Matt Nickerson (born January 11, 1985) is an American 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 ...

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

who last played for Finnish second tier side TuTo Turku. He previously played for three teams in the UK's

EIHL The Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL), sometimes referred to internationally as the British Elite League, is an ice hockey league in the United Kingdom. Formed in 2003 following the demise of the Ice Hockey Superleague, it is the highest level ...

Playing career

Nickerson played for the

Texas Tornado The Texas Tornado were a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 (and moved into the newly formed southern division three years later) while located in Nor ...

of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

during the 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. It was during his final season with the team that Nickerson drew the attention of NHL scouts, and in the 2003

NHL 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 ...

Entry Draft the Dallas Stars drafted Nickerson in the third round with the 99th overall pick. Nickerson spent his next season at

Clarkson University Clarkson University is a private research university with its main campus in Potsdam, New York. Clarkson has additional graduate programs and research facilities in the New York Capital District. It was established in 1896 and enrolled over 4 ...

, where he racked up 179 penalty minutes in 38 games. Nickerson signed a three-year entry-level contract before playing in Victoriaville. Due to the NHL lockout, he was sent to the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

Victoriaville Tigres The Victoriaville Tigres are a Canadian junior ice hockey team that plays in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Victoriaville, Quebec. The team plays its home games at the Colisée Desjardins. History The franchis ...

, and finally turned pro in the Finnish

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

, playing with Ässät. Started 2005-2006 in the Dallas Stars training camp where he scored a goal on Ty Conklin in an NHL exhibition game versus the Edmonton Oilers. Nickerson was then assigned to Iowa of the AHL where he played 4 exhibition games, registering one fighting major, before ending up in Pori, Finland. In his first season with Ässät, Nickerson broke the league record for penalty minutes in the regular season, with 236 total. He was assessed a match penalty for fighting in October 2005, and was suspended for three games for fighting and unsportsmanlike conduct on November 2, 2005. After his first stint in SM-liiga Nickerson returned to North America for the 2006–07 season and played for the

Idaho Steelheads The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, t ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

and the

Iowa Stars 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 ...

of the AHL, both affiliates of the

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

. He earned a 16-game suspension during his 12 games in Idaho. After a season in North America, Nickerson returned to

Pori Pori (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Satakunta. It is located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Pori is approximately , while the Pori sub-region, sub-region has a population of a ...

and joined Ässät for the second time in his career. On October 20, 2007, he was suspended for three games for attacking

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

forward Teemu Laine. While serving this suspension, he attacked Ilves defenseman Kevin Kantee in the locker room area of the Ässät arena on October 27, receiving an additional five-game suspension. Nickerson has turned out to be a fan favourite in Pori during his stints in Finland. In February 2008 Nickerson was transferred from Ässät to

Ilves Tampereen Ilves, commonly known as Ilves, (; Finnish language, Finnish for "Eurasian lynx, Lynx") is a Finnish professional ice hockey team based in Tampere. They play in the Liiga at the Nokia Arena (Tampere), Nokia Arena. The colors of Ilves, ...

. On February 4, he received a match penalty for fighting in the Ilves-Blues game. For the 2009-2010 season, he signed with the

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

organization but played just 19 games for the AHL's

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

and was released without ever playing for the Oilers. Nickerson had a try-out with Danish team

Esbjerg IK Esbjerg IK is an ice hockey club in Esbjerg, Denmark, with several youth and amateurs' teams. They have played their home games at Esbjerg Skøjtehal since 1976. History Esbjerg IK was founded on November 4, 1964, however, there was already an ...

in November 2010 but failed to secure a contract. The

Fife Flyers The Fife Flyers are a Ice hockey in Scotland, Scottish professional ice hockey team in Kirkcaldy, Fife. Established in 1938, the Flyers are the oldest still-extant club in the country. The Flyers play their home games at Fife Ice Arena, which ...

confirmed the signing of Matt Nickerson for the 2013/14 Rapid Solicitors Elite Ice Hockey League season. Nickerson quickly became a fan favorite at

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

where his tough edge added some much needed backbone to a team which had been bullied on the ice in the past. Playing 45 games in his first season he was an integral part in the run to the EIHL playoff semi final game where Fife lost to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

by 1-0. His unending desire to stand up for his team mates earned great respect from the Fife support although he did draw the attention of the EIHL referees and in December 2013 he was handed a 12-game suspension (which was reduced upon appeal) for a fight during a game against the Braehead Clan. As part of the Fife Flyers community outreach program Nickerson and team mates visited the children's hospice in Kinross operated by C.H.A.S. Touched by the work carried out by the charity Nickerson offered to let fans shave off his impressive trademark beard to raise money for the hospice. This charitable act received many plaudits from across the UK hockey community. On 3 June 2017, after two years with the

Belfast Giants The Belfast Giants (known officially as the Stena Line Belfast Giants due to sponsorship) are a professional ice hockey team based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They compete in the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League, Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). T ...

, Nickerson joined

newcomers Milton Keynes Lightning ahead of their inaugural Elite League season. During his time with the Lightning, Nickerson received a 20 game ban for abusing an official and punching a fan, and was released by the club the following day.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * Nickerson a
HockeysFuture.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickerson, Matt 1985 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) players Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey players Dallas Stars draft picks Idaho Steelheads (ECHL) players Ilves players Iowa Stars players Living people Malmö Redhawks players Springfield Falcons players Victoriaville Tigres players Fife Flyers players Belfast Giants players Milton Keynes Lightning players American expatriate ice hockey players in Scotland American expatriate ice hockey players in Canada American expatriate ice hockey players in Finland American expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate ice hockey players in England American expatriate ice hockey players in Northern Ireland Ice hockey players from Connecticut