BARTKOWSKI SET TO APPEAR IN 700TH PROFESSIONAL GAME TONIGHT AGAINST CRUNCH
Dec 7, 2022By Suzie Cool
At the tail-end of October, and the early weeks of the 2022-23 American Hockey League campaign, the Rochester Americans were facing some growing pains when it came to their defensive core. As Rochester headed north of the border to take on the Laval Rocket on Oct. 28 and 29, last second additions were added to bolster the blueline that would be impactful for quite a young roster.
Among those last second additions included bringing in veteran Matt Bartkowski to the mix and he’s continued to make an impact ever since.
“Before we signed him, I made sure that we’re adding, not just a good hockey player, but the kind of human and competitor we want to surround our young prospects with,” stated Amerks head coach Seth Appert just days after signing the veteran to a professional tryout.
Since October, Bartkowski has gone on to appear in 14 games with the Amerks, posting five points on one goal and four assists. The blueliner adds stability and physicality to a defensive core that was once depleted and he continues to eat up minutes every single game.
“Bart, like I said the first couple of days, he’s kind of like a cowboy,” laughed Appert when asked what he’s liked about getting to coach Bartkowski. “I love his presence. We don’t have an old team, we’re really young. So, to have an older guy that has that presence and that attitude around is very good. He’s embraced being here. He’s embraced being an Amerk. He’s embraced how young our team is.”
Bartkowski is certainly no stranger to the pro game either.
Prior to joining the Amerks, Bartkowski appeared in 72 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2021-22. In addition to recording four goals and 12 assists during the regular season, Bartkowski also skated in six Calder Cup Playoff contests, scoring one goal.
As a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., the 34-year-old Bartkowski has totaled 140 points on 24 goals and 16 assists in 429 career AHL games with the Providence Bruins, Iowa Wild and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton while also adding 48 points on eight goals and 40 assists over 256 NHL contests with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Minnesota Wild, winning his only Stanley Cup with Bruins in 2011.
Originally, Bartkowski was selected in the seventh round (190th overall) by the Florida Panthers in the 2008 NHL Draft.
So, when you add up the 429 career AHL games prior to Bartkowski’s time in Rochester, the 14 games he’s played in since joining the Amerks and his 256 NHL games…Bartkowski is at 699 professional games over his 13-year career.
And tonight will mark game 700 as the Amerks take on the Syracuse Crunch.
“700 games, man, that is incredibly impressive. A lot of games in the NHL. A lot of games in the American League. So, it’s a real credit to how he goes about his business,” commented Appert when asked to reflect on Bartkowski’s upcoming 700th game in the pros.
Bartkowski added that he’d never imagined this point in his career when he started out all those years ago.
“No, definitely not. It’s pretty cool, but I don’t know, I kind of take it by year or game by game.”
Bartkowski continued to talk about his growth from the start of his career with, “A lot, I hope, but I mean being a defenseman, I think it takes a little longer to mature as a player. So, that took me a few years to figure out just the last little bit of my career finding that consistency.”
It doesn’t hurt that Bartkowski has grown to love the team, and the city, that he gets to play his 700th career game with.
“Absolutely,” Bartkowski said when asked if he was enjoying his time with Rochester. “The city is nice and there’s a ton of good places to eat. The team is great. The guys are all good guys, and the coaches are good. Everything is good.”
Bartkowski and the Amerks return to The Blue Cross Arena tonight to kick-off a busy stretch of three games in four nights against the Crunch. Game time is slated for a 7:05 p.m. start and will be carried on The Sports Leader 95.7 FM/950 AM The Fan Rochester as well as AHLTV.