Matt Grzelcyk

Matthew Grzelcyk (/ˈɡrɪzlɪk/ GRIZ-lik; born January 5, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Boston Bruins with the 85th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2012 NHL entry draft, with whom he spent the first twelve seasons of his NHL career, and has also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As a youth, Grzelcyk played in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Middlesex Islanders minor ice hockey team, along with teammates Jon Gillies and Miles Wood.

Grzelcyk attended Belmont Hill School before joining the USNTDP of the USHL, winning a gold medal at the 2012 U18 World Juniors in the Czech Republic. He committed to play for Boston University in the Hockey East Conference of the NCAA.

He was named to the Hockey East All-Freshman team in 2012. He was selected to the preliminary roster for the 2013 World Juniors but did not make the final cut.

He served as captain of the Terriers his junior and senior season. He was named an assistant captain at the 2014 World Juniors but the US did not medal. He scored the overtime winning goal in the 63rd Beanpot that gave BU their 30th title, and was named the tournament MVP. He played 124 games during his four-year career at BU, scoring 26 goals and assisting on 69.

On April 1, 2016, he signed a two-year entry-level deal with the Boston Bruins, starting with the 2016–17 season. He joined Boston's affiliate Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) on an Amateur Tryout Agreement for the rest of the 2015–16 campaign.

On December 14, 2016, Grzelcyk made his NHL debut with the Bruins in a 4–3 OT loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Grzelcyk spent 6 weeks of the 2017-2018 season playing with the Providence Bruins before returning to the NHL on November 22, 2017