You could have lit the darkest nook of the Poirier Sports Complex with the smile that Massimo Rizzo wore a few weeks ago.
The Coquitlam Express forward had plenty to grin about, as his team leapfrogged that night’s rival to take over the top spot in the B.C. Hockey League, and have not looked back.
Oh, and that night’s opponent also happened to be the team that traded Rizzo last summer.
“We’re just playing our game, playing confident. We’re playing great at home because we’re sticking to what we do best and just keeping it simple. We’re not really changing anything, so we just continue to roll along,” Rizzo said after Coquitlam blasted the Penticton Vees 7-2.
A week later, the Burnaby native was called to wear the red and white and chosen to be captain for Team Canada West at the World Junior A Hockey Challenge, which began last week in Dawson Creek.
That tournament, which the team has gotten off to a slow start and still seek their first win, runs until Dec. 15.
The past 12 months have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the 18-year-old sniper. A nagging injury, a premature exit in last year’s playoffs, getting dealt closer to his family in Burnaby and a day later drafted by the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes were just part of the saga. But those peaks and valleys have been put in the rear view mirror, and Rizzo is glad to ride out the good times.
Officially in his third season in the BCHL, the Burnaby Winter Club product has faced his share of challenges. In his first two years in Penticton, Rizzo missed nearly 40 games due to injuries.
What was viewed as a troubling back ailment was eventually traced this past offseason to a torn hip muscle, which resulted in off-season surgery. Coupled with the immeasurable changes brought on by the trade and being drafted, and it’s easy to see how someone could have been overwhelmed by it all.
“It’s been kind of a whirlwind of emotion; the season ending, the trade and the draft and then the surgery,” recalled Rizzo. “I just kind of rolled with it, enjoyed the highs and worked through the lows. I just tried to stay focused.”
He wasn’t able to lace up the skates with the Express until October, missing the first month where the team roared out to a 7-1 start. That first game, in Chilliwack, was a long-time coming.
“I had a little bit (of butterflies) for the first couple of minutes,” he said with a laugh. “I was staying out there for like two minutes the first few shifts because I was having so much fun being out there. (Coach Jason Fortier) was really good about it, he knew I was just so happy to be back.”
In his second game in Coquitlam colours, Rizzo scored.
He’s been rolling ever since, contributing offensively and taking on a leadership role with a club whose confidence hasn’t ebbed since the start of the season. The Express ended November six straight wins, and in his absence has added three more in December. Perfect at home, Coquitlam’s 28-5-0-0 record sits atop the league, putting five points between them and Penticton since that Nov. 20 victory.
“Massimo has made a huge impact since getting into the lineup,” remarked Fortier. “As an athlete, once you’re on the ice that’s when the easy part is. After going through the surgery and the rehab, those are the dark hours for an athlete.
“I think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can do in this league. He has the ability to be one of the league’s top players.”
Fortier’s crew has ripped through the league and, besides a one-week blip where they sandwiched two losses around a pair of wins, have been a runaway train charging past its rivals. Over 21 games, Rizzo has contributed nine goals – seven of the powerplay variety – and 14 assists. Four of his goals were game winners.
Team captain Drew Cooper said Rizzo’s presence has bolstered the on-ice attack as well as the off-ice chemistry.
“Obviously, you see (Rizzo’s) stats and he’s been great. He’s been one of our top players all year and we’re looking forward to having more of that going forward,” said Cooper.
For Rizzo, the transition from Penticton, where the team draws crowds of 3,000 fans, to Coquitlam, where a smattering of 500-plus is considered average, has gone smoothly. There’s the bonus of being near old friends and family, including his mom’s home cooking. He’d love to see the team’s success continue through into March.
“The success we’ve been having on the ice hopefully everyone in the community sees, and they come out and support us. I think the fans are getting better each and every game, and if we can keep this going hopefully more will come out and see what we can do.”
Beating Penticton in a blowout was the kind of signal that not only opened the eyes of those around the league, but also was that re-affirming jolt to the team’s own confidence. The Vee, program has been the league’s status symbol, built each year around star recruits, with sons of NHL all-stars Tony Amonte, Scott Niedermayer and Doug Weight on this year’s edition. With less fanfare, Fortier has constructed a lineup in Coquitlam, currently ranked 11th in the nation, based on slick talent that won’t be out worked.
“The group we have here is great, they come to work every day. They’ve got something to work for, not a lot of the guys have scholarships so day-in, day-out they’re working hard to prove themselves,” said Rizzo. “I feel we have a really close, hardworking team and everyone gets along amazingly and that translates on the ice.”
While his focus is on helping the team continue its chase of a league title, Rizzo also has next year locked up with a scholarship to the University of North Dakota. It’s part and parcel of that young kid’s hockey dream, where he and his fellow Burnaby Winter Club Bruins would see the famous alumni names of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Paul Kariya, Mathew Barzal and Cliff Ronning and dream.
That goal of skating in the best league in the world is a driving force, he said.
“I have the ultimate goal to play someday in the NHL and I’m just going to continue to work towards that every day,” he said.
