Matt Iacopelli

Matheson "Matt" Iacopelli (born May 15, 1994)^[1] is an American ice hockey player, who currently plays college ice hockey for the Western Michigan Broncos of the NCHC. He was drafted 83rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Draft.

Playing career

Junior

Iacopelli joined the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL during the 2013–14 season. During the 2013–14 season, he was the leading scorer for Muskegon as a 19-year-old USHL rookie, as he led the league with 41 goals and had 23 assists in 58 regular season games and was +12 with 47 penalty minutes. He was then drafted 83rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2014 NHL Draft, respectively, after that season.

During the 2014–15 season, Iacopelli scored 23 goals for Muskegon in his second USHL season, sharing the team lead with Tom Marchin. He had 14 assists and was -16 with 38 penalty minutes that year as well.

College

Iacopelli had already committed to playing college hockey at Western Michigan in 2014-15 in September the same year he entered the USHL and became the leading scorer for Muskegon as a rookie. He left the USHL and is now entering his first year in the NCAA for the Western Michigan Broncos of the NCHC.

Personal

Iacopelli is the one of only two players to play for the Woodhaven Warriors ice hockey team that has been drafted by an NHL team (Jeremy Smith being the other in the 2007 NHL Draft at 54th overall). He is the son of Marco and Victoria Iacopelli. He also has two sisters, Chelsea and Marinna, and two brothers, Marco and Fedor. He is of Italian descent and has been quoted as saying Italy is "a place (I've) always wanted to visit".

References