Matt Kennedy
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Birthday:
1989-03-04 |
Position:
RW |
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Eligible for draft:
2009 |
Shoots:
Right |
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Drafted:
2009 |
Height:
6-2 |
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Acquired:
5th round (131st overall), 2009 |
Weight:
202 lbs. |
Prospect Talent Score
Probability of Success
- C
History
2007-08: Limited to 45 regular season games with Guelph in the OHL, scored 17 goals with 4 assists and 99 PIM with a -11 plus/minus. Scored three goals, including one each on the power play and penalty kill, with 1 assist and 25 PM in 10 playoff games.
2008-09: In his third full season with the Guelph Storm, Kennedy led the team in goals (33), assists (40) and points (73) and was also near the top in penalty minutes (95). In 67 regular season games he finished +1. Tied with Brandon Buck (MIN)
for team lead in points in the playoffs with 3 goals and 2 assists in four games. Kennedy was named to the OHL's Third All-Star Team. He signed an AHL amateur tryout contract with Syracuse following the OHL playoffs and appeared in four games with 1 goal and 2 PIM.
2009-10: Attended Hurricanes camp before being returned to Guelph for his overage season. After a mid-season trade from Guelph to Barrie, Kennedy suffered his fifth concussion on a hit from Windsor's Zack Kassian (BUF), for which the Spitfire defenseman received a 20-game suspension. Kennedy returned to the Colts in late January and finished the regular season with 18 goals and 16 assists and a much more respectable 33 PIM in 43 games between the Storm and Colts. Kennedy had a strong playoff run to lead Barrie. The Colts rolled to the East Conference championshp before falling to the eventual Memorial Cup champion Spitfires in the OHL finals. In 17 playoff games, Kennedy scored 9 goals with 6 assists and was +13 with 11 PIM. Signed to a three-year entry-level contract by Carolina in May.
2010-11: Kennedy skated in 57 games for AHL Syracuse after being acquired from the Hurricanes organization in a November 2010 trade. The first-year pro skated in 8 games with AHL Charlotte prior to the trade and in 65 games between the two teams finished with 4 goals (all with the Crunch) and 10 assists. Kennedy was a -11plus/minus and had 73 PMs.
2011-12: Kennedy skated in 41 games for Anaheim AHL affiliate Syracuse – suffering a collarbone injury at the end of January that required surgery which kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the year. Prior to the injury, Kennedy was effectively filling a third line checking and energy role for the Crunch. He scored 1 goal with 5 assists and was plus-five with 60 penalty minutes.
Talent Analysis
Kennedy boasts formidable size and solid athletic ability. He has yet to firmly establish when competing directly against his peers, but has made some solid contributions intermittently at the AHL level.
Future
The first step for Kennedy will be garnering some more ice time in a broader variety of roles at the AHL level. At this point, the best one could hope for is his developing into a depth forward.
