SUNRISE, Fla. – Florida Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito announced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman Matt Kiersted on a one-year, two-way contract.
Kiersted, 26, appeared in 57 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Charlotte Checkers, producing 15 points (4-11-15) and a plus-14 rating. In 169 career AHL games with Charlotte (2021-22 to 2023-24), Kiersted has registered 56 points (15-41-56) and amassed 161 penalty minutes. Kiersted has skated in 37 career NHL games with Florida (2020-21 to 2022-23).
The 6-foot, 181-pound native of Elk River, Minn., amassed 77 points (20-57-77) over 127 NCAA games with the University of North Dakota, helping the team to a 2020-21 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Title and Penrose Cup. He was named a 2020-21 NCHC First Team All-Star, leading all UND defensemen in points in each of his final three seasons. He was also a finalist for the 2019-20 NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year after producing 29 points (6-23-29) in 33 games, the third-most among defensemen in the nation.
Undrafted, Kiersted originally signed with Florida as a free agent on April 1, 2021.
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