Richard Matvichuk
Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox ice hockey player
Richard Dorian Matvichuk (born February 5, 1973) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman. He played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, and the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk Named Missouri Mavericks Head Coach" />
Playing careerEdit
Although he was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Matvichuk was raised in the nearby city of Fort Saskatchewan.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /><ref name="Richard Matvichuk Interview (BlackoutDallas.com)" /> Matvichuk was drafted eighth overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars, and made the transition, along with several other players, including Mike Modano and Derian Hatcher, to the franchise's move to Dallas, and played 733 regular season games as a Dallas Star.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /><ref name="Mike Modano's Number Retired by Dallas Stars" /><ref name="Derian Hatcher United States Olympic Hockey Team Profile" /> Matvichuk played 12 years for the Stars, scoring 38 goals and 129 assists, although with a rather low average of penalty minutes compared with his physical style of play.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /><ref name="Bill Althaus-Commentary on Mavericks Hiring Richard Matvichuk" />
Matvichuk was also a part of the 1999 Stanley Cup winning team which brought Dallas their first championship trophy.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /> He became a free agent in the 2004 NHL offseason.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /> He was later signed by the New Jersey Devils, making a similar Stars-to-Devils transition as Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /><ref name="Mike Modano's Number Retired by Dallas Stars" /><ref name="Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner Traded to New Jersey Devils" /> He missed all but the last game of the 2006–07 season after having back surgery.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk LegendsOfHockey.net Profile" /> He was released by the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2008 preseason, when he was there on a tryout basis.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk Released by Columbus Blue Jackets" />
CoachingEdit
On May 4, 2012, Matvichuk was announced as the assistant general manager and defensive coach of Central Hockey League's Allen Americans.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk Named Assistance General Manager and Defensive Coach for Allen Americans" /> On June 12, 2014, he was named the head coach of the ECHL's Missouri Mavericks.<ref name="Richard Matvichuk Named Missouri Mavericks Head Coach" /> On June 2, 2016, Matvichuk was named head coach of the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was fired as head coach of the Cougars on February 8, 2019, after an overall 85–89–22 record with the team that was on an eleven-game losing streak during the 2018–19 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Career statisticsEdit
Regular season and playoffsEdit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | Fort Saskatchewan Traders | AJHL | 58 | 7 | 36 | 43 | 147 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 56 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 126 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 1990–91 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 68 | 13 | 36 | 49 | 117 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL | 58 | 14 | 40 | 54 | 126 | 22 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 61 | ||
| 1992–93 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 53 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 25 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1993–94 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 43 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Kalamazoo Wings | IHL | 17 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 57 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 87 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 1997–98 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 74 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 63 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 1998–99 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 64 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 22 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 20 | ||
| 1999–00 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 70 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 42 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 2000–01 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 62 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 68 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 58 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 75 | 1 | 20 | 21 | 36 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2005–06 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 62 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 40 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2006–07 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | Lowell Devils | AHL | 42 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 796 | 39 | 139 | 178 | 624 | 123 | 5 | 19 | 24 | 128 | ||||
InternationalEdit
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Canada | WJC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Canada | WC | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |||
| Senior totals | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |||
AwardsEdit
- WHL East First All-Star Team – 1992
- Stanley Cup champion – 1999