Matthias Plachta (born 16 May 1991) is a German 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 ...

forward who is currently playing for

Adler Mannheim The Adler Mannheim (English: ''Mannheim Eagles'', formerly Mannheimer ERC) is a professional ice hockey team of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the highest-level ice hockey league in Germany. The team is based in Mannheim, a city in the northern par ...

of the

Deutsche Eishockey Liga The Deutsche Eishockey Liga (for sponsorship reasons called Penny (supermarket), PENNY Deutsche Eishockey Liga) (; English: ''German Ice Hockey League'') or DEL, is a professional ice hockey league in Germany and the highest division in German i ...

(DEL). He is the son of Jacek Płachta, a former player and coach of the Poland men's national ice hockey team.

Playing career

Plachta played for Schwenningen and Mannheim as a junior and made his debut in Germany's second division for Heilbronn during the 2008–09 season. The following season, he logged first minutes in Germany's top-flight

(DEL) with

. After six seasons in the DEL, including winning the title with Mannheim in 2015, and having secured a role in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

national team, Plachta was signed to a one-year entry-level contract 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 ...

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) on 28 May 2015. In his debut North American season in 2015–16, Plachta was assigned to Arizona's AHL affiliate, the

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 ...

. In 46 games with the Falcons, Plachta compiled two goals and 7 points before the Coyotes traded him on trade deadline day along with a conditional 7th-round draft pick in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

to 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 ...

in exchange for Sergei Plotnikov on 29 February 2016. Plachta played a total of 30 contests for Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins during the season. Having not been given the opportunity to play in the NHL during the season, and with Pittsburgh opting not to extend a qualifying offer, Plachta returned to Germany, returning to Adler Mannheim on 30 June 2016 with the signing of a four-year deal.

International play

He represented Germany at the

2018 IIHF World Championship The 2018 IIHF World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament hosted by the Denmark, Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Kor ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* 1991 births Living people Adler Mannheim players German ice hockey forwards German people of Polish descent Heilbronner Falken players Ice hockey players at the 2018 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic ice hockey players for Germany Olympic medalists in ice hockey Olympic silver medalists for Germany Sportspeople from Freiburg im Breisgau Ice hockey people from Freiburg (region) Springfield Falcons players Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players German expatriate ice hockey people German expatriate sportspeople in the United States Ice hockey players at the 2022 Winter Olympics {{Germany-icehockey-bio-stub