Matt Garbowsky (born July 26, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played with the Graz99ers of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL).
Playing career
Junior Garbowsky played two seasons for the Powell River Kings of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). He scored 172 points (87 goals, 85 assists) in 146 games during the two seasons, and was named a 2011 Coastal Conference All-Star and MVP.
College Garbowsky attended Rochester Institute of Technology where he played four seasons (2011–15) with the RIT Tigers men's ice hockey team, which competes in NCAA's Division I in the Atlantic Hockey conference. In his four seasons at RIT, during three of which he served as captain, he compiled 114 points (48 goals, 66 assists), placing him fifth all-time among RIT players during the team's Division I era. He was forced to miss 24 games during his junior season (2013–14) due to a wrist injury, but still managed to record 7 points in just 13 games. In his senior year (2014–15), Garbowsky was selected as Atlantic Hockey's Player of the Year, named to the All-Atlantic Hockey First Team, and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. He tallied 54 points in 40 games and led all Division I players with 729 face-off wins during the season.
Professional After completing his collegiate career, Garbowsky agreed to a one-year contract with the Rochester Americans of the AHL for the 2015–16 season. He also signed a tryout contract with the Americans to be able to play in the remainder of the 2014–15 season, where he appeared in 8 games and recorded 1 point.
In his first full professional season, on October 6, 2015, Garbowsky was assigned to the Americans ECHL affiliate, the Elmira Jackals, training camp. On October 25, 2015, Garbowsky was recalled to the Amerks after playing in four games with the Jackals. Garbowsky appeared in 16 games over the course of the season in the AHL, however finished with 21 points in 33 games with the Jackals.
As a free agent in the off-season and unable to garner an AHL contract, Garbowsky opted to continue in the ECHL, signing a one-year deal with the Colorado Eagles, a secondary affiliate to the Colorado Avalanche, on August 16, 2016. He was named MVP of the ECHL All-Star Classic on January 18, 2017.
After two standout championship seasons with the Eagles, Garbowsky opted to sign his first contract abroad, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Graz 99ers of the Austrian Hockey League (EBEL) on June 21, 2018.
Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2007–08 Brantford Golden Eagles GOJHL 48 19 22 41 40 4 0 1 1 2 2008–09 Brantford Eagles GOJHL 53 46 64 110 22 14 10 16 26 14 2009–10 Powell River Kings BCHL 51 27 26 53 44 23 12 15 27 12 2010–11 Powell River Kings BCHL 56 44 36 80 56 16 4 8 12 12 2011–12 R.I.T. AHA 39 9 11 20 34 — — — — — 2012–13 R.I.T. AHA 36 11 22 33 14 — — — — — 2013–14 R.I.T. AHA 13 2 5 7 4 — — — — — 2014–15 R.I.T. AHA 40 26 28 54 28 — — — — — 2014–15 Rochester Americans AHL 8 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Elmira Jackals ECHL 33 7 14 21 13 — — — — — 2015–16 Rochester Americans AHL 16 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2016–17 Colorado Eagles ECHL 72 36 44 80 54 20 6 9 15 19 2017–18 Colorado Eagles ECHL 51 15 39 54 43 24 7 9 16 24 2018–19 Graz 99ers EBEL 54 19 21 40 26 10 2 4 6 4 2019–20 Graz99ers EBEL 37 7 16 23 12 3 1 1 2 4 AHL totals 24 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
Awards and honours Award Year College Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year 2014–15 All-Atlantic Hockey First Team 2014–15 Hobey Baker Award Finalist 2014–15 Atlantic Hockey All-Tournament Team 2015 ECHL All-Star Classic MVP 2017 First All-Star Team 2017 Kelly Cup (Colorado Eagles) 2017, 2018
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