| Matt Kiersted | |
| Birth Date: | 14 April 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Elk River, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 0 |
| Weight Lb: | 181 |
| Position: | Defense |
| Shoots: | Left |
| League: | NHL |
| Team: | Florida Panthers |
| Prospect Team: | Charlotte Checkers |
| Prospect League: | AHL |
| Draft: | Undrafted |
| Career Start: | 2021 |
Matthew Kiersted (born April 14, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman currently playing for the Charlotte Checkers in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Kiersted was born on April 14, 1998, in Elk River, Minnesota,[1] to parents Bob Kiersted and Candace Hartwig. He grew up as the middle child between brothers Mitch and Drew.[2] His father was friends with former ice hockey player Mark Parrish, who convinced them to let their children play the sport.[3] Kiersted graduated from Elk River High School in 2016.[4]
While attending Elk River High School, Kiersted committed to play collegiate ice hockey for the North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey team.[5] As a junior, he left Elk River to play for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL).[2]
As a free agent, Kiersted signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on April 1, 2021.[6] [7] He made his NHL debut two days later, in the Panthers' 5–2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.[8] [9] On June 28, 2024, Kiersted signed a one-year, two-way contract to return to the Panthers.[10]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||
| 2013–14 | USHS | 24 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | |||
| 2014–15 | Elk River High | USHS | 25 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| USHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Chicago Steel | USHL | 57 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Chicago Steel | USHL | 23 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| NCHC | 29 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| University of North Dakota | NCHC | 36 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| University of North Dakota | NCHC | 33 | 6 | 23 | 29 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| University of North Dakota | NCHC | 29 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Florida Panthers | NHL | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| AHL | 63 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 64 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| Florida Panthers | NHL | 20 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 49 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 44 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | |||
| Charlotte Checkers | AHL | 57 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||
| NHL totals | 37 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| Clark Cup champion | 2017 | |
| College | ||
| NCHC Second All-Star Team | 2019–20 | [11] |
| NCHC First All-Star Team | 2020–21 | |
| AHCA West Second Team All-American | 2020–21 | [12] |