Former Soo Greyhounds netminder Matthew Villalta broke into the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night, making his debut at 24 years of age.
Originally a third round pick by the LA Kings in the 2017 NHL Draft, Villalta joined the Coyotes this past offseason after four seasons in the Kings organization. He got the call-up to Arizona earlier on Friday before making his NHL debut in relief of starter Karel Vejmelka in the third period of a 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Villalta stopped all four shots he faced in just over 13 minutes of play.
The Godfrey, Ont. product took a unique development path into the OHL, going undrafted before being signed as a free agent by the Greyhounds out of training camp in the fall of 2016. He proceeded to go on a 16-game winning streak during his rookie season finishing 25-3-0-0 as a 17-year-old. Villalta returned to win 40 games the following season before tacking on an additional 33 in 2018-19 to finish his three-year OHL career with a record of 98-20-7-2 with a 2.71 goals-against average and .908 save percentage. He backstopped the Greyhounds to a Western Conference title in 2018.
So far this season, Villalta has gone 22-11-1 with a 2.58 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 34 games with the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.
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