Chicago Steel forward Matt Coronato was named 2021 USHL Forward of the Year.
Coronato, a Harvard University commit, led the league with 48 goals and added 37 helpers in 51 games played during the 2020-2021 season. The forward led all USHL skaters in postseason points with 13 (9G, 4A) in eight Clark Cup Playoffs games, helping lead the Steel to the club’s second Clark Cup title in franchise history.
Coronato scored an average of 0.94 goals per game, the most of any USHL league leader in goals in the Tier 1 era.
“As a staff and organization, we are so proud of Matt and the season he had,” said Steel head coach Brock Sheahan. “Scoring goals in the USHL is very difficult and Matt made it look easy this year. We have been so fortunate to have him as a part of this organization as both a player and a person. Matt has grown so much as a player and I couldn’t be more proud of him. Matt is just starting his hockey career and I can’t wait to see him continue to grow as a player.”
Coronato is the second Steel player to earn the Forward of the Year award, joining Andrew Miller who earned the honor for the 2008-2009 season.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound skater won the goal-scoring title by a 16-goal margin over Steel teammate Erik Middendorf and Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Danil Gushchin who each potted 32 markers. The 16 goal difference was the largest margin of any league leader in goals in USHL history.
During his stellar season, Coronato set the USHL record for all-time point streaks with a 28-game streak spread over the course of two seasons. The final nine games of the 2019-2020 season and the first 19 games of the 2020-2021 campaign all saw Coronato reach the scoresheet, accounting for 54 points (24G, 30A) from Feb. 14, 2019 through Jan. 16, 2021.
Coronato is the most prolific goal scorer in Steel franchise history, setting the record for goals in a single season in a Steel uniform (48) during the 2020-2021 campaign and most markers in a career (66).
The forward from Huntington, N.Y., was ranked ninth among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting’s most recent watch list for the 2021 NHL Draft, released on May 27. Steel alum Brendan Brisson currently ranks as the highest former Steel forward selected in the draft, chosen in the first round (#29 overall) by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL Draft.
(Chicago Steel Hockey Team Photo)
