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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

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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 pa ...

of the

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

(DEL). He is the son of Jacek Płachta, a former player and coach of the

Poland men's national ice hockey team The Poland national men's ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Poland, and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. They are ranked 21st in the world in the IIHF World Rankings, but prior to the 1980s they were ranked as ...

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 (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(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 former 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 Ar ...

. 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 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

to the

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

in exchange for

Sergei Plotnikov Sergei Sergeyevich Plotnikov (russian: Сергей Сергеевич Плотников; born 3 June 1990) is a Russian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Plotnikov ...

on 29 February 2016. Plachta played a total of 30 contests for Pittsburgh's AHL affiliate

Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

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 Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4–20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Korea made i ...

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 Baden-Württemberg 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