Matthew Ford (ice hockey)

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Matthew Ford
WARM UPS-9 (2) (40542399982).jpg
Ford with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2017
Born (1984-10-09) October 9, 1984 (age 39)
Los Angeles, California
, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 214 lb (97 kg; 15 st 4 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for
NHL Draft
256th overall,
Playing career 2008–2020

Matthew Ford (born October 9, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey forward who played most notably in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Playing career

Amateur

Ford started his amateur career playing for the

University of Wisconsin of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association
the following season. Used as a role player within the Badgers, Ford never totaled more than 13 points in each of his four seasons, but helped Wisconsin win the National Championship as a sophomore in 2006.

Professional

Upon completion of his college career, and unsigned from the Blackhawks, Ford made his professional debut in the

Lake Erie Monsters, going scoreless in five games. Ford returned to the Checkers to complete his season with 38 points in 28 regular season games and 5 points in 6 games during the playoffs.[2]

In the

Re-signed by Lake Erie prior to the 2010–11 campaign, he was invited on a try-out to participate in the Monsters NHL affiliate, the Colorado Avalanche, training camp on September 15, 2010 before returning to Cleveland to begin the season.[4]

On July 1, 2011, Ford was signed to his first NHL contract, agreeing to a two-way one-year deal with the Washington Capitals. Assigned to the Capitals affiliate, the Hershey Bears, Ford scored 28 points in 39 games before he was traded by the Capitals to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Kevin Marshall on February 2, 2012.[5]

Ford was re-signed to a one-year extension with the Flyers on April 4, 2012. Assigned directly to affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, in the following 2012–13 season, he suffered from injury and a lack of production to post only 4 goals in 35 games with the Phantoms. On March 12, 2013, Ford was traded by the Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations. He remained in the AHL to be immediately assigned to affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.[6]

Released as a free agent by the Blue Jackets, Ford remained in the AHL signing a one-year contract with the Oklahoma City Barons on July 13, 2013.[7] On July 2, 2015, Ford followed the Edmonton Oilers AHL affiliation, in signing a one-year AHL contract with the Bakersfield Condors for the 2015–16 season.[8] Ford led the Condors with 27 goals and 51 points in 64 games.

Grand Rapids Griffins

Ford hoisting the Calder Cup in 2017.

After three seasons within the Oilers AHL affiliates, Ford left as a free agent to add a veteran presence on a two-year AHL deal with the Grand Rapids Griffins, an affiliate to the Detroit Red Wings on July 12, 2016.[9] During the 2017–18 season, Ford served as captain for the Griffins, where he recorded 22 goals and 16 assists in 72 games, ranking fourth on the team in goals and sixth in points. On June 26, 2018, the Grand Rapids Griffins signed Ford to a two-year contract extension.[10]

On November 5, 2021, Ford officially announced his retirement after a twelve-year professional career having playing in 716 regular season AHL games.[11]

Career statistics

Regular season
Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02
Shattuck–Saint Mary's
MNJHL 13 13 13 26 10
2002–03 Shattuck–Saint Mary's HSMN 58 37 52 89 44
2003–04 Sioux Falls Stampede USHL 60 37 31 68 60
2004–05 University of Wisconsin WCHA 21 5 5 10 18
2005–06 University of Wisconsin WCHA 31 5 2 7 14
2006–07 University of Wisconsin WCHA 39 7 6 13 38
2007–08 University of Wisconsin WCHA 33 4 5 9 30
2008–09
Charlotte Checkers
ECHL 28 21 17 38 26 6 2 3 5 21
2008–09 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 25 1 2 3 10
2008–09
Lake Erie Monsters
AHL 5 0 0 0 2
2009–10 Charlotte Checkers ECHL 3 0 2 2 6
2009–10 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 45 13 14 27 28
2010–11 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 76 26 16 42 46 7 3 1 4 8
2011–12 Hershey Bears AHL 39 10 18 28 47
2011–12 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 31 19 12 31 31
2012–13 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 35 4 9 13 16
2012–13 Springfield Falcons AHL 18 5 6 11 14 4 0 0 0 8
2013–14 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 73 25 22 47 71
2014–15 Oklahoma City Barons AHL 69 19 34 53 34 10 2 7 9 8
2015–16 Bakersfield Condors AHL 64 27 24 51 60
2016–17 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 51 14 21 35 28 19 8 4 12 24
2017–18 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 72 22 16 38 42 5 2 3 5 10
2018–19 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 11 13 24 49
2019–20 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 52 10 17 27 33
AHL totals 716 206 224 430 511 45 15 15 30 58

Awards and honors

Award Year
USHL
Rookie of the Year 2004 [12]
AHL
Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins) 2017 [13]

References

  1. ^ "USHL Alumni shine in ECHL All-Star game". United States Hockey League. 2009-01-22. Archived from the original on 2011-01-11. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
  2. ^ "Matthew Ford - career statistics". Hockeydb.com. 2010-11-26. Retrieved 2010-11-26.
  3. Lake Erie Monsters. 2010-08-05. Archived from the original
    on 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
  4. ^ "2010-11 Avalanche training camp roster" (PDF). Colorado Avalanche. 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  5. ^ "Capitals acquire Marshall from Philadelphia, Carman from Colorado". Washington Capitals. 2012-02-02. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  6. ^ "Blue Jackets acquire Matthew Ford from Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Future Considerations". Columbus Blue Jackets. 2013-03-12. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  7. ^ "Barons officially sign Matt Ford to AHL contract". Oklahoma City Barons. 2013-07-13. Archived from the original on 2013-07-14. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  8. ^ Bakersfield Condors (2015-07-02). "Condors sign Winquist and Ford to AHL deals". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  9. ^ "Griffins sign forwards Sandlak and Ford". Grand Rapids Griffins. 2016-07-12. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
  10. ^ "Aye Aye, Captain". Grand Rapids Griffins. June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  11. ^ "Ford announces retirement after 716 AHL games". American Hockey League. November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "USHL Rookie of the Year". USHL. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  13. ^ Wakiji, Dana (June 13, 2017). "Grand Rapids Griffins win Calder Cup at home". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved June 13, 2017.

External links