Matt Tennyson
Matthew Tennyson | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 23, 1990 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey defenseman (retired) |
| Years active | 2012–2024 |
| Known for | Playing in the National Hockey League for San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Nashville Predators |
Matthew Thomas Tennyson (born April 23, 1990) is a retired American professional ice hockey defenseman who competed for eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) representing the San Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, and Nashville Predators.
Early life
Born in Minneapolis to parents Tom and Ann Tennyson, he completed his high school education at Amador Valley High School in 2008.
Playing career
Although undrafted, Tennyson spent three years playing collegiate hockey with the Western Michigan University Broncos before securing a two-year entry-level contract with his hometown team, the San Jose Sharks, on March 30, 2012. He promptly joined their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, to conclude the 2011–12 season. Significantly, he became the first alumnus of the San Jose Junior Sharks youth program to advance to the NHL.
On July 3, 2016, Tennyson agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Beginning the season with their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, he earned a call-up after tallying seven points in nine games. That season marked a career-high for him with 45 NHL appearances and six assists.
As a free agent on July 1, 2017, he signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres that included a one-way deal for its final year. After appearing in 14 games without scoring, he was waived and reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
On July 1, 2019, Tennyson inked a two-year, two-way contract with the New Jersey Devils. Early in the 2019–20 campaign, he was promoted from the Binghamton Devils to fill in for injured defenseman Andy Greene.
Tennyson joined the Nashville Predators on July 28, 2021, signing a two-year, two-way deal. During that season, he appeared in eight NHL games contributing three assists while spending most of his time providing veteran leadership over 53 games with their AHL affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. On July 3, 2022, after clearing unconditional waivers, both parties agreed to terminate his contract.
On September 1, 2022, Tennyson signed with the newly established Coachella Valley Firebirds for their inaugural 2022–23 season based in Palm Desert, California.
On January 30, 2024, via an announcement on Instagram, Tennyson transitioned from active player to serving as an analyst and brand ambassador for the Coachella Valley Firebirds' broadcast team, marking the conclusion of his playing career.
Regular season and playoffs
... [data continues accordingly] ...| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2007–08 | Texas Tornado | NAHL | 58 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 80 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Cedar Rapids RoughRiders | USHL | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 51 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Western Michigan University | CCHA | 34 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Western Michigan University | CCHA | 42 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Western Michigan University | CCHA | 41 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 2012–13 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 60 | 5 | 22 | 27 | ||||||||
| 2012–13 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||||||
| NHL totals | 173 | 4 | 25 | 29 | 44 | |||||||||
International
| Year | Team | Tournament | Outcome | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | United States | WC | Template:Bronze3 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | |
| Career senior totals | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Collegiate | ||
| All-CCHA Second Team | 2011–12 | |
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1990 births
- Living people
- American men's ice hockey defensemen
- Binghamton Devils players
- Buffalo Sabres players
- Carolina Hurricanes players
- Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players
- Charlotte Checkers (2010–) players
- Coachella Valley Firebirds players
- Milwaukee Admirals players
- Ice hockey people from Minneapolis
- Nashville Predators players
- New Jersey Devils players
- Ice hockey players from California
- Sportspeople from Pleasanton, California
- Rochester Americans players
- San Jose Barracuda players
- San Jose Sharks players
- Texas Tornado players
- Undrafted National Hockey League players
- Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey players
- Worcester Sharks players
- Amador Valley High School alumni
- 21st-century American sportsmen