Matthew Clackson (born April 26, 1985) 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 ...

-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

right 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. ...

who played six seasons 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) for five different teams. His father,

Kim Clackson Kimbel Gerald Clackson (born February 13, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 106 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) and 271 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA). Clackson played for the Winnipeg ...

, 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

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

and

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

Playing career

Clackson attended

Peters Township High School Peters Township High School is a public high school that is located in McMurray, Pennsylvania, United States. The current building was built in 2021. This new building was constructed just up the road from the old school, at the site of Rolling Hi ...

McMurray, Pennsylvania McMurray is a census-designated place (CDP) in Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania, Peters Township, Washington County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,736 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Its zi ...

, and played for the school's varsity ice hockey team, winning two

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

State AA Ice Hockey Championships. He was a teammate of NHLer Christian Hanson at Peters Township. After high school, he played two seasons of Junior A with the

Chicago Steel The Chicago Steel are an ice hockey team that plays in the United States Hockey League since 2000. The Steel have played their home games at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva, Illinois since 2015; previously, the team played at Edge Ice Arena in ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) and was selected 215th overall in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL entry draft was the 43rd entry draft for the National Hockey League. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, it was postponed to July 30 due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Special procedures were required to determine the order ...

by the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

. Following his draft, he spent three seasons with

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

circuit. After his junior season, he decided to forgo his senior year by signing with the Flyers on March 19, 2008. That same day, he was assigned to the

Philadelphia Phantoms The Philadelphia Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 1996 to 2009. The club was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and played most of its home games at the Spectrum (arena), Spectrum ...

of the

(AHL); he played two games with the AHL team to close out the 2008–09 season. Clackson then played three full seasons with the Philadelphia/

Adirondack Phantoms The Adirondack Phantoms were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), who began play in the 2009–10 AHL season. The Phantoms were based in Glens Falls, New York, playing home games at the Glens Falls Civic Center and ...

, re-signing with the Flyers following the 2009–10 season. On June 7, 2011, Clackson was packaged into a trade that sent him, a 2012 third round draft pick and future considerations, to the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

, in exchange for goaltender

Ilya Bryzgalov Ilya Nikolayevich Bryzgalov (; ; born 22 June 1980) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Minneso ...

. Failing to come to terms with the Coyotes on a new contract, he became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on July 1. Several months later, he was invited to the

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

on a tryout basis during the team's training camp. On July 14, 2012, Clackson signed a one-year deal with the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

, earning $525,000 at the NHL level and $75,000 at the AHL level. On April 2, 2013, he was traded from Washington to the

in return of Joel Rechlicz.

NHL video explanation

During the 2011-12 pre-season, Clackson was illegally hit from behind by

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

forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond. In handing down a five-game suspension against Letourneau-Leblond,

Brendan Shanahan Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadian American professional ice hockey executive and former player who was the outgoing president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the dire ...

, the new head of NHL discipline, posted on the NHL website video of the hit on Clackson to illustrate his ruling - the first of what would become Shanahan's trademark video explanations.Letourneau-Leblond suspension Video - NHL VideoCenter

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clackson, Matt 1985 births Adirondack Phantoms players American men's ice hockey left wingers Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian ice hockey right wingers Chicago Wolves players Hershey Bears players Living people Philadelphia Flyers draft picks Philadelphia Phantoms players Portland Pirates players Sportspeople from Washington County, Pennsylvania Ice hockey people from Saskatoon Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players