Mat Bodie

Playing career

Bodie got his start with the Winnipeg Thrashers midget team, where he was named both the MVP and top defenceman at the 2008 Telus Cup; the Thrashers took home the silver medal. He moved on to play college hockey for the Union Dutchmen in the ECAC conference of NCAA Division I. As a sophomore, he earned a spot on the 2011–12 ECAC Hockey First Team. By his senior year, he was captaining the squad, leading them to their first-ever national championship in the 2014 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament. Despite going undrafted, Bodie signed a one-year entry-level contract with the New York Rangers on April 15, 2014, right after Union's title win. On April 20, 2016, the Rangers called him up from their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, but he never actually suited up for New York. During the 2016–17 season, while serving as captain of the Wolf Pack, the Rangers traded him to the Buffalo Sabres on February 28, 2017, in exchange for Daniel Catenacci. He finished that season with the Sabres' AHL team, the Rochester Americans, putting up 9 points in 17 games. On July 1, 2017, Bodie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning as a free agent. After attending training camp, he was sent down to the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, for the entire 2017–18 season. There, he became the top-pairing defenseman and set a professional career high with 31 assists and 37 points over 74 games. Leaving the Lightning as a free agent, Bodie decided to head overseas, inking a one-year deal with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL on July 20, 2018. In his first season in Russia, he scored 3 goals and added 13 assists for 16 points in 39 games. On June 14, 2019, he signed a one-year contract with the Växjö Lakers of the SHL. Midway through the 2019–20 season, after notching 1 goal and 3 points in 17 games with Växjö, he moved to another SHL team, IK Oskarshamn, on November 25, 2019. With Oskarshamn, he got more ice time and produced 1 goal and 10 points in 27 regular-season games. As a free agent from IK Oskarshamn, Bodie signed a one-year deal with ERC Ingolstadt of the German DEL on November 12, 2020.