D Matt Bartkowski (Boston Bruins)

[jimotis4heisman]

the former 2008 7th rounder from Pittsburgh recently made his nhl debut (and has since been sent back down to the ahl franchise in providence)

6-1
200lbs
Left shot


http://bruins.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8474749
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1579755
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=99056

 

[Buckskin86]

Matt Bartkowski, Dougie Hamilton deliver under duress
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
By:Mark Daniels

On this night, there could be no growing pains. No playoff jitters. No rookie mistakes.

For Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski, it was baptism by fire.

With Andrew Ference and Wade Redden out, the Bruins defense was already hurting when coach Claude Julien inserted the two rookies into his Game 7 lineup Monday against Toronto. And then it got worse. After playing for 37 seconds, Dennis Seidenberg was injured and wouldn?t return.

And just like that, Hamilton and Bartkowski were called upon more than they ever have been. At the end of the Bruins? dramatic 5-4 overtime win, they earned their stripes and head into the B?s Eastern Conference semifinal matchup with the New York Rangers feeling confident.

Bartkowski saw even less time this season with the big club. The 24-year-old was in the AHL with the Providence Bruins when the NHL postseason started. He played 11 games with the B?s this year and averaged 13:29 of ice time. The Pittsburgh native was called up from Providence and inserted into Game 5 with Redden unavailable. He looked shaky while playing 6:40.

But on Monday he got the most playing time (24:51) he?s ever had in the NHL, and he responded. Bartkowski scored his first NHL goal in the first period and was able to shake the jitters that he felt in Game 5.

?We just tightened it up,? Bartkowski said. ?The ?D? all stuck together. There was a lot of talk on the ice. Good changes, that was a key thing. The forwards got the puck deep. We were able to get off and not get too tired.?

Julien praised both of his young defensemen after the victory. He said Bartkowski did an outstanding job of carrying the puck and Hamilton played with more confidence as the game went on.

http://bostonherald.com/sports/brui...rtkowski_dougie_hamilton_deliver_under_duress

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSaOfk71P00"]Matt Bartkowski (1) Goal: Game #7 ECQF - Toronto Maple Leafs 0 Boston Bruins 1. May 13th 2013 - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH0INPlXuzw"]Matt Bartkowski speaks after his first NHL goal - YouTube[/ame]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mENEmYMcQA8"]Matt Bartkowski ready to contribute to Bruins playoff drive - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Matt Bartkowski on M&M: ?It?s a great opportunity? 05.17.13
By Jerry Spar

Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski, during an appearance on the Mut & Merloni show Friday, talked about jumping into the Bruins lineup and contributing to the team?s postseason success.

Bartkowski, 24, was called up from AHL Providence last week following injuries on the Boston blue line and has appeared in three playoff games since.

?It?s a great opportunity,? Bartkowski said. ?It?s what you dream of as a player, being able to step in in the playoffs and hopefully perform and then help the team win. It?s what you want to show everybody in the hockey world and the organization that you can do. It?s just a great opportunity for me.?

Bartkowski played almost 27 minutes in Thursday night?s Game 1 win over the Rangers, as he and fellow call-up Torey Krug were forced into a regular role due to injuries to Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden.

?Before the game the coaches talked to us and said we?re going to be playing a lot of minutes,? he said. ?I knew I?d be playing with Johnny [Boychuk] against the [Ryan] Callahan line. So I figured I?d be playing quite a bit.?

In Game 7 against the Maple Leafs on Monday night, Bartkowski opened the scoring with a first-period goal. He said that helped him mentally, although he never felt out of place.

?I felt pretty in control. The more I played, the more comfortable I got,? he said. ?Being able to score that goal pretty early kind of settled me down. It just gave me an opportunity to play my game.?

Bartkowski grew up outside Pittsburgh as a fan of the Penguins when Jaromir Jagr was in his prime in the 1990s. Now the two are teammates in Boston.

?I remember growing up watching him play,? Bartkowski said. ?Then, I don?t know what year it was [2001], but him going away from the Pens and it was like this heartbreak for the city. I just every year remember watching him do something different every game. It was pretty amazing. And now being able to play with him, it?s pretty cool.?

http://bigbadblog.weei.com/sports/b...att-bartkowski-on-mm-its-a-great-opportunity/

 

[Buckskin86]

Bruins? Matt Bartkowski making a case to stay
Young defenseman has shown a lot during pressure of playoffs
By Fluto Shinzawa
Globe Staff
May 20, 2013

Through two games of this second-round series, Matt Bartkowski has been Boston?s No. 3 defenseman after Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk.
Getty Images/File

On the opening shift of the third period in Game 2 Sunday, the Rangers rimmed the puck around the wall in the Boston zone. New York center Derek Stepan was positioned against the boards to corral the rim.

Stepan never settled the puck. Matt Bartkowski made sure of that.

The Bruins defenseman wheeled around the net, sealed off the wall, and engaged Stepan in a puck battle. Bartkow*ski pushed the puck forward to Patrice Bergeron. Seconds later, Bergeron fed Brad Marchand for the back-breaking strike at 0:26 of the period, giving the Bruins a 4-2 lead.

?I just saw that I could meet the puck there,? Bartkowski said. ?He wasn?t going to be able to gain control. I knew if I just flew in there, put a little body on him, and get a stick in there, it would probably poke free and get out of the zone.

?Couldn?t have been better. It went right to Bergy.?

It was the type of decisive, confident play that will make Bartkowski practically impossible to extricate from the lineup.

Of the three blue line boys (along with Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton), Bartkowski is lobbying the loudest to remain in uniform even if Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden get healthy. Through two games of this second-round series, Bartkowski has been Boston?s No. 3 defenseman after Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuk.

Bartkowski is the Bruins? version of Ryan McDonagh ? a mobile, left-shot defenseman who is sound and mean defensively and rushes the puck out of the defensive zone.

The Bruins always believed Bartkowski, 24, had such assets, but for three straight seasons, including this one in Providence, he showed too little of his skill set to impress his bosses.

?This year at training camp with Providence, he was not a very good player. We could see that,? said coach Claude Julien. ?It was disappointing for us to see that because we could see the potential.

?But once you see what he becomes and how much better he was after the first month, that?s when you see the real Bartkowski. He continues to get better. He?s a young player.?

cont...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...stay-lineup/FkzwuMUFafODkehwq4zOSK/story.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Boost from Bart

Had Iginla accepted a trade to the Bruins, Matt Bartkowski would?ve gone to Calgary. Instead he?s been among the young defensemen who?ve kept the Bruins afloat despite injuries to three veterans on the blue line.

In seven playoff games, Bartkowski has posted 1-1-2 totals and a minus-1 rating while logging 19:46 of ice time, mostly on a second pair with Johnny Boychuk.

?If you?re asking me am I happy because I kept him instead of getting Iginla, yes. Now, yes,? Chiarelli said. ?He?s helped us. You?ve seen him emerge. But it also shows you that we?re willing to give up good players to try and help the team win now.?

http://bostonherald.com//sports/bruins_nhl/boston_bruins/2013/05/notebook_win_series_lose_pick

 

[Buckskin86]

Matt Bartkowski heads home the enemy
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Mark Daniels

WILMINGTON ? He doesn?t come from a hockey family, wasn?t highly recruited out of high school. He got his opportunity to play in the NHL playoffs because of injuries. And if it wasn?t for a botched trade with the Calgary Flames, he might not even be on the Bruins right now.

To get to the NHL, Matt Bartkowski has taken the road less traveled. But the journey has led him to Pittsburgh, his hometown, for this week?s Eastern Conference finals.

?It?ll be fun,? Bartkowski said. ?I was part of the (Mario) Lemieux era and I don?t think I?d be skating if he wasn?t there.?

Mount Lebanon, a southern suburb of Pittsburgh, is where it all began for Bartkowski. When he was 5, he became enamored with Lemieux and the Penguins. No one played hockey in his family when his mother took him to the rink for the first time. The next year, he was on his first team.

When Bartkowski made the Mount Lebanon High varsity as a sophomore, he made an immediate impact. In his senior year, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman was the best player in Pennsylvania. That year, 2006, the Blue Devils went 26-0 and won the state championship.

?Once he made (varsity), it seemed like he took off,? said Paul Taibi, Bartkowski?s former high school coach. ?He pretty much was the most dominant defenseman in the state, even at a very young age.?

Though he was outstanding, Division 1 colleges shied away. What opened the door was the Chicago Showcase, a tournament for under-recruited high school players.

?He really shined in that atmosphere,? Taibi said. ?He had the game-winning goal and played very well on defense. That proved he could play on a much higher level. That got him to the USHL. That got him to Ohio State.?

cont...

http://bostonherald.com/sports/bruins_nhl/boston_bruins/2013/05/matt_bartkowski_heads_home_the_enemy

Bruins' Bartkowski won't be hometown hero

Matt Bartkowski glad his Bruins career never flamed out

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvub4v50kI"]Bruins Bartkowski 5/28 Post Practice - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski excited to play his hometown Pittsburgh Penguins

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski will be facing his hometown Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals. (AP)
The Associated Press
on May 31, 2013
By HOWARD ULMAN

WILMINGTON, Mass. ? The smile spread across Matt Bartkowski's face even before the question was finished.

How will it feel to play against his hometown Penguins, the team he rooted for as a youngster?

"I can't believe how many times I've been asked that," the Bruins rookie defenseman said with a laugh. "It's going to be awesome."

Especially if Boston upsets Pittsburgh, the club that won two Stanley Cups in the 1990s with two players who became his idols, Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

Now Lemieux is a co-owner of the Penguins and Jagr is Bartkowski's teammate in Boston. The teams begin the Eastern Conference finals in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.

"It's kind of cool we get to play playoffs in my hometown," Bartkowski said. "At the end of the day, I'm on Boston and that's Pittsburgh. We're there to win."

cont...

http://www.masslive.com/bruins/inde...to_play_his_hometown_pittsburgh_penguins.html

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9G4ScOrraU"]Matt Bartkowski ready to return home to Pittsburgh for play - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Buckskin86]

For Bruins Defenseman, Best Deal Was No Deal
Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Ryan Callahan of the Rangers and Matt Bartkowski, right, who averaged about 20 minutes a game during the Bruins? four-games-to-one series victory.
By PETER MAY
Published: June 1, 2013

BOSTON ? On March 27, Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski ? called up four days earlier from the minors ? was preparing to play his third game for Boston.

But as the day progressed, Bartkowski found himself in the center of a potential blockbuster trade. He ended up watching that night?s game against the Montreal Canadiens from the press box while Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli desperately tried to complete a trade for the Calgary star Jarome Iginla.

Chiarelli thought he had a deal and Bartkowski, who to that point had played in only 11 N.H.L. games, was the key attraction for the Flames. As the Canadiens game zipped along, Bartkowski?s mind raced as well.

?It was wild night, crazy,? he said. ?When I was sitting in the press box, it was going through. Then around midnight, I found out that it hadn?t gone through. There was a big sigh of relief from me.?

cont...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/02/s...ki-the-best-deal-was-no-deal-at-all.html?_r=0

Family thrilled for Bruins? Bartkowski
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
By Kevin Gorman
Published: Saturday, June 1, 2013

The biggest thrill for Beth Bartkowski was opening up the game-day program and seeing her son Matt's photo on the Boston Bruins roster, a parent's pinch-yourself moment during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Wearing her custom-made white Bruins T-shirt with ?Mama B? and Bartkowski's No. 43 on the back, Beth Bartkowski reminisced about her son's rise from playing hockey in Mt. Lebanon to playing against the hometown team in the Eastern Conference final.

?He's not a Pittsburgh boy anymore,? Beth said. ?He's truly Boston through and through. That's his team. The jitters are gone. He's fitting in. Now, Matthew is coming on the ice as a true Boston Bruin.?

But Bartkowski was a healthy scratch for Game 1 Saturday at Consol Energy Center as the Bruins pulled him in favor of veteran Andrew Ference.

The Bartkowski family sat in Section 113 at Consol Energy Center, with Beth joined by her husband, Rick, Matt's grandfather, Rich, and former Mt. Lebanon assistant coach David Dorsey, who was excited to see the first Lebo player in the NHL but was still rooting for the Penguins.

?It's tremendous, especially in a game of this magnitude,? said Dorsey, who bought the custom T-shirt for Beth Bartkowski at Game 3 of the second-round series against the New York Rangers at Boston's TD Garden.

?Let's just hope he does well this series and the Pens win. I'm not rooting for the Bruins. I'm a Penguins fan. I'm rooting for Matt, but not the Bruins.?

Bartkowski's best friend, Josh Mandic, wore Matt's old Amateur Penguins sweater to the game, while Jordan Hogan and Jessie O'Hara wore his home and away Mt. Lebanon jerseys with his No. 12. Bartkowski's younger brother, Stephen, is in training at West Point Military Academy, and couldn't attend.

?Just to have him come back home and play against the Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoffs,? Rick Bartkowski said, ?it probably doesn't get any better than this.?

That wasn't lost on Matt Bartkowski, a 24-year-old rookie defenseman who played in only 11 regular-season games for the Bruins but has played in seven playoff games. A seventh-round pick by Florida in 2008 before being traded to the Bruins in March 2010, he was amazed by the attention he drew from reporters after the morning practice.

?You can't beat playing in your hometown in playoff hockey,? he said. ?Your family and friends are able to come and watch and you're able to play playoff hockey. It's like a dream you have as a kid.?

cont...

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/4122383-74/bartkowski-bruins-beth#ixzz2V45nX7Ar

 

[Buckskin86]

Bartkowski Talks Bruins And Penguins- Pitt radio interview 6 7 13

 

[Buckskin86]

Bartkowski poised to seize opportunity
July, 31, 2013
By James Murphy | ESPNBoston.com

Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski was very close to being sent to the Calgary Flames in a package deal for Flames captain Jarome Iginla at the trade deadline, but Iginla changed his mind at the last minute, vetoing the trade to Boston and choosing to go to Pittsburgh instead.

But when given another chance to come to Boston via free agency, Iginla did just that on July 5. Now Bartkowski will be teammates with the player he was almost dealt for.

Harry How/Getty Images
Matt Bartkowski played in 20 regular-season games for the Bruins over the last three years, but looks to be in line for more ice time in 2013-14.
"It was really funny because I saw a couple of tweets saying, 'Make sure Bartkowski doesn't pack his bags,' but yeah I thought it was pretty funny [Iginla] ended up signing here," Bartkowski said with a laugh Wednesday. "It's a good thing, though. He's a great player, so that will be pretty cool."

Bartkowski reiterated that he holds no hard feelings and that the failed trade didn't affect his mindset as an up-and-coming defenseman.

"I'm old enough and mature enough now to understand that's part of the business," the 25-year-old rearguard said. "And to be able to be considered in a trade for a first-ballot Hall of Famer is pretty cool. That's a big honor to potentially be part of such a deal. But I was really happy once it all blew over because I really wanted to stay in Boston and love it there.

"[The Bruins] have a winning pedigree. It's a great city to play in and I'm glad it worked out the way it did."

cont...

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruins/post/_/id/13548/bartkowski-poised-to-seize-opportunity

 

[Buckskin86]

Matt Bartkowski more settled entering training camp

By Dan Cagen

Charles Krupa/AP
Matt Bartkowski (middle) is more settled entering training camp after an impressive postseason.
WILMINGTON -- Things should be different for Matt Bartkowski this year.

At least, that's how the defenseman sees things.

The 25-year-old Bartkowski was a revelation in the postseason, getting called up from Providence during the Toronto series and stabilizing a back end devastated by injuries to a trio of blue liners.

Entering training camp this year, expectations are different for Bartkowski.

"Yeah, a little more settled," Bartkowski said Sunday. "I really expect to be part of the picture this year, so a little bit different, I guess."

Bartkowski is entering his fourth season in the Boston organization. He's spent the majority of the time in Providence, making a few short stints with the big team. Expectations are that his days in Rhode Island are over.

cont...

Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/b...-settled-entering-training-camp#ixzz2eUUSxq00

 

[Buckskin86]

An NHL job is Matt Bartkowski's to lose
Fri, 09/13/2013

After making a name for himself in the postseason, Matt Bartkowski has come into camp in tip-top shape. (AP)

You can probably put the "which defenseman goes to the AHL?" talk on hold for a little bit.
With three defensemen battling for two spots in the lineup -- Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton -- the fact that the Bruins only signed depth defenseman Mike Moore would suggest there's a pretty good chance that whoever doesn't get into the top six could stick around as the seventh defenseman, leaving all three players on the team.

Though he may be the lowest-profile of the three, the most interesting case is that of Bartkowski. A left shot, he might need to beat out Krug to be in the lineup at the start of the season, but as long as he has a decent camp, he figures to be on the roster at the start of the season. So far, so good on that front.

"I think the first thing I would say is he's come to camp in better shape than he ever has," Claude Julien said. "I think that's part of a player maturing into a good pro. He's obviously figured it out, which every player has to go through. That's a good start for Matt this year.

"I think right now, it's basically his job to lose as far as being here with our hockey club. He took it seriously enough to come in in the best shape ever, and right now the confidence that he's gotten from playing with us the last part last year has certainly helped him."

That's both high praise and a lot of information for a coach who usually doesn't like to reveal his plans early on, but then again, the very fact Julien played his projected top two lines together on the first day on the ice Thursday might suggest that he's less concerned with being secretive these days.

The Bruins' training camp is nothing new to Bartkowski, who was the team's final cut in their Stanley Cup-winning season in 2010-11. Yet this camp is clearly different given that the usually set-in-stone Bruins blueline has a spot or two available.

"There's a job within reach," Bartkowski said. "A legitimate, actual spot. I'm going in with the mindset that if I'm not playing the first game, it will be a disappointment."

cont...

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/h...ude-julien-says-nhl-job-matt-bartkowskis-lose

 

[Buckskin86]

Checking In: Former Ohio State player Matt Bartkowski
By Tim Sullivan • ECAC Northeast Columnist • Sept. 18, 2013


Matt Bartkowski had 11 goals and 38 points in 80 games at Ohio State (photo: Jamie Sabau/Ohio State Athletics).

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series of stories checking in with college hockey personalities, past and present.

Matt Bartkowski’s locker was tucked in the far right corner of the room last season at TD Garden, right next to a garbage can. It was the farthest stall from the exit and the closest to the shower. Clearly, though it was posh NHL quarters overall, his nook was not prime real estate.

Such is life for a rookie — called up on an emergency basis, no less — on a Boston Bruins team loaded with veterans.

But things might be changing for this former Ohio State Buckeyes player. He authored up a solid, impromptu performance on the blue line in the postseason as Boston won the Eastern Conference for the second time in three seasons. And now that free agency has opened a few spots on Boston’s defensive depth chart, Bartkowski might just earn a full-time NHL gig this season.

cont...

Read more: http://www.uscho.com/2013/09/18/checking-in-former-ohio-state-player-matt-bartkowski/#ixzz2fLRonQEg

 

[Buckskin86]

Playing or not, Matt Bartkowski brings character to Bruins
Wed, 10/09/2013

Matt Bartkowski isn't playing, but he brings something to the Bruins dressing room. (AP)

Carl Soderberg was dressed in his typically sharp attire as walked through the Bruins dressing room on his way out of Ristuccia Arena one day this week when a teammate heckled him on his way out.
“Are you going to church?” Matt Bartkowski asked, literally adding insult to injury and drawing laughter from Reilly Smith and Torey Krug. Dissed and dismissed, Mr. Soderberg.

Such smart-alecky behavior from Bartkowski should come as no surprise, as he’s always been the type to keep things light in the dressing room. Yet from just watching him in the room, you probably wouldn’t guess that such wisecracks were coming from someone who was fighting through the daily frustrations of not being in the lineup.

Bartkowski has been a healthy scratch in each of the Bruins’ first two games, as the team has opted for Krug on the left side of the third defensive pairing over him. This comes after Bartkowski proved in the first two rounds of the playoffs last season that he could be a top-four defenseman, but there are simply too many options to accomodate everyone.

“It could be easy to sit there and whine a little bit and mope and be upset that you're not playing,” Krug said of Bartkowski, “but he does a great job of coming to the rink every day with a smile on his face.”

Then Krug stopped.

“He's probably doing something annoying right now,” Krug said.

Indeed, Bartkowski was. The Ohio State product and engineering major was behind him, mocking the very teammate who was saying what a good guy he was.

“I just try and be myself,” Bartkowski said Wednesday. “Just because I'm not playing doesn't mean I can't be positive.”

cont...

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/h...or-not-matt-bartkowski-brings-character-bruin

Bartkowski the B's odd man out

AP & The Canadian Press File Photo/Liam Richards
Dur to a logjam at defense, Matt Bartkowski (front) has been the odd man out and had to sit the Bruins' first two games of the season.

By Dan Cagen/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Oct 08, 2013
WILMINGTON —
Matt Bartkowski couldn't have done much more in the preseason to earn his spot in the Bruins' defensive six-pack.

Bartkowski tied for the NHL lead with seven assists in five exhibition games. Once a mess handling the puck in his own zone, he was calm and steady, appearing at ease in his own skin.

After a strong postseason, his game had reached another level.

"He's kind of taken the next step," assistant general manager Jim Benning said in the most recent episode of the Bruins' in-house behind-the-scenes show, 'Behind The B.' "He's been strong in his own end. He's looked excellent."

Yet it wasn't enough on a team suddenly bursting at the seams with capable D-men. When the season opened last Thursday, Bartkowski watched from the ninth-floor press box at TD Garden. Two nights later, he was again in the land of the laptops when the Red Wings came to town.

Read more: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/s...0/Bartkowski-the-Bs-odd-man-out#ixzz2hJmSdf3i

 

[Buckskin86]

Bruins’ Matt Bartkowski ready for chance to play
By Amalie Benjamin
| Globe Staff
November 11, 2013

Getty Images/File

Matt Bartkowski has played sparingly this season.

• 
  WILMINGTON — Matt Bartkowski has spent his game nights sitting in the press box, biding his time, waiting to get a chance to play. With an injury to Adam McQuaid, that time might come on Monday.
  
  McQuaid was skating after a puck Saturday night, 7:52 into the game against the Maple Leafs, when he clutched toward his right hip area as he fell to the ice. He had to be helped off the ice by Daniel Paille and Shawn Thornton and did not return to the game.
  
  The prognosis was not much better Sunday, as coach Claude Julien termed him “doubtful” for the Monday afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
  
  “He’s still getting better, but still hurting today,” Julien said. “If McQuaid isn’t ready, which he’s probably doubtful, Bartkowski will go in there.”

cont...

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...-get-chance/qUPnWnPbi4uoLSGwTC1wvN/story.html