Matej Pekar

ACQUIRED

Buffalo Sabres’ fourth-round selection (94^th overall) in the 2018 NHL Draft. Signed a three-year, entry-level NHL contract with Buffalo on October 17, 2018.

LAST SEASON

2021-22: Recorded three goals and three assists for six points in 47 games during his second season with the Rochester Americans (AHL) ... Suffered a season-ending injury at Syracuse on 3/13 ... Scored his first goal of the season at Laval on 10/30 ... Notched an assist in the 7-3 win at Toronto on 10/23

CAREER

2020-21: Led all Rochester Americans (AHL) skaters and finished second among all AHL rookies with 50 penalty minutes while registering six points (1+5) in 25 games ... Shared Most Improved Player award with fellow rookie Dominic Franco ... Had six points (1+5) in his last eight games ... Scored his first pro goal in the 3-1 win at Syracuse on 5/01 ... Notched the first two points of his pro career with a two-assist effort at Cleveland on 4/19 ... Recorded one shot in his professional debut against Utica on 2/05

2019-20: Totaled 63 points (28+35) in a combined 51 appearances between the Barrie Colts (OHL) and Sudbury Wolves (OHL) ... Recorded 15 multi-point outings, including four hat tricks and three different five-point efforts ... Finished the season fifth in scoring among all Sudbury skaters, third in goals (28) and fifth in assists (35) after being acquired by the Wolves midseason ... Added 16 points on the power-play with 12 assists, good for fourth on the team in that category ... Concluded the regular season with one goal and four assists in the season-ending 8-0 rout of Kingston on 3/08 ... Netted two hat tricks in four games, both on the road at Niagara on 2/16 and at Barrie on 2/08 ... Posted a season-high five assists and was plus-four in the 8-2 win over North Bay on 1/10 ... Dealt to Sudbury midseason and tallied an assist in his Wolves debut in the 4-0 win over his former team at Barrie on 1/09 ... Closed out the month of October on a season-long five-game point streak from 10/18 to 10/30, collecting 11 points (5+6) over that span ... Picked up his second hat trick of the season as part of a five-point night (3+2) at Sault Ste. Marie  on 10/19 ... Notched his third multi-goal outing through his first five games of the season with a pair of tallies at Sarnia on 10/04 ... Scored his first of four hat tricks on the season and added an assist for four points in the 6-2 win over London on 9/21

2018-19: Appeared in 33 games for the Barrie Colts (OHL), recording 36 points on 14 goals and 22 assists ... Finished sixth on the team in scoring despite only playing half the season due to injury ... Led all Barrie skaters with four shorthanded goals and added three power-play tallies ... Tied for fourth on the team with a plus-seven rating and fifth with 111 shots ... Posted 10 multi-point efforts ... Factored in on all three goals for his fifth three-point outing (2+1) of the season in a 3-2 win at Kingston on 1/06 ... Recorded a season-high three assists at Erie on 11/22 ... Opened the campaign with a season-long six-game point streak (5+5), including a pair of three-point efforts ... Scored twice with one assist in a 9-2 season-opening win over Owen Sound on 9/20

2017-18: Led all Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) with 40 assists in 54 games during his first season with the club ... Ranked second on the team with 54 points and his 40 assists, which paced all the USHL rookies, tied for fourth in the league ... Earned USHL Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the USHL All-Rookie Team … Notched a pair of three-point games on a pair goals and one assist (2/04 and 1/15) ... Scored his first USHL goal as part of a three-game point streak on 10/28 vs. Youngstown … Made his USHL debut on 10/06 against Lincoln and earned his first two-assist outing on 10/07 at Des Monies

INTERNATIONAL: Represented his native Czech Republic at the 2020 and 2019 World Junior Championships ... Notched one assist at the 2020 event, which was held in Czech Republic ... Helped the Czech Republic to silver medals at both the 2018 IIHF World U-18 Championship and the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament ... Tallied five points (1+4) in six games at the 2017 event