Matt Niskanen

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Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg/13 st 8 lb)
NHL Team	Dallas Stars
Nationality	United States
Born	December 6, 1986 (1986-12-06) (age 21), Virginia, MN, USA
NHL Draft	28th overall, 2005 Dallas Stars
Pro career	2007 – present

Matt Niskanen (born December 6, 1986 in Virginia, Minnesota) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman. He was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the first round, 28th overall, in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. His roots are in Finland and all his grandparents are Finnish, but he does not speak Finnish himself.

Niskanen attended the University of Minnesota Duluth. In 2005–06, his freshman season on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs hockey team, he recorded 14 points in 38 games. Before that, Niskanen played for the Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl boy's hockey team and helped bring the Blue Devils to their first state high school tournament appearance. During 2006–2007, his sophomore season on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs hockey team, he recorded nine goals, twenty-two assists in thirty-nine games.

Niskanen was named to the 2006–2007 All WCHA first team, and the All WCHA academic team.

Niskanen decided to leave college and turn pro after his sophomore season at UMD. On March 19th, 2007 he signed an Amateur tryout contract with the Iowa Stars for the rest of the season; he later signed a three-year NHL contract with the Dallas Stars which began in 2007–08. He subsequently made the Stars' 2007–08 roster out of training camp.

1 NHL career
2 Career statistics
3 External links
4 Resources

[edit] NHL career

Niskanen made his NHL regular season debut against the Colorado Avalanche on October 3, 2007. He recorded his first NHL points against the Boston Bruins two nights later with two assists. His first NHL goal came on October 29, 2007 against the San Jose Sharks. Niskanen had an excellent rookie start with the Stars, leading the team in plus/minus at mid-season, which resulted in his being invited to the Young Stars game during the 2008 NHL All-Star weekend.

[edit] Career statistics

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
2005–06	Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	38	1	13	14	-	40	-	-	-	-	-	-
2006–07	Minnesota Duluth	WCHA	39	9	22	31	-	42	-	-	-	-	-	-
2006–07	Iowa Stars	AHL	13	0	3	3	-4	6	12	2	5	7	-7	10
2007–08	Dallas Stars	NHL	78	7	19	26	+22	36	9	0	3	3	-1	4
NHL Totals			78	7	19	26	+22	36	9	0	3	3	-1	4
AHL Totals			13	0	3	3	-4	6	12	2	5	7	-7	10
WCHA Totals			77	10	35	45	-	82	-	-	-	-	-	-