Coronato named USHL Forward of the Year

Matthew Coronato, a top prospect for the 2021 NHL Draft, has been named Forward of the Year in the USHL, the league announced Monday.

Coronato, No. 24 in FCHockey’s Spring ranking for the 2021 draft, led the USHL with 48 goals and had 85 points in 51 games played in 2020-21. He also led all USHL skaters with 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in eight Clark Cup Playoff games en route to helping the Chicago Steel to its second championship in franchise history.

The forward scored an average of 0.94 goals-per-game — the highest of any USHL league leader in goals in the Tier 1 era.

“Every single game I watched of Coronato, he was playing at 100 percent and never took his foot of the gas,” FCHockey regional scout Dylan Krill said. “With the amount of goals and points he was putting up, it was almost an expectation to have at least one point per game, and even when he didn’t produce points, he was still contributing in all three zones.”

Coronato won the goal-scoring title by an impressive 16 goals. It is the largest margin of any league leader in USHL history. He also set Steel records in single-season goals (48) and total franchise goals (66).

“As a staff and organization, we are so proud of Matt and the season he had,” Steel head coach Brock Sheahan said in a release. “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.”