He had initially been linked to both the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

and

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in contract negotiations. Gilroy signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the

on July 2, 2011. During the 2011–12 season, on February 27, 2012, Gilroy was traded to the

in exchange for fellow defenseman Brian Lee at the

NHL trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

. On October 7, 2012, with the

2012–13 NHL lockout The 2012–13 NHL lockout was a labor dispute between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) that began at 11:59 pm EDT on September 15, 2012. A tentative deal on a new collective barg ...

in place, Gilroy was signed to an

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) contract with the Connecticut Whale, marking a potential return to the New York Rangers organization. At the conclusion of the labor dispute, Gilroy was signed to a one-year contract with the Rangers on January 13, 2013. right , Gilroy with Atlant Moscow Oblast 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 the Florida Panthers, his fourth NHL club. In the 2013–14 season, Gilroy appeared in only 16 games with the struggling Panthers before he was reassigned to the team's AHL affiliate, the

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

, 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 with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n club Atlant Moscow Oblast of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs ba ...

(KHL) on June 25, 2014. 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 with

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

. As a free agent from Finnish KHL club,

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (English: Jokers or Jesters) are a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team won six league championships as a member of the Finnish SM-liiga (1973, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 2002). Jokerit plays its h ...

following the 2017–18 season, Gilroy opted to sign a one-year deal with Swiss club, SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the National League on May 15, 2018.

Personal life

Gilroy was born in North 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, who was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers. He graduated in 2003 from St. Mary's High School in

Manhasset Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. It is considered the anchor community of the Greater Manhasset area. The population was 8,176 at the 2020 United States ce ...

, captaining the hockey team to two New York state championships. In addition to hockey, Gilroy played

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

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. 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 to

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. Traditional team policy with the Boston University Terriers does not permit players to wear high numbers deemed flamboyant and self-endorsing by Head Coach Jack Parker. However, given the circumstances, Gilroy was allowed by Parker to wear 97. Gilroy also has an older brother, Frank Jr., who played basketball for St. Mary's High School and St. Anselm College. His younger brother, Kevin, joined Matt on the Terriers for their 2009 championship year. Gilroy is married to

Jenny Taft Jenny Taft (born September 5, 1987) is an American sports television personality who served as the moderator on Fox Sports 1's '' Skip and Shannon: Undisputed''. Taft additionally works as a lead college football sideline reporter on Fox broadca ...

, a

Fox Sports 1 Fox Sports 1 (FS1) is an American pay television channel owned by the Fox Sports Media Group, a unit of Fox Corporation. FS1 replaced the motorsports network Speed on August 17, 2013, at the same time that its companion channel Fox Sports ...

personality.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilroy, Matt 1984 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Atlant Moscow Oblast players Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Connecticut Whale (AHL) players Florida Panthers players Hartford Wolf Pack players Hobey Baker Award winners Ice hockey players from New York (state) Jokerit players New York Rangers players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Ottawa Senators players People from Bellmore, New York San Antonio Rampage players HC Spartak Moscow players Tampa Bay Lightning players Undrafted National Hockey League players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans