Matthew Villalta (born June 3, 1999) is a Canadian 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

for the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

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) as a prospect to the

Utah Mammoth The Utah Mammoth are a professional ice hockey team based in Salt Lake City. The Mammoth compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

of 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). He was selected by the

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

in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Villalta played for the Greater Kingston Gaels U16 team in 2014–15 and for the club's U18 squad in 2015–16. At age 15 in 2015, he was the only person from Greater Kingston to receive an invite to 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 ...

(OHL) combine. However, he was not selected in the OHL Draft and signed with the junior-B level Westport Rideaus. Villalta began playing in the OHL for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds starting in 2016, after having impressed at a Greyhounds tryout. He appeared in 33 games with 28 starts in the 2016–17 season, having a 25–3–0–0 record with a .918 save percentage while having a team record 2.41

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA) mark. He received a league rookie of the month honor and became the winner of the F. W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy for having the best GAA in the league among first-year players. Villalta was selected in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the

. He returned to the Greyhounds for the 2017–18 season and had a 40–5–2–2 record while playing 49 games, having a save percentage of .908 with a GAA of 2.58. He was named third-team All-OHL and was the recipient of the Dave Pinkney Trophy for best GAA. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Kings on April 27, 2018. In the 2018–19 season with the Greyhounds, Villalta had a record of 33–15–5–0 in 51 games played, having a .903 save percentage and 3.03 GAA. Villalta played for the

Ontario Reign The Ontario Reign are a professional ice hockey team based in Ontario, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings. The team plays its home games at the Toyota Arena. The fra ...

of the

(AHL) in 2019–20, playing 22 games while having a record of 10–6–2–0, a save percentage of .899 and a 3.27 goals against average. He also saw action in eight games with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

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 ...

, recording a save percentage of .864. He returned to the Reign in 2020–21 and had a 8–8–1 record while being one of the members of the Kings'

taxi squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout ...

. The following season, he ranked third in the league with 28 wins and was fourth with 2660:32 minutes played; in 46 games played his record was 28–10–7, and he helped the team reach the AHL playoffs while having a .903 save percentage. Villalta signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with Los Angeles on July 1, 2022. He played in 22 games and had a record of 12–8–1 in the 2022–23 season. He became a free agent after the season and signed with the

Arizona 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 ...

. He was sent to their AHL affiliate, the

, and became the team's top goaltender and one of the best in the league. He started the season with a record of 22–11–1 with a 2.58 GAA and .913 save percentage, being named an AHL All-Star before being recalled to the Coyotes. He made his NHL debut on February 16, 2024, stopping each of the four shots he faced while playing most of the third period in a 5–1 loss to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

. Three days later, he made his first start against 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 ...

, resulting in a 6–3 loss.

Personal life

Villalta was born on June 3, 1999, in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. His twin brother, Wyatt, played ice hockey as well, while his sister, Rachel, played college soccer.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Villalta, Matt 1999 births Living people Arizona Coyotes players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Fort Wayne Komets players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Los Angeles Kings draft picks Ontario Reign (AHL) players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sportspeople from Kingston, Ontario Tucson Roadrunners players Utah Hockey Club players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen