Matt Read

Matt Read (born Matthew Zachary Jarrett Read on June 14, 1986) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Minor Hockey Career
Matt started playing hockey on Vancouver Island playing for the Kerry Park Islanders.

When he was 10 years old, he moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado and played for the Pikes Peak Minor Hockey for four years.

Then, Matt moved to Ilderton, Ontario, Canada and played for the Ilderton Jets of the OMHA's Shamrock League.

Junior Hockey Career
After being a finalist in the OMHA Bantam Championship, Matt's team won the Championship in his first year of Midget[, defeating Centre Hastings in 4 games.

From minor hockey, he played OHA Junior D hockey for the Lucan Irish in the 2003-04 season.

In 2004-05, Matt signed with the nearby St. Marys Lincolns Junior B club of the Western Ontario Hockey League. He spent two seasons with the Lincolns.

In the 2004-05 season, Matt was runner up to future NHLer Logan Couture for the WOHL Rookie-of-the-Year Award. Couture, (a graduate of the Lucan Irish of the Shamrock League) played that season with the St. Thomas Stars before being an OHL first round draft pick in 2005.

The following season, Matt signed with the Milton Icehawks Junior A club of the OJHL for 2005-06.

In 2006-07, he spent a season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL.

Philadelphia Flyers
On March 24, 2011, Matt signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia Flyers after playing four seasons of collegiate hockey with Bemidji State University.

He made the Flyers roster out of training camp heading into the 2011–12 season and made his NHL debut on October 6, 2011 against the Boston Bruins.

Matt scored his first NHL goal on October 8, 2011 against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.

On October 18, 2011,he recorded a career-high 4 points (goal, 3 assists) in a 7–2 Flyers win over the Ottawa Senators.

Matt participated in the All-Star SuperSkills Competition and finished second in the accuracy contest, behind Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn.

He finished the regular season leading all rookies in goals scored, 24, and ranking fourth among all rookies in points (47).

During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Matt took the opportunity to go over to Europe to play for Sodertalje SK of the Allsvenskan, Sweden's second-tier league. He recorded 24 points in 20 games.

On January 26, 2011, Matt posted his first career hat trick against the Florida Panthers, scoring on goaltenders Jose Theodore and Scott Clemmensen.

Following the shortened 2012–13 season, he was invited to play for Team Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Championships.

On September 20, 2013, Matt signed a four-year, $14.5 million contract extension with the Flyers.

Awards & Achievements
College Hockey Awards
 * All-CHA Rookie Team (2007–08)
 * CHA Rookie of the Year	(2007–08)
 * All-CHA First Team (2008–09)
 * All-CHA First Team (2009–10)
 * CHA Player of the Year	(2009–10)
 * NCAA Frozen Four participant (2008–09)
 * NCAA West First-Team All-America (2009–10)
 * NHL All-Star Game SuperSkills Competition rookie competitor: Team Alfredsson (2012)
 * Led NHL rookies in goals (2011–12) (24)