Matthew Darrell Zaba (born July 14, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played one game in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers in 2010. The rest of his career, which lasted from 2007 to 2015, was spent in the minor leagues and later in the Italian and Austrian leagues.

Matt Zaba
Zaba with the Vienna Capitals in 2014
Born (1983-07-14) July 14, 1983 (age 40)
Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
PositionGoaltender
CaughtLeft
Played forNew York Rangers
HC Bolzano
Vienna Capitals
NHL draft231st overall, 2003
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career2007–2015

Playing career

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Zaba was originally selected 231st overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings.

Zaba played for New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. He made his NHL debut in the 2009–10 season on January 23, 2010, replacing Henrik Lundqvist in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.[1]

Unable to earn a new contract with the Rangers, Zaba left as a free agent to Europe, ending up in the Italian Serie A with HC Bolzano.[2]

After two successful seasons with the Foxes, Zaba moved to the Neighbouring EBEL, signing a contract with the Vienna Capitals on May 8, 2012.[3]

After three seasons with the Vienna Capitals, Zaba retired from professional hockey to take up a Goaltending coach position with the under-18 side the Colorado Rampage on July 25, 2015.[4]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTOTLMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
2000–01Yorkton Mallers U18SMAAAHL261310314807903.20
2001–02Penticton PanthersBCHL33198012803.69
2002–03Vernon VipersBCHL44349020129622.21
2003–04Colorado CollegeWCHA231010213235012.27.911
2004–05Colorado CollegeWCHA18105210504322.46.916
2005–06Colorado CollegeWCHA362014220688742.52.909
2006–07Colorado CollegeWCHA331513419087632.39.917
2007–08Charlotte CheckersECHL93414963003.63.891
2007–08Idaho SteelheadsECHL19124110703932.19.927
2008–09Hartford Wolf PackAHL412510022628822.33.920
2009–10New York RangersNHL100034203.56.875
2009–10Hartford Wolf PackAHL25612212966803.15.899
2009–10Charlotte CheckersECHL32101851103.58.884
2010–11HC BolzanoITA382512022407842.09.931
2011–12HC BolzanoITA402613023437932.02.926
2012–13Vienna CapitalsEBEL322011042.04.927
2013–14Vienna CapitalsEBEL473017042.40.917
2014–15Vienna CapitalsEBEL382017042.29.920
NHL totals201070504.35.815

Awards and honours

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AwardYear
All-WCHA Rookie Team2003–04

References

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  1. ^ "Zaba Makes Rangers Debut". OurSportsCentral. 2010-01-24. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  2. ^ "Hockey: Canadian Matt Zaba to backstop HC Bolzano" (in Italian). Adnkronos. 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  3. ^ "Matt Zaba new goalies for the Vienna Capitals". Vienna Capitals (in German). 2014-05-08. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  4. ^ Colorado Rampage (2015-07-25). "Rampage announce Zaba as Coach". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
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