Matt Carkner was born November 3, 1980 in Winchester, Ontario. The second round, 58th overall selection of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft, Carkner played one season in the EOJBHL with the Winchester Hawks before moving on to the OHLs Peterborough Petes.
A hard-nosed defenseman, Carkner went on to play four seasons in Peterborough earning Most Improved Player honours for the OHLs Eastern Conference in 1998-99 before making his professional debut in 2001-02.
Following a strong junior career, Carkner saw his rights acquired by the San Jose Sharks in the summer of 2001 and over the course of the next four seasons continued to hone skills with the clubs AHL affiliate in Cleveland. Entering his fifth season with Cleveland in 2005-06, Carkner improved play impressed the Sharks brass enough to earn him his first game action in the NHL.
In the summer of 2006, Carkner was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following season Carkner saw action in 75 games with the Penguins AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre, tallying 30 points. He found himself again on the move in the summer of 2007 after he signed as a free agent with the Ottawa Senators.
