Coachella Valley Firebirds Sign California Native Matt Tennyson

September 1, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Coachella Valley Firebirds News Release

Today the Firebirds sign defenseman Matt Tennyson to a contract for the 2022-2023 season.

Tennyson joins the Firebirds following a season in the Nashville Predators’ organization.The Bay Area-native skated in eight games in the National Hockey League last year for the Predators and appeared in 53 games for the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals (3 goals, 11 assists, 14 points). Tennyson played 173 NHL games with stops with theSan Jose Sharks, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, and the New Jersey Devils. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound righty has 358 games of AHL experience over his 11-year career, lacing up his skates for the Worcester Sharks/San Jose Barracuda, Charlotte Checkers, Rochester Americans, and Binghamton Devils.

The now 32-year-old Tennyson played college hockey for three seasons at Western Michigan University. In 117 games with the Broncos, Tennyson netted 22 goals and tallied 32 assists, totaling 54 points in his college career. Prior to his time at the NCAA D-I level, Tennyson spent the 2008-09 season with the Cedar Rapids Roughriders of the United States Hockey League.

“It’s awesome to be back in the Coachella Valley,” Tennyson said. “My grandparents lived in Palm Springs and my parents live in Rancho Mirage, so the opportunity to be closer to family made the decision to sign here extremely easy for me. I grew up playing hockey in California and the youth hockey scene here has come quite a long way since then. I am looking forward to being able to give back to and play in front of this great fan base and community.”

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