Matt Carle
Born: September 25, 1984 - Anchorage, Alaska
Drafted: 2003 - San Jose Sharks
Position: Defense
Full Bio
Matthew Carle was born on September 25, 1984 in Anchorage, Alaska and is a retired National Hockey League defenseman. Matt was drafted in the second round, 47th overall, by the San Jose Sharks in 2003. Matt played for the Sharks until 2008 when he was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning before being traded again three months later to the Philadelphia Flyers where he enjoyed four successful seasons, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in the 2009-10 season. Matt would return to Tampa Bay, signing as a free agent after the 2011-12 season and again reaching the Stanley Cup Final in the 2014-15 season. After twelve successful National Hockey League seasons playing for four different teams, Matt announced his retirement from professional hockey in November 2016.
What was the most memorable moment of your hockey career?
Winning Game 7 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final in Madison Square Garden ending the NY Rangers’ streak of 6 consecutive Game 7 wins and their first Game 7 loss at home – oh yeah, and my shoulder was separated in the first period on a hit from Rick Nash, numbed it up between periods, and then assisted on the game winning goal in the 3rd period in the 2-0 win.
What advice would you give to future professional hockey players?
Enjoy the ride, it goes by quick. Be a professional, surround yourself with good people, and never stop learning or trying to get better. Pick up a book or two on all those plane/bus rides. Don’t get sucked into the lifestyle the paycheck you get every two weeks can afford you, those will run dry sooner than you think, and you need every dollar you can working for you someday so you don’t have to work too hard for money later. Hopefully, you have a game plan for life after hockey. Treat your body well, and it’ll treat you well back.
What are you doing now since retiring from professional hockey?
I went back to one of the finest higher learning institutions in North America, the University of Denver, and completed my degree in Real Estate Finance – not everyone can say it took them 15 years to graduate, but this guy can. Currently, my wife and I are raising our three busy children, I’m working part-time in Commercial Real Estate, and trying to take advantage of two of life’s most powerful forces – leverage and compound interest.
