| Massimo Rizzo | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
June 13, 2001 Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NCAA team | Denver | ||
| NHL Draft |
216th overall, 2019 Carolina Hurricanes | ||
Massimo Rizzo is a Canadian collegiate ice hockey centre for the University of Denver Pioneers. He was an All-American for the Pioneers and helped the program win a National Championship in 2022.[1]
The Burnaby native was a standout player in juniors, averaging at or near 2 points per game for his U-18 clubs before joining the Penticton Vees in 2017. While his production was lower, the competition was also much tougher. Despite dealing with multiple injuries in his second year, his scoring exploits made him attractive enough as a prospect for the Carolina Hurricanes to select Rizzo near the end of the NHL draft.[2] The following year, Rizzo was a member of the Coquitlam Express and helped the club finish atop the league standings. Once they got into the postseason, Rizzo led the club in scoring by the end of the first round series, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the remainder of the playoffs.[3] Rizzo sat out the entire COVID season and prepared himself for the start of his collegiate career.
Rizzo debuted for Denver in 2021 and joined a team that had narrowly missed the NCAA tournament the year before. He combined with several other freshmen to provide an instant boost for the Pioneers and propelled the team to a 1st-place finish in the NCHC. Denver stumbled a bit in the conference tournament but went on a run in the NCAA bracket. Rizzo scored the team's 3rd goal in the title game and helped Denver win the 9th championship in program history.[4] The following year, Rizzo led the club in scoring, helping them once again win a league crown. While he was named as an All-American, he couldn't get the team to repeat as champions and the Pios were knocked out in the first round.
On August 9, 2023 Rizzo's rights were traded along with a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the rights to David Kase. [5]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2016–17 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 50 | 13 | 26 | 39 | 20 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 2018–19 | Penticton Vees | BCHL | 37 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 24 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Coquitlam Express | BCHL | 42 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 26 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 2021–22 | University of Denver | NCHC | 39 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | University of Denver | NCHC | 38 | 17 | 29 | 46 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NCAA totals | 77 | 29 | 53 | 82 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| NCHC All-Rookie Team | 2021–22 | [6] |
| All-NCHC First Team | 2022–23, 2023–24 | [7] |
| AHCA West Second Team All-American | 2022–23 | [1] |