Jonathan Matsumoto
bgsufalcons.collegesports.com

Jonathan Matsumoto

Hometown:

Orleans Ontario

Currently Playing In:

Pro

Birthday:

1986-10-13
Position:

C
Eligible for draft:

2005
Shoots:

Left
Drafted:
Height:

6-0
Acquired:

Trade with Carolina, 2012
Weight:

185 lbs.
Prospect Talent Score
6.0

About Prospect Talent Score and Probability of Success»

Probability of Success
  • C

History

2004-05: Jonathan Matsumoto enjoyed a superb rookie campaign at Bowling Green and was named Honorable Mention to the CCHA All-Rookie Team. He led the Falcons in scoring with 18 goals and 14 assists while playing in all 36 games. Matsumoto led Bowling Green in power play goals (10), game-winning goals (5), and shooting percentage (.189) and was twice named CCHA Rookie of the Week. Matsumoto received Bowling Green’s Sam Cooper Trophy as the team’s top scorer.

2005-06: Matsumoto combined with Alex Foster (TOR) to give the Falcons one of the nation’s most potent offensive duos. Matsumoto finished second on the Falcons team in scoring with 20 goals and 28 assists in 36 games and led the team in goals (20) and power play goals (12). Matsumoto’s posted his first career hat-trick in BGSU’s 9-6 loss to Boston College in October. His -10 plus/minus was as much a reflection on the struggles of Bowling Green (13-23-2) as it was an indictment of his play. Matsumoto was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 3rd Round (79th overall) of the 2006 NHL draft.

2006-07: Matsumoto was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for the Falcons, who finished 7-29-2. . Matsumoto led Bowling Green in points, scoring 11 goals with 22 assists in 38 games and finished -13. He chose to forego his senior year of college hockey and signed a contract with Philadelphia following Bowling Green’s season. In 16 games with the Flyers’ AHL affiliate Phantoms, Matsumoto tallied 2 goals with 2 assists; and had 4 PIM and was -3.

2007-08: Matsumoto burst out of the gates offensively in his first full season with the Phantoms before cooling off down the stretch. He scored a power-play goal and received second star honors in a 4-1 Phantoms (AHL) victory vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was named Toyota Phantoms Player of the Month for October after scoring 5 goals with 6 assists in nine games. Matsumoto tied for the team lead in power-play goals during the regular season with 11. He finished the regular season with 20 goals and 24 assists and was +4 with 52 PIM in 77 games. In the AHL playoff, he scored his first playoff goal in Game 4 vs. Albany and finished with 2 goals and 3 assists with 10 PIM and a -5 plus/minus rating.

2008-09: Matsumoto returned to the Phantoms after attending Flyers camp and was the Phantoms’ second leading scorer behind Jared Ross. Matsumoto scored 29 goals with 34 assists to lead a furious Phantoms late-season turnaround that earned the team a playoff spot. Matsumoto’s two-way play was a bit of a concern, as his -12 plus/minus rating indicated, but he was a dangerous player on the power play and in penalty killing situations – when he scored 10 and 4 goals respectively. In the Phantoms’ four-game, first round playoff loss to Hershey, he scored 1 goal with 2 assist and 4 PIM, finishing +1 for the series.

2008-09: Matsumoto’s third season in the Flyers organization was again spent at the AHL level, with Philadelphia having re-located the team to Glens Falls, NY. Matsumoto led the Adirondack Phantoms in scoring with 30 goals with 32 assists while accumulating 50 PIM. He was again dangerous in special teams play, scoring 10 times on the power play and 3 shorthanded goals. Matsumoto’s plus/minus rating (-19) was tied for second worst on the team as the Phantoms struggled and failed to make the AHL playoffs. Matsumoto was traded by the Flyers to Carolina in June for a seventh round pick (206th overall) in the 2010 draft.
 

Talent Analysis

Matsumoto is a brilliant playmaking center who brings an infectious enthusiasm to his game. He possesses superb passing skills and knows how to find his linemates. He controls and protects the puck well. Matsumoto is a strong skater who moves well through traffic. He has excellent hockey sense and his play around the net is very good. Despite his less than ideal size, he will drive to the net hard and often. He has a quick, accurate shot. Matsumoto’s foot speed is a concern as he doesn’t quite have that burst of speed of some of the better smaller forwards at the NHL level. A consistent scorer at the AHL level, Matsumoto does not always bring that same determination to his own end of the ice – something that kept him from getting an NHL opportunity with the Flyers.
 

Future

Matsumoto will get a fresh start with Carolina but with several bigger and stronger forward prospects in training camp he must prove that he is willing to play both ends of the ice if he is to stick with the Hurricanes. He enters his fourth full season of pro hockey so the clock is ticking on his NHL aspirations. Matsumoto has NHL-calibre offensive skills while being an established scorer at the AHL level. Whether he gets the opportunity to prove he can be more than that, and capitalizes on that opportunity, remains to be seen.

AJHL Quarter Finals (March 13th)

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[ Exclusive 2000 Draft Eligible Player Profiles and brief Scouting Reports. Click Here!!! ]
Olds 4 at Calgary Royals 3
The Olds Grizzlys, heavy underdogs heading into the series, moved one step closer to the biggest upset of the AJHL playoffs in the past several years.
Unlike the previous four games, the bulk of the scoring in this one took place in the early going. Midway through the opening period, Craig Bezjack scored for the Grizzlys to make it 1-0. The assists went to Tyler Brosz and Mike Gerstenbuhler, who is eligible for this year’s draft and recorded his first point of the post-season. Just over a minute after the Olds goal, Ben Knopp tied the game up on the powerplay for the Royals and three minutes after that Krys Kolanos scored an even-strength tally. Both goals were assisted by David Evans, who increased his playoff point total to 8 points. Colen Pappas tied the game up before the period would end as he scored a shorthanded goal at the 15:27 mark.

In the second period, Greg Davis gave the Grizzlys the lead on the powerplay 8:22 in. However, Calgary didn’t take long to tie it up as Ben Knopp, who has been having a terrific playoff thus far, scored a goal assisted by Scooter Smith and Krys Kolanos to knot the game at three. Under a minute later, Tyler Brosz scored what would turn out to be the winner, assisted by Ryan Watson and Joel Macauley.
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AJHL Quarter Finals (March 12th)

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Grande Prairie 2 at St. Albert 4 (Saints win 4-1)
The St. Albert Saints put little doubt in the minds of Grande Prairie Storm players and fans that this would be their last game of the season early on in the first period as they exploded for three quick goals out of the gate.
The Saints were flying in front of their home crowd at Akinsdale Arena and struck for a quick goal 37 seconds in. Joey Bastien scored, assisted by Pavel Beranek and Ron Grimard on the powerplay. It would be the only powerplay opportunity the club would get that period so, to capitalize on a chance like that was a definite boost to both the home crowd and the team. The club carried that momentum and four minutes later made it 2-0 on Bastien’s second of the game, also from Beranek and Grimard. The Storm had yet to score more than two goals in a game against the Saints in this series and players on both teams knew it. Only three minutes after that, Beranek, Bastien and Grimard combined again to put the club up by three. This was enough to chase the Storm’s Chad Rycroft from the nets on this night. Despite his inspired play in the playoffs to this point, he was unable to stop the Saints on this night as they peppered 11 shots at him in under eight minutes.
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Chocolate Factory: The Beginning

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Hershey Kisses line the light poles as you drive through Hershey. No matter where you turn, there always seems to be something to remind you of the tastiness of anything “Hershey” made. Be it the chocolate they produce or the park and museum they run, the company always seems to present quality products to the public. Their factory produces some of the best chocolate one can buy and probably one of the biggest selections one can find. Goes to show you that Hershey knows how to create a tasty “treat”, but when it comes to hockey the treats can taste even sweeter.

Located between Hershey Park and the Hershey Museum, Hersheypark Arena sits and has done so for many years. It is a relic to most, being that it is the oldest arena in the AHL not to mention, on most days, it houses two outstanding “treasures” inside of the arena, the Hershey Bears and the arena’s zamboni driver. Zamboni driver? Yes, Hersheypark currently employs the longest working zamboni driver in hockey and like him the Bears are a priceless treasure to enjoy.
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Leafs’ Prospect: Frantisek Mrazek: Will the Bubble Rise or Will the Bubble Burst

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The scouts sometimes say that an NHL power-forward is born AND made, and this is frequently true. A big, strong, physical forward who has excellent offensive skills is a desire of many NHL teams. The Maple Leafs drafted a young man, Frantisek (Frank) Mrazek in the fifth round, 111th selection overall from Ceske-Budjovice in the Czech. Republic. Frank is currently 19 yrs. old and finishing his second year with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL at the juniors level. He is 6-4, 220 lbs. with excellent strength. He scored 30 goals, 24 assists for 54 pts. in 65 games for Red Deer as a rookie in 1997-98. Great production was expected of him in Red Deer this season, particularly after he raised some eyebrows with a good showing in the Leafs’ training camp.

“Our expectations for Frank were very high coming into this season”, stated Rebels assistant coach, Peter Anholt. When Frank got off to a sizzling start with 6 goals and 12 pts. in a 4 game stretch early in the season, he seemed to be on his way. He was named WHL player of the week and player of the month in October. Leafs director of player development, Anders Hedberg called him “a young man with goals. He knows where he comes from and where he is going.” in a Toronto Star article by Ken Campbell.
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AJHL Playoffs (March 10th)

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St. Albert 1 at Grande Prairie 0 (OT)
For the second night in a row, St. Albert and Grande Prairie played to an extreme defensive battle. While last night it was Kirby Millar against Chad Rycroft, tonight Rycroft’s opponent was Scott Kabotoff.
Kabotoff, who tied a league-record four shutouts in the regular season stopped seven shots in the first period, 15 in the second and ten in the third. He stopped one shot over seven minutes of overtime. Kabotoff’s goals-against average playing in three of the team’s four playoff games so far is Rycroft, who was not even the clear-cut number one goaltender in the regular season for the Storm, has played every single minute of the playoffs so far for his club. He did allow the game-winning goal tonight, but not before stopping 11 shots in the first period, six in the second and eight in the third as well as two in overtime. His average dropped to 2.47 and his save percentage rose to .922 on this night.

While the first three periods were scoreless, Mark Jackson scored his first of the playoffs with 3:53 remaining in the first overtime period. Pavel Beranek added the assist.

Fort Saskatchewan 1 at Lloydminster 4 Read more»
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