A former star of the Victoria Royals made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames in the regular-season finale against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday.
Wearing 4⃣1⃣ this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/NKqa0itobf
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 19, 2021
Matthew Phillips, who grew up in Calgary, played 14:19 with two shots and had some power-play time in his first NHL game, a 6-2 Flames’ win over the Canucks.
Making his NHL debut in his hometown 🔥
Welcome to The Show, @mattphillips_8! pic.twitter.com/rNuEzObvUv
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) May 19, 2021
Phillips was a sixth-round draft pick of the Flames in 2016, and played three full seasons in Victoria and became the first player in franchise history to record 100 points in a season.
In the 2017-18 campaign, Phillips finished fifth in Western Hockey League (WHL) scoring with 112 points, posting 48 goals and 64 assists.
That season saw Phillips earn his second straight selection to the WHL’s Western Conference First All-Star Team.
Phillips also earned WHL Rookie of the Year honours in 2016, after tallying 76 points (37G-39A) in 72 games.
The 5’7″, 140-pound forward has also been a consistent offensive producer with Calgary’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Stockton Heat.
In the 2019-20 season, Phillips garnered an AHL All-Star spot with 15 goals and 33 points in 38 games.
In this past shortened season, Phillips tied for the Heat scoring lead with 21 points (8G-13A) in 30 games.
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