Matt Lorito

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Matt Lorito
Lorito with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2017
Born (1990-07-03) July 3, 1990 (age 33)
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 171 lb (78 kg; 12 st 3 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Djurgårdens IF
Dinamo Riga
Grizzlys Wolfsburg
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2015–2023

Matt Lorito (born July 3, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Detroit Red Wings.

Playing career[edit]

College[edit]

Lorito began his collegiate career for the Brown University Brown Bears during the 2011–12 season. During his freshman season, he played in 24 games, missing the first eight games of the season due to injury, where he recorded four goals and 13 assists. He was Named ECAC Rookie of the Week for his performances against Princeton and Quinnipiac.[1]

During the 2012–13 season in his sophomore season, Lorito recorded 22 goals and 15 assists in 36 games. Lorito was named to the Second Team All-ECAC team for his outstanding performance during the season. He finished the season as the Bears' leading scorer with 37 points, while also leading the team with eight power play goals, three game-winning goals, and sharing the lead with one short-handed goal. He Ranked sixth overall in the ECAC in scoring. During the 2013 ECAC Hockey Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Lorito was the team's leading scorer recording seven goals and two assists, including a six-game goal scoring streak. Lorito helped the Bears advance to the ECAC Championship for the first time since 1993. Following an outstanding tournament, Lorito was named to the ECAC Hockey All-Tournament Team.[1]

During the 2013–14 season in his junior season, Lorito served as assistant captain, and recorded 10 goals and 19 assists, He finished third on the team in scoring with 29 points, tied for the lead with 19 assists, and tied for the team lead in short handed goals. During the 2014–15 season in his senior season, Lorito served as captain, and recorded 11 goals and 12 assists, and tied for the team lead in scoring with 23 points. With two assists in a game against Princeton on February 20, 2015, Lorito became the 24th member of the Brown Bears 100-point club.[1]

Professional[edit]

On March 13, 2015, the Albany Devils signed Lorito to an amateur tryout.[2] Following his collegiate career, Lorito joined the Devils during the 2014–15 season, where he recorded three goals and nine assists in 11 games. During the 2015–16 season, in his first full professional season, Lorito led the Devils in scoring with 18 goals and 36 assists in 71 games. Among American Hockey League (AHL) rookies, he ranked sixth in points, tied for fourth in assists, tied for third in power play assists (19) and third in power play points (24). He tied for third on the team in playoff scoring with three goals and four assists in 11 games.[3]

On July 1, 2016, the Detroit Red Wings signed Lorito to a two-year, two-way contract.[4] On April 7, 2017, Lorito was recalled by the Red Wings. Prior to being recalled, Lorito recorded 21 goals and 33 assists in 59 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, tied for the team lead with 54 points, and tied for 16th in the league in scoring. He also ranks among club leaders with 21 goals (3rd), 33 assists (1st) and 131 shots on goal (T5th).[5] He made his NHL debut for the Red Wings the next day in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.[6] Following the conclusion of the Red Wings season, Lorito was assigned to the Griffins. In two games with the Red Wings, he recorded one assist with six shots on goal in 14:26 average time on ice.[7]

On January 4, 2018, Lorito, and teammate Matt Puempel, were the only two Grand Rapids players selected to play in the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic game.[8]

On July 2, 2018, having left the Red Wings as a free agent, Lorito agreed to a two-year contract in which the second year would be on a one-way basis with the New York Islanders.[9]

Lorito remained with the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers through the duration of his contract. In his final year under contract in the during the 2019–20 season, Lorito registered 23 points in 50 games before he was traded by the Islanders at the NHL trade deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Jordan Schmaltz on February 24, 2020.[10]

As a free agent from the Maple Leafs heading into the pandemic delayed 2020-21 season, Lorito agreed to continue his career in the AHL, signing a one-year contract with the San Diego Gulls, affiliate to the Anaheim Ducks, on January 29, 2021.[11]

Following his seventh season in the AHL, Lorito left North America as a free agent and signed his first European contract in agreeing to a one-year deal with Swedish club, Djurgårdens IF of the SHL, on August 21, 2021.[12] After only 14 regular season games played, Lorito's contract with Djurgården was terminated.[13] On November 10, 2021, Lorito opted to move to Kontinental Hockey League, signing as a free agent with Latvian club, Dinamo Riga, for the remainder of the season.[14] Lorito made 17 appearances with Dinamo, collecting 3 goals and 7 points as the club finished outside of the playoffs. As a free agent, on February 4, 2022, Lorito opted to return to North America and signed an AHL contract for the remainder of the 2021–22 season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, the primary affiliate to the New York Rangers.[15]

As an un-signed free agent over the summer, Lorito was belatedly signed to a one-year contract for the 2022–23 season with German club, Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on December 22, 2022.[16]

Lorito ended his 8 year professional playing career following his lone season in Germany. On August 30, 2023, he was hired as a professional scout to the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of the NHL.[17]

Career statistics[edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2008–09 St. Catharines Falcons GOJHL 47 14 20 34 20 11 2 1 3 14
2009–10 Villanova Knights OJAHL 56 32 46 78 20 6 2 9 11 0
2010–11 Villanova Knights OJHL 41 28 54 82 16 10 6 6 12 2
2011–12 Brown University ECAC 24 4 13 17 18
2012–13 Brown University ECAC 36 22 15 37 6
2013–14 Brown University ECAC 29 10 19 29 8
2014–15 Brown University ECAC 29 11 12 23 8
2014–15 Albany Devils AHL 11 3 9 12 2
2015–16 Albany Devils AHL 71 18 36 54 26 11 3 4 7 4
2016–17 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 61 22 34 56 25 19 7 6 13 4
2016–17 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 1 1 0
2017–18 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 59 23 26 49 28
2018–19 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 23 5 11 16 12 5 2 2 4 2
2019–20 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 50 9 14 23 16
2019–20 Toronto Marlies AHL 8 0 5 5 6
2020–21 San Diego Gulls AHL 27 6 5 11 14
2021–22 Djurgårdens IF SHL 14 2 4 6 8
2021–22 Dinamo Riga KHL 17 3 4 7 10
2021–22 Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 30 8 10 18 10
2022–23 Grizzlys Wolfsburg DEL 18 2 3 5 10 10 2 1 3 6
NHL totals 2 0 1 1 0

Awards and honours[edit]

Award Year
College
ECAC Second All-Star Team 2013 [18]
ECAC All-Tournament Team 2013 [19]
All-Ivy First Team 2013 [20]
All-Ivy Second Team 2014, 2015 [21]
AHL
Calder Cup (Grand Rapids Griffins) 2017 [22]
All-Star Game 2017, 2018 [8]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Matt Lorito Bio". brownbears.com. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "Devils Sign Lorito To ATO". Albany Devils. March 13, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  3. ^ "Matt Lorito Bio". Grand Rapids Griffins. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. ^ DiFilippo, Alex (July 1, 2016). "Red Wings add Lorito, Street and Pasquale". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  5. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (April 7, 2017). "Detroit recalls forward Matt Lorito". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  6. ^ Wakiji, Dana (April 7, 2017). "Notes: Lorito looking forward to making Wings debut". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  7. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (April 10, 2017). "Red Wings assign four to Griffins". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "ROSTERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2018 AHL ALL-STAR CLASSIC". theahl.com. Springfield, Mass. January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  9. ^ "Lorito Agrees to Terms on a Two-Year Contract". New York Islanders. July 2, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
  10. ^ "Maple Leafs acquire Matt Lorito from Islanders for Jordan Schmaltz". Sportsnet.ca. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  11. ^ "Gulls ink Lorito to AHL contract". American Hockey League. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  12. ^ "Skillful forward Matt Lorito to DIF" (in Swedish). Djurgårdens IF. August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  13. ^ Lagerkvist Giertta, Patrik (2021-10-31). "Lämnar Dif – efter bara 14 matcher". Expressen. Retrieved 2021-11-03.
  14. ^ "Riga signs an agreement with Canadian Matt Lorito" (in Latvian). Dinamo Riga. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  15. ^ "Wolf Pack ink Matt Lorito to AHL contract". Hartford Wolf Pack. February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  16. ^ "Grizzlys Wolfsburg sign Matt Lorito" (in German). Grizzlys Wolfsburg. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  17. ^ "Penguins announce additions to hockey operations department". Pittsburgh Penguins. August 30, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  18. ^ Sullivan, Brian (March 22, 2013). "ECAC Hockey annual awards". ECAC. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  19. ^ "All-Tournament Honors" (PDF). ECAC Hockey. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  20. ^ "Borelli, Lorito and Robertson Named First Team All-Ivy". Brown Bears. March 7, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  21. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey All-Ivy, Postseason Awards Announced". Ivy League. March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on 2017-06-17. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  22. ^ Wakiji, Dana (June 13, 2017). "Grand Rapids Griffins win Calder Cup at home". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved June 13, 2017.

External links[edit]