Matt Nieto Explained

Matt Nieto
Birth Date:5 November 1992
Birth Place:Long Beach, California, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lb:187
Position:Left wing
Shoots:Left
League:NHL
Team:Pittsburgh Penguins
Former Teams:San Jose Sharks
Colorado Avalanche
Draft:47th overall
Draft Year:2011
Draft Team:San Jose Sharks
Career Start:2013

Matthew Evan Nieto (born November 5, 1992) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played two separate stints each for the San Jose Sharks and the Colorado Avalanche. He was drafted by the Sharks in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life and career

Nieto is of Mexican-American descent. Nieto's father, Jesse, is a longshoreman, while his mother, Mary, is a Nordstrom makeup artist.[1]

Nieto grew up in Long Beach, California, in a dangerous neighborhood; his mother had stated: "There were drive-by shootings. He jokes about it, that Snoop Dogg lived around the corner. It's true, but Matt wasn't born then."[2]

When he was two years old, Nieto became interested in skating, particularly rollerblading, when he saw his sister skating in the family's house. His grandfather later bought him a hockey stick, and when he was three Nieto began playing roller hockey at the YMCA.[3] As a youth, he played in the 2004 and 2005 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with the Los Angeles Hockey Club minor ice hockey team, and was teammates with Emerson Etem and Rocco Grimaldi.[4]

Nieto has a sister with Down syndrome and autism and his mother has battled advanced breast cancer.[5] [6]

Playing career

Amateur

Nieto began attending Salisbury School, a preparatory school, in Salisbury, Connecticut, at the start of his second year of high school. In one season with the school's hockey team, he scored eight goals and ten assists in 28 games. The performance drew the attention of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, and Nieto subsequently moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to play in the Program.[7] In 2008–09, he played for the under-17 and under-18 teams, scoring 20 goals and 33 assists and six goals and eight assists, respectively. During his time in the program he and three other players including Jon Merrill were suspended for sexual harassment and lewd behaviour.[8] The next season, he played for the Program's United States Hockey League (USHL) team, scoring 15 goals and 14 assists; he also returned to the under-17 team, scoring one goal.[9]

After participating in the Program, Nieto was offered a chance to play major junior hockey for the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League (WHL), but opted to attend college instead and play at the collegiate level.[10] When choosing colleges, Nieto decided between Boston University and Boston College, and elected to attend the former on a full scholarship. In his first year, Nieto scored 10 goals and 13 assists. The next year, he scored 16 goals and 26 assists with a plus-minus rating of +19. In 2012, Nieto scored 18 goals, second-most on the team behind Dan O'Regan, and 19 assists. He ended his Terriers career with 44 goals and 102 points in 115 games.[11]

Nieto was ranked the 43rd-best prospect and the second-best player in the NCAA's Hockey East conference by NHL.com among the 2011 draft class.[12] Hockey's Future stated he had struggled earlier in his career defensively, but had since improved. They added he had "explosive speed," and excels with puck handling and passing while moving. The website gave him a 7.5/10 talent score.In the Draft's second round, Nieto was selected by the San Jose Sharks with the 47th overall pick, their first pick of the draft.[13] Nieto became the first Californian to be selected by the team. Regarding Nieto, Sharks Director of Scouting Tim Burke stated, "We were watching this guy over two years now. He has offensive ability on the rush and has shown he can do other roles, like penalty kill."

Professional

Nieto signed a three-year, $2.3 million contract with the Sharks on April 1, 2013.[14] [15] He spent time with the Sharks' then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Worcester Sharks, during the year, playing in 11 games.[16] He scored two goals with four assists, a −4 plus-minus rating and six penalty minutes.

Nieto made his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on October 3, 2013.[17] He scored his first career NHL goal against Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers on October 8, off assists by Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels.[18] Nieto, however, returned to Worcester over one month later, on November 25,[19] though he was later recalled on December 7.[20] Despite being reassigned to the San Francisco Bulls of the ECHL on December 18,[21] Nieto was recalled by the Sharks three days later after an injury to forward Tomáš Hertl.[22]

Nieto scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal on April 22, 2014, via an empty net goal against the Los Angeles Kings.[23]

In the 2016–17 season, Nieto struggled to retain his role in adding an offensive touch to the Sharks' bottom six forwards. Surpassed in the depth chart, Nieto played in just 16 games with 2 assists before he was placed on waivers in order to gain more playing time. Nieto was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche the following day, on January 5, 2017.[24]

On July 25, 2017, Nieto and the Avalanche avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1 million contract.[25] Nieto set career high's in the 2018 season with 74 games played and 15 goals scored. After the year the Avalanche signed Nieto to a two-year deal worth $3.95 Million in July 2018.[26]

As a free agent for the first time in his career at the conclusion of the 2019–20 season, Nieto returned to the San Jose Sharks in signing a one-year, $700,000 contract on October 13, 2020.[27] In the following season, Nieto contributed to the Sharks forward depth, adding 5 goals and 7 points in 25 games before his season was derailed through injury. He made his 500th NHL career appearance in a game against the St. Louis Blues on March 19, 2021, becoming just the third California native to reach the mark behind Brooks Orpik and Jason Zucker.[28] On June 21, 2021, Nieto agreed to a two-year, $1.7 million contract extension to remain with the Sharks.[29] In the season, having returned to full health, Nieto posted 6 goals and 17 points through 70 regular season games, as the Sharks missed the post-season for the third consecutive season.

In his final year under contract with the Sharks in the season, Nieto showed his versatility amongst the Sharks forward-lines, increasing his scoring output when elevated alongside Logan Couture in scoring 8 goals and 15 points through 48 regular season games. With the Sharks out of contention for a playoff berth, Nieto was traded alongside Ryan Merkley in a return to the Avalanche, in exchange for Martin Kaut and Jacob MacDonald on January 25, 2023.[30] [31] He completed the season combining his offensive output between the Sharks and Avalanche to finish with 12 goals and 24 points, both the second highest totals of his career. He was scoreless in 7 playoff contests with the injury struck Avalanche in a first-round defeat to the Seattle Kraken.

As a free agent, Nieto left the Avalanche to sign a two-year, $1.8 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2023.[32]

International play

Nieto was first selected to represent the United States at the 2009 IIHF World U18 Championships, posting four goals in seven games to help capture the gold medal.[33] He was reselected the following year and successfully defended Team USA's gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Team League GP GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08Salisbury SchoolHS-Prep2381018
2008–09U.S. NTDP U17USDP1399188
2008–09U.S. NTDP U18USDP13681414
2008–09U.S. NTDP U18NAHL3811243514
2009–10U.S. NTDP JuniorsUSHL2415142919
2009–10U.S. NTDP U17USDP31010
2009–10U.S. NTDP U18USDP5428265431
2010–11Boston UniversityHE3910132316
2011–12Boston UniversityHE3716264226
2012–13Boston UniversityHE3918193724
2012–13Worcester SharksAHL112460
2013–14San Jose SharksNHL661014241672350
2013–14Worcester SharksAHL22350
2014–15San Jose SharksNHL7210172720
2015–16San Jose SharksNHL67891710161238
2016–17San Jose SharksNHL160224
2016–17Colorado AvalancheNHL4374114
2017–18Colorado AvalancheNHL741511261460332
2018–19Colorado AvalancheNHL64 4 19 23 812 4 3 7 2
2019–20Colorado AvalancheNHL70813216141234
2020–21San Jose SharksNHL285274
2021–22San Jose SharksNHL706111719
2022–23San Jose SharksNHL4587158
2022–23Colorado AvalancheNHL36459870002
2023–24Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL221344
NHL totals67386117203125628132118

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2009United StatesWHC1763366
2009United StatesWJC18740412
2010United StatesWJC1871344
Junior totals20861422

Notes and References

  1. News: Pollak. Dave. San Jose Sharks rookie Matt Nieto helps his mom fight cancer. Mercury News. April 7, 2014. February 24, 2015.
  2. News: Morley . Sie . Fear The Fin . Making their mark: Latinos in hockey . October 14, 2017 . November 11, 2017.
  3. News: Pollak . David . The Mercury News . San Jose Sharks rookie Matt Nieto helps his mom fight cancer . April 7, 2014 . November 11, 2017.
  4. Web site: Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA. 2018. Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. February 16, 2019. March 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf. dead.
  5. Web site: Costello . Brian . The Hockey News . SAN JOSE SHARKS ROOKIE MATT NIETO HAS A STORY THAT TUGS AT THE HEART STRINGS . April 23, 2014 . November 11, 2017.
  6. Web site: Bourne . Justin . TheScore.com . Matt Nieto, and the hockey moms who make dreams possible . May 9, 2014 . November 11, 2017.
  7. News: Dillon. Kevin. A hockey nomad: Matt Nieto's journey from California kid to BU hockey star. The Daily Free Press. October 11, 2012. February 24, 2015.
  8. Web site: https://www.newmindit.com . New Mind Development . Once Again, Trouble in Ann Arbor Amateur Hockey News January 11, 2010 . 2024-01-10 . the Inside Word . en.
  9. Web site: Matt Nieto. Hockey's Future. February 27, 2015.
  10. Web site: Zeltman. Bill. The NCAA and the 2011 NHL Draft: Matthew Nieto. April 27, 2011. February 27, 2015.
  11. Web site: Nieto leaves Boston University, signs with San Jose. USCHO News. April 1, 2013. February 24, 2015.
  12. Web site: 2011 NHL Entry Draft: FINAL RANKINGS. National Hockey League. February 24, 2015.
  13. News: Pollak. Dave. San Jose Sharks draft California native Matt Nieto. Mercury News. June 25, 2011. February 27, 2015.
  14. Web site: Nieto leaves Boston University, signs with San Jose . uscho.com . April 1, 2013 . November 11, 2017.
  15. Web site: Matt Nieto signs one-year contract with Sharks . National Hockey League . July 18, 2016 . November 11, 2017.
  16. News: Pollak. Dave. San Jose Sharks rookie Matt Nieto right at home during practice. Mercury News. October 22, 2013. February 24, 2015.
  17. News: Pashelka. Curtis. Sharks rookies Tomas Hertl, Matt Nieto to see action in season opener. Mercury News. October 3, 2013. December 30, 2014.
  18. Web site: New York Rangers at San Jose Sharks – 10/08/2013. San Jose Sharks. October 8, 2013.
  19. Web site: Kurz. Kevin. Nieto reassigned to Worcester. Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. November 25, 2013. February 27, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224451/http://www.csnbayarea.com/sharks/nieto-reassigned-worcester. September 23, 2015. dead.
  20. Web site: Kurz. Kevin. Sharks recall Nieto, Hamilton from Worcester. Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. December 7, 2013. February 27, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20141020201718/http://www.csnbayarea.com/sharks/sharks-recall-nieto-hamilton-worcester. October 20, 2014. dead.
  21. Web site: Sharks Reassign Matt Nieto to San Francisco. San Jose Sharks. December 18, 2013. December 22, 2013.
  22. Web site: Hertl to miss at least a month with knee injury. December 20, 2013. December 30, 2014. csnbayarea.com. Kurz. Kevin. https://web.archive.org/web/20131223100505/http://www.csnbayarea.com/sharks/hertl-miss-least-month-knee-injury. December 23, 2013. live.
  23. Web site: Beachem. Greg. Sharks beat Kings 4–3 in OT, take 3–0 series lead. Yahoo! Sports. April 23, 2014. February 27, 2015.
  24. Web site: Avalanche claims winger Matt Nieto from San Jose Sharks . . January 5, 2017 . January 5, 2017.
  25. News: Arthur . Benjamin . Matt Nieto signs one-year, $1 million deal to remain with Avalanche . The Denver Post . July 25, 2017 . November 11, 2017.
  26. Web site: Avalanche signs forward Matt Nieto to two-year contract. July 6, 2018.
  27. Web site: Sharks sign forward Matt Nieto. . October 13, 2020. October 13, 2020.
  28. Web site: Tarasenko shootout goal lifts Blues over Sharks . . March 19, 2021 . March 19, 2021.
  29. Web site: Sharks Re-Sign Forward Matt Nieto. June 21, 2021 . National Hockey League. June 21, 2021.
  30. Web site: Avs get Nieto, Merkley from Sharks for Kaut, MacDonald . . January 25, 2023 . January 25, 2023.
  31. Web site: Avalanche acquires Matt Nieto and Ryan Merkley from San Jose . . January 25, 2023. January 25, 2023.
  32. Web site: Penguins agree to terms with Matt Nieto on a two-year contract . . July 1, 2023 . July 1, 2023.
  33. Web site: Peters. Chris. Matthew Nieto. USA Hockey Magazine. December 22, 2013.