Matthew Beleskey (born June 7, 1988) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

and

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

Playing career

Beleskey grew up in the small town of

Midhurst, Ontario Midhurst is a community in the Township of Springwater, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is the county seat, and with nearly 3,000 people, the largest population centre in Springwater. It is location of the Barrie Baycats of the Intercoun ...

in Springwater Township, Ontario. He played his minor hockey for the Barrie Icemen AAA program of the OMHA's Eastern AAA League. After his Bantam season with the Icemen, Beleskey played one season with the nearby Collingwood Blues Jr.A. club of the OHA. He was drafted in the 2nd round (21st overall) in the 2004 OHL Priority Selection by the Belleville Bulls. In the 2008 OHL Finals versus the

Kitchener Rangers The Kitchener Rangers are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League. The Rangers have won the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL ...

, Belleville was down 3-0 in the series and 4-1 in the game, but on the back of captain Beleskey's four-point night, including the game winner in overtime, Belleville won the game and pushed the series to seven games, before ultimately losing the series. He was selected by the Ducks 112th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and turned professional in 2008 after a four-year junior career with the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

. He made his NHL debut in the 2008–09 season, appearing in two games with the Ducks but spent most of the season in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) with the

Iowa Chops The Iowa Stars, later known as the Iowa Chops, were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The club was based in Des Moines, Iowa at the Wells Fargo Arena. History The Stars were founded by Howard Baldwin, of Hockey Holdi ...

. Beleskey played in the UK for

Coventry Blaze The Coventry Blaze are a British professional ice hockey team based in Coventry, England. They currently compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) and play their home games at SkyDome Arena. The club was founded in 1965 as the original '' ...

ice hockey team in the Elite Ice Hockey League during the NHL lock-out. Playing in 65 games during the 2014–15 season, Beleskey scored 22 goals to go with 10 assists. He recorded eight goals and an assist during the 2015 playoffs as the Ducks lost to the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

during the Western Conference Finals. On July 1, 2015, Beleskey signed as a free agent to a five-year $19.8 million contract with the

. In the 2017–18 season, his third season with the Bruins and continuing to underperform relative to expectations, Beleskey was sent to the Bruins' AHL affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

on December 14, 2017. On February 25, 2018, Beleskey,

Ryan Spooner Ryan Bradley Spooner (born January 30, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for Avangard Omsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has previously played ...

, Ryan Lindgren, a

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

first-round pick and a

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

seventh-round pick were traded to the

in exchange for

Rick Nash Richard Nash (born June 16, 1984) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who serves as the director of player development for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). After being selected List of first overall ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Belesky, Matt 1988 births Anaheim Ducks draft picks Anaheim Ducks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Belleville Bulls players Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Coventry Blaze players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Simcoe County Iowa Stars players Living people New York Rangers players Norfolk Admirals players Providence Bruins players San Antonio Rampage players Ice hockey people from Windsor, Ontario Syracuse Crunch players Toronto Marlies players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen