DeBoer, 23, joins the Stars after spending four seasons with the College of the Holy Cross (NCAA).
The son of current New York Islanders Head Coach Pete DeBoer, Matt played his junior hockey with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL), where he recorded 42 points in 104 appearances before committing to the College of the Holy Cross ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.
Across four seasons and 150 games with the Crusaders, DeBoer registered 80 points and helped the programme capture the 2025 Atlantic Hockey America Regular Season Championship.
He was named to the Atlantic Hockey All-Academic Team during his freshman season and is coming off a strong senior year that saw him earn Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Month honours in November, along with Atlantic Hockey Forward of the Week honours on two occasions.
DeBoer arrives in Dundee tied for third in Crusaders history for games played (150) and tied for tenth in programme history for game-winning goals (8).
After signing with the Stars, DeBoer said:
“I’m super excited, I can’t wait to get going in August, see the city and meet all the guys.”
On how this move came about, he added:
“I was talking to a couple of other teams, Scotty gave me a call and I loved his message from the start and the direction he’s taking this team in. I like what he has in mind, so to be honest it’s kind of the best situation I could be put in and I couldn’t have asked for anything better.”
Finally, DoBoer shared a short yet sweet message for the fans:
“I can’t wait to meet all of you guys. Go Stars.”
Head Coach Scott Dutertre on how DeBoer can impact the Stars lineup this season:
“I’m really intrigued to see what Matt can do for us. I really like the fact that he can kill penalties as well as the shot he has. He has a really good release and I think we can take advantage of that.”
“I have some ideas on where I want to put him in certain situations. Watching his clips I think he’s going to be able to generate some decent offence and, if we can get him the puck, he’s a good finisher.”
DeBoer is our 10th signing of the summer, joining Josh Nelson, Jonathan McBean, Ben Brown, Travis Ewanyk, Keaton Jameson, Craig Moore, Evan Brand, Tyson Laventure and Gary Haden on next season’s roster.
You can see Matt’s complete career history and statistics by clicking HERE!
Fans will be able to hear more from Matt and Scott in an exclusive interview on Stars TV, coming soon, with more signing news to follow in the coming days.
