Matias Maccelli

Matias Maccelli
Maccelli with the Arizona Coyotes in 2023
Born (2000-10-14) October 14, 2000 (age 26)
Turku, Finland
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Winger
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
New York Islanders
Ilves
Arizona Coyotes
Utah Hockey Club
Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL draft 98th overall, 2019
Arizona Coyotes
Playing career 2019–present

Matias Maccelli (born October 14, 2000) is a Finnish professional ice hockey player who is a winger for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Maccelli was drafted in the fourth round, 98th overall, by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2019 NHL entry draft, and has also played for the Utah Hockey Club.

Early life

Maccelli was born to an American-born mother and Finnish father in Turku, Finland. His mother had moved to Finland when she was seven years old. Maccelli is of Italian descent through his maternal great-grandfather who was from Italy.

Playing career

Maccelli began his junior career with HC TPS of the Finnish Liiga. In 2017, he joined the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL). In 98 games with Dubuque, he recorded 39 goals and 54 assists for 93 points. In his second year in the USHL, his play led him to being named to the ALL-USHL Second Team. In 2019, Maccelli returned to Finland to join Ilves of Liiga.

Maccelli was selected 98th overall in the fourth round of the 2019 NHL entry draft by the Arizona Coyotes. In his first season with Ilves, in the 2019–20 season, he recorded 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 42 games. Maccelli signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Arizona on April 29, 2020, while still playing for Ilves. He was named the league's rookie of the year, being awarded the Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy. On July 17, it was announced that Maccelli would stay with Ilves after an open-ended agreement was reached between the Finnish team and Arizona. He played well with Ilves during the 2020–21 season.

For the 2021–22 season, Maccelli returned to North America, joining Arizona's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He recorded 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points in 47 games with Tucson. He was recalled by Arizona in March 2022 to replace Andrew Ladd who had been placed on injured reserve. He made his NHL debut in a 2–1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on March 3. Maccelli scored his first NHL goal in his second game on March 6, versus the Ottawa Senators.

Maccelli broke out in the 2022–23 season, making the Coyotes' roster out of training camp. In his first 30 games, he recorded three goals and 19 assists for 22 points. He suffered a lower-body injury that led to some missed time, but upon his return, scored seven goals and 16 assist for 23 points in his next 30 games. He finished the season with 11 goals and 38 assist for 49 points in 64 games with the Coyotes and was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team, playing a major role in the team's power play. On July 16, 2023, Maccelli signed a three-year contract with Arizona.

Shortly after the end of the 2023–24 season, the Coyotes' franchise was suspended and team assets were subsequently transferred to the expansion team Utah Hockey Club; as a result, Maccelli became a member of the Utah team.

Following the 2024–25 season, Utah traded Maccelli to the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 30, 2025, in exchange for a conditional third-round draft pick in 2027, which could have become a second-round draft back in 2029 if the Maple Leafs qualified for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs and Maccelli scored 51 points (neither condition met). Acquired by the Maple Leafs as a potential Mitch Marner replacement and in the hopes that he would bounce-back to his form in previous seasons with the Coyotes, Maccelli had a disappointing campaign with the Maple Leafs relative to expectations, with Macceli playing up and down the lineup throughout the year and occasionally being a healthy scratch. Despite this, he recorded 39 points with the Maple Leafs. Upon expiration of his contract, he was not tendered a qualifying offer by the team and subsequently became an unrestricted free agent.

On July 1, 2026, Maccelli signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the New York Islanders.

International play

Maccelli played for Finland at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He played for the team again during the 2020 World Junior Championships, recording two goals and three assists for five points in seven games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP GAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2016–17 TPS Jr. A 134372 30000
2017–18 TPS Jr. A 341515308 —————
2017–18 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 368132114 50110
2018–19 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 6231417242 61452
2019–20 Ilves Liiga 4313173016 —————
2020–21 Ilves Liiga 5115243920 51122
2021–22 Tucson Roadrunners AHL 4714435720 —————
2021–22 Arizona Coyotes NHL 231564 —————
2022–23 Arizona Coyotes NHL 6411384918 —————
2023–24 Arizona Coyotes NHL 821740578 —————
2024–25 Utah Hockey Club NHL 55810188 —————
2025–26 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 7014253916 —————
Liiga totals 9428416936 51122
NHL totals 2955111816954 —————

International

Year Team Event Result GPGAPtsPIM
2017 Finland IH18 6th 41120
2020 Finland WJC 4th 72358
Junior totals 113478

Awards and honours

Award Year Ref
USHL
Second All-Star Team 2019
Liiga
Jarmo Wasama Memorial Trophy 2020
NHL
NHL All-Rookie Team 2023

References

  1. ↑ "Matias Maccelli - Elite Prospects". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ↑ Perkiö, Jari (September 12, 2019). ""Kukkakeppi" paukutti neljä maalia Tapparan verkkoon: "Se oli ihmeellinen ilta" – Matias Maccelli nauttii Ilveksen pelityylistä". Aamulehti (in Finnish). Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  3. ↑ Leppänen, Marko; Romanoff, Kimmo (June 23, 2019). "Ilvekseen siirtyvä hyökkääjälupaus erilaista reittiä pitkin kohti NHL-unelmaa: "Isä varmaan jännitti, kun ei puhunut mitään"" (in Finnish). MTV [fi]. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Krigbaum, Cooper (August 20, 2023). "Coyotes' Matias Maccelli's Journey to NHL Wasn't Always Easy". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Morgan, Craig (April 29, 2020). "Neutral zone: Maccelli's AHL readiness, Fischer's future, escrow and the cap". The Athletic. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "All-USHL Teams Announced". United States Hockey League. April 23, 2019. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Matias Maccelli Named Liiga Rookie of the Year". Ilves. March 31, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Matias Maccelli Stays at Ilves With an Open-Ended Loan Agreement". Ilves. July 17, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Last-place Coyotes beat NHL-leading Avalanche again, 2-1". ESPN. Associated Press. March 4, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Coyotes' Matias Maccelli: Gets first NHL goal". CBS Sports. March 6, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  11. ↑ Marshall, John (April 7, 2023). "Coyotes' Maccelli turning heads in rookie season". AP News. Associated Press. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  12. ↑ Mastey, Remy (June 27, 2023). "Maccelli Named to NHL All-Rookie Team". The Hockey News. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Arizona Coyotes re-sign winger Matias Maccelli to three-year, $10.2M deal". Sportsnet. July 17, 2023. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Coyotes give fans a win in final Arizona game, fans show plenty of love". Arizona Republic. April 17, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Maccelli traded to Maple Leafs by Mammoth for draft pick". NHL.com. National Hockey League. June 30, 2025. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  16. 1 2 Fox, Luke (April 15, 2026). "'I want to stay in Toronto': Should Maple Leafs re-sign RFA Matias Maccelli?". Sportsnet. Rogers Communications. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Islanders sign Matias Maccelli to one-year, $2.25M deal". Sportsnet. July 1, 2026. Retrieved July 1, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Canada rolls over Finland at Ivan Hlinka". TSN. The Canadian Press. August 8, 2017. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  19. ↑ "Canada beats Finland in world juniors to face Russia in gold medal game". Global News. January 4, 2020. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
  20. ↑ "NHL announces 2022-23 All-Rookie Team". National Hockey League. June 26, 2023. Retrieved June 26, 2023.