New captain Rizzo latest Vee to commit to North Dakota
Massimo Rizzo is following the trail of several other Penticton Vees to Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The B.C. Hockey League team’s newly minted captain has committed to play NCAA hockey for the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks in the future.
“I’m incredibly excited to be able to continue my hockey and educational future with such a prestigious program,” Rizzo said. “North Dakota has a history of not only developing top-tier players, but also icing a championshipcalibre program each and every season.”
Rizzo, who turns 17 June 13, finished his rookie season in the BCHL posting 13 goals and 39 points in 50 games. In the playoffs, Rizzo found another gear by scoring four times for 10 points in 11 games.
The Burnaby native also skated for Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Championships in Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, scoring once and adding three assists in five games.
Rizzo was announced as the Vees captain for the 2018-19 season, following in the footsteps of Tyson Jost – who also attended UND - as the most recent 17-year-old captain of the Vees.
He will also follow in the footsteps of other Vees captains Brett Hextall, Nick Jones and Troy Stecher who commited to UND during GM/head coach Fred Harbinson’s tenure in Penticton.
When Rizzo joins the Fighting Hawks, he’ll be skating alongside three other teammates from the 2017-18 season as Jonny Tychonick, Adam Scheel and Jackson Keane graduated to the NCAA ranks from the 2017-18 Vees.