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Florida Panthers
2013 NHL Draft
4th Round • 98th Overall
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Senior Season — 2016-17
Buckles led his class in collegiate goals with 29 after potting nine to go with nine assists for 18 points in his final season on East Hill. After missing six straight games due to injury to close out the fall semester portion of the schedule, Buckles recorded 14 points over the regular season's final 18 games. His nine goals on the season served as a career-high and ranked fourth on the team. After the season, Buckles signed a contract to play the remainder of the season with the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds, where he had three goals and four assists for seven points with a plus-9 rating over just nine games.
Junior Season — 2015-16
Buckles was tied for third on the team with eight goals, easily leading the way in power-play tallies with six. He had a three-game goal-scoring streak in November, culminating with a power-play goal Nov. 14 at Colgate which sent the game to overtime and resulted in a Cornell victory. Buckles scored twice Jan. 16 at Union, then emerged as the Big Red's top goal-scorer in the playoffs. In just five postseason games, Buckles scored three goals — including the overtime winner in Game 2 of an ECAC Hockey Championship first round series against Union on March 5 at Lynah Rink.
Sophomore Season — 2014-15
Buckles ranked second on the team with eight goals, including four on the power play — which was tied for the team lead. He scored the Big Red's first goal of the season on Oct. 31 in a 1-1 tie with Omaha, who of the top teams in the country. He also started the scoring a 2-0 shutout on Jan. 10 at Clarkson, pumping in a rebound as he came down the slot. His first career playoff goal came on March 6 against Union.
Freshman Season — 2013-14
Buckles led the newcomers with four goals, all coming in ECAC Hockey play. He appeared in all but three games on the wing, seeing regular playing time at even stregnth and on the power play. Buckles scored his first collegiate goal on Nov. 22 against Brown at Lynah Rink. His final goal of the season was crucial, tying the March 1 game against rival Harvard late in the second period on Senior Night. The game would eventually go to overtime, where the Big Red scored the winner to clinch the No. 4 seed for the ECAC Hockey Championship playoffs.
Prior to Cornell
Buckles enjoyed a breakout season with the St. Michael’s Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in 2012-13, when he helped the squad to the league championship as the leading scorer with 40 goals and 31 assists for 71 points in 50 games. (Classmate Patrick McCarron was second on the team in scoring). Buckles represented Team Canada East in the 2012 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge and was named a member of the South Division All-Stars at the Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge for a second straight season, after posting 15 goals and 21 assists for 36 in just 46 games with the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots in 2011-12. Buckles was named a ‘B’ prospect on the NHL Central Scouring Service’s preliminary 2013 draft watch list. He was then ranked 134th in the mid-term rankings and 117th in the final rankings. The CSS announced in May 2013 that Buckles was the recipient of the OJHL Top Prospect Award.
Personal
Matthew John Buckles is the son of George Buckles and Pamela Zakarow, and he has an older brother and a younger sister. He is enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences.
