Matthew Grzelcyk was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on January 5, 1994. Grzelcyk played one year at The Belmont Hill School in Belmont, Massachusetts, as a 15-year-old and scored two goals with 18 assists in 31 games in 2009-10, earning him honorable mention honors in the Independent School League. The defenseman would jump to the United States National Development Program the next season and play for the U-17 team. Grzelcyk scored two goals with 16 assists in 55 games and also played for them on an international level. In 2011-12, the diminutive blue liner played for the U-18 team and had three goals and 20 assists in 60 games.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound defenseman chose to attend Boston University to play his college hockey close to home. In his freshman season, Grzelcyk had identical offensive numbers to his previous season, but this time in just 38 games. In his sophomore season, the left-shot defender had three goals and eight assists in 19 games with the Terriers. He played five games in the World Junior Championships for the United States and excelled with two goals and four assists, the most goals and assists by a defenseman in the tournament.
Grzelcyk became captain of the Boston University hockey team as a junior and had his best season with ten goals and 28 assists in 41 games, making first-team All-American as the Terriers won the Hockey East Conference Championship. In his senior season, the two-year captain was a first-team All-American again and was honored as the top NCAA defenseman in New England.
Matt Grzelcyk Drafted 85th Overall by the Boston Bruins in 2012
The Boston Bruins selected Grzelcyk with the 85th pick in the third round of the 2012 NHL Draft. Grzelcyk was the 27th defenseman chosen in a blue-liner-heavy draft that saw eight defensemen drafted within the first ten picks. The hometown kid signed a two-year, $1.85 million contract with Boston on April 1, 2016, shortly after his final collegiate game. It was a dream come true for a Charlestown kid whose dad has worked for many years at the Boston Garden, now TD Garden. Grzelcyk began his professional career with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League and played 70 games in 2016-17, scoring six goals with 26 assists and a plus-13 rating. The skilled defenseman would play just 14 more games with Providence before becoming a full-time NHL player.
Grzelcyk’s NHL Debut To Today
Matt Grzelcyk made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins on December 14, 2016, in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins and played just over 14 minutes of ice time with three shots and a blocked shot. Grzelcyk played only two games with the Bruins that year. His first NHL goal came on November 24, 2017, also against Pittsburgh.
Grzelcyk has now played in 445 career regular season games, totaling 25 goals and 110 assists with a plus 137 rating. In 66 postseason games, Grzelcyk has five goals, nine assists, and a minus-19 rating. The 30-year-old is currently an unrestricted free agent heading into the 2024-25 season.
Season 4. Episode 39. The Off Season – Bruins Benders Podcast
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