Matthew Phillips
Phillips at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic
Born (1998-04-06) April 6, 1998 (age 25)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Washington Capitals
Calgary Flames
NHL Draft 166th overall, 2016
Calgary Flames
Playing career 2017–present

Matthew Phillips (born April 6, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing who currently plays for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Junior

Phillips was drafted in the second round, 33rd overall by the Victoria Royals in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft. The season prior to being drafted, Phillips scored forty goals and 77 points in 37 games played with the Calgary Bisons of the Alberta Major Bantam Hockey League (AMBHL).[1] Phillips participated in the Royals' training camp and preseason for the 2013–14 WHL season as a 15-year old, despite not being eligible to play in the regular season, as WHL rules prevent players under the age of 16 from playing.[2] He was subsequently returned to his minor ice hockey team, the Alberta Midget Hockey League (AMHL) Calgary Buffaloes, where he finished the season with fifteen goals and 35 points in 33 games played.

Phillips joined the Royals' training camp and preseason for the 2014–15 WHL season, but was again returned to his minor ice hockey team in Calgary.[3] Playing with the AMHL Calgary Buffaloes for the second straight season, Phillips was leading the league in scoring when he was called up to the Royals.[4] Phillips made his Western Hockey League debut for the Royals on January 23, 2015, against the Kamloops Blazers, scoring one goal in a 4–3 overtime loss.[5] He played one more game during the 2014–15 WHL season, finishing with three points in two games played, before being returned to the Buffaloes. He finished his second season with the Buffaloes winning the Harry Allen Memorial Trophy as the top scorer in the AMHL with 33 goals and 73 points in 34 games played.[6][7] He also won the Trevor Linden Trophy as the league's top forward and was named to the AMHL First All-Star Team.[8][9]

Professional

On December 31, 2017, Phillips signed a three-year, $2.325 million entry-level contract with the Calgary Flames.[10][11] Philips made his National Hockey League debut with the Flames on May 19, 2021, against the Vancouver Canucks, finishing the game with two shots on goal in 14:19 of ice time in a 6–2 victory.[12]

On August 8, 2021, Phillips signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with the Flames worth $750,000 at the NHL level.[13]

On July 23, 2022, Phillips signed another one-year, two-way contract extension with the Flames worth $750,000 at the NHL level.[14]

Phillips would spend the majority of the 2022–23 season with the Flames affiliate the Calgary Wranglers, where he led the team in goals and points.[15] On December 8, 2022, Phillips was called up to the Calgary Flames, where he would play in two games before being reassigned to the Wranglers.[16] Phillips would enjoy significant success during the season, including being named AHL player of the month for November 2022,[17] being named to the AHL All-Star Classic along with teammate Dustin Wolf and coach Mitch Love,[18] and being named to the AHL First All-Star team along with Wolf.[19]

On July 2, 2023, Phillips as a free agent from the Flames signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $775,000 with the Washington Capitals, joining former coach Mitch Love for the 2023–24 season.[20] He scored his first career NHL goal and added an assist in his first game against his former team on October 16.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2014–15 Victoria Royals WHL 2 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Victoria Royals WHL 72 37 39 76 16 13 5 3 8 2
2016–17 Victoria Royals WHL 70 50 40 90 50 6 1 2 3 2
2016–17 Stockton Heat AHL 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 2
2017–18 Victoria Royals WHL 71 48 64 112 32 11 6 13 19 6
2018–19 Stockton Heat AHL 65 13 25 38 2 — — — — —
2019–20 Stockton Heat AHL 38 15 18 33 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Stockton Heat AHL 30 8 13 21 6 — — — — —
2020–21 Calgary Flames NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2021–22 Stockton Heat AHL 65 31 37 68 16 13 3 5 8 4
2022–23 Calgary Flames NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2022–23 Calgary Wranglers AHL 66 36 40 76 12 9 1 6 7 15
NHL totals 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —

Awards and honours

Award Year Ref
AMHL
Harry Allen Memorial Trophy (AMHL Top Scorer) 2015 [7]
Trevor Linden Trophy (AMHL Top Forward) 2015 [8]
AMHL First All-Star Team 2015 [9]
WHL
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy (WHL Rookie of the Year) 2016 [22]
WHL Western Conference First All-Star Team 2017, 2018 [23][24]
AHL
First All-Star Team 2023 [19]

References

  1. ^ "Royals select 11 players in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft". Victoria Royals. May 2, 2013. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  2. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve (August 31, 2013). "Victoria Royals pound Seattle Thunderbirds goalie but lose shootout". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. B.1. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve (September 12, 2014). "Victoria Royals' young guns draw blanks against Giants". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. D.1. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. ^ Heinen, Laurence (January 27, 2015). "'Dub Weekly: Odd couple leading Hitmen to success". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. p. D.9. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  5. ^ Dheensaw, Cleve (January 24, 2015). "Blazers burn Victoria Royals in OT". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia. p. B.9. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  6. ^ Hagen, Jefferson (March 31, 2015). "UFA Bisons off to Vancouver after conquering the province". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. p. C.12. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Harry Allen Memorial Trophy - Top Scorer". Alberta Midget Hockey League. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  8. ^ a b "Trevor Linden Trophy - Top Forward". Alberta Midget Hockey League. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  9. ^ a b "All Stars". Alberta Midget Hockey League. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  10. ^ "Flames sign Matthew Phillips". Calgary Flames. December 31, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  11. ^ "Matthew Phillips". CapFriendly.com. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  12. ^ Austin, Daniel (May 19, 2021). "Phillips shines in Flames debut". Calgary Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  13. ^ "Flames sign Matthew Phillips & Luke Philip". Calgary Flames. August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  14. ^ "FLAMES RE-SIGN MATTHEW PHILLIPS". NHL.com. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  15. ^ "TheAHL.com | The American Hockey League". theahl.com. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  16. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (Feb 16, 2023). "Wranglers Report: Matthew Phillips racking up game-winners". The Calgary Sun.
  17. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (Dec 1, 2022). "WRANGLERS REPORT: Is AHL player-of-the-month Matthew Phillips any closer to a call-up?". The Calgary Sun.
  18. ^ Hunt, Stephen (Jan 11, 2023). "Phillips, Wolf join coach Mitch Love on AHL all-star squad". CTV News Calgary.
  19. ^ a b Pike, Ryan. "Dustin Wolf and Matthew Phillips named AHL First Team All-Stars". FLAMES NATION.
  20. ^ Gilbertson, Wes (July 2, 2023). "Matthew Phillips says farewell to Flames, signs with Capitals". Calgary Sun. Retrieved July 2, 2023.
  21. ^ "Capitals' Phillips gets first two NHL points in win over former team Flames". Sportsnet. October 16, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "WHL Announces 50th Season Award Winners". Western Hockey League. May 4, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  23. ^ "WHL announces 2016-17 Conference All-Star teams". Western Hockey League. March 22, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  24. ^ "WHL announces 2017-18 Conference Award winners". Western Hockey League. March 21, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.

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