Nick Abruzzese

Nicholas Abruzzese (born June 4, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Nick Abruzzese
Born (1999-06-04) June 4, 1999
Slate Hill, New York, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Marlies (AHL)
National team  United States
NHL Draft 124th overall, 2019
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2022–present

Growing up in New York, Abruzzese played for numerous junior hockey teams before joining the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2017 to 2019. During his time with the Steel, Abruzzese thrived under new coach Greg Moore and led the league in scoring with 80 points in 69 games. As such, he was named to the 2018–19 All-USHL First Team and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

Following the draft, Abruzzese joined the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team from 2020 to 2022 while majoring in psychology. His freshman season was the best under coach Ted Donato as Abruzzese accumulated 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points through 31 games. As a result of his play, Abruzzese was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year. He was also selected for ECAC First All-Star Team, First Team All-Ivy, and All-Rookie Team. In March 2020, Abruzzese was also selected for the AHCA Second Team All-American.

Early life

Abruzzese was born on June 4, 1999, in Slate Hill, New York.[1] His father played hockey in New York growing up and got his son interested in the sport.[2] Beyond ice hockey, Abruzzese also played baseball, lacrosse, and soccer.[3] Abruzzese graduated from Minisink Valley High School in 2017[4]

Playing career

Amateur

Growing up in New York, Abruzzese played with 13U AAA New Jersey Colonials, the 16U AAA New Jersey Avalanche, 16U Westchester Express teams, and the 18U AAA New Jersey Avalanche.[5] He also played with the Mid-Fairfield Yankees in 2014 and scored one goal and three assists to help the team qualify for the Toyota-USA Hockey Tier I Youth National Championships.[6] During the 2015–16 season, Abruzzese tallied 35 points in 24 Atlantic Youth Hockey League games and 17 goals and 30 points in 32 Tier 1 Elite Hockey League games.[7] Following this, Abruzzese joined the North American Hockey League's New Jersey Junior Titans for the 2016–17 season.[5] During this time, he attended Minisink Valley[5] and committed to play Division 1 ice hockey for the University of Vermont.[7]

Following his commitment to the University of Vermont, Abruzzese played junior hockey with the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2017 to 2019. In his rookie season with the Steel, Abruzzese posted 13 goals and 36 points through 56 games but remained undrafted in the National Hockey League (NHL).[8] During his second USHL season, Abruzzese changed his collegiate commitment and decided to join the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team for the 2019–20 season.[9] He improved offensively during the 2018–19 season under new coach Greg Moore and led the league in scoring with 80 points in 69 games.[8] As a result of his impressive season, Abruzzese was named to the All-USHL First Team.[10] He was also selected 124th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.[11]

Collegiate

Following the NHL Entry Draft, Abruzzese began his collegiate career with the Harvard Crimson in the ECAC Hockey Conference while majoring in psychology.[12] He recorded his first collegiate goal and added two assists on November 1, 2019, in a 7–3 win over Dartmouth.[13] By December, he had accumulated 16 points through 14 games to lead all NCAA first-years in scoring per game with 1.14 points per contest. As such, he was recognized by the ECAC Conference with their ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month Award for the month of December.[14] Later in January, Abruzzese notched his first multiple-goal game and was named a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's ice hockey player.[15] He finished the month of February tied amongst skaters and leading all freshmen with 12 points. Abruzzese also led the league in points per game with 1.34, and he accumulated 39 points overall. As such, he received his third ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month honor.[16]

At the conclusion of his freshman season, Abruzzese had accumulated 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points through 31 games which was the best freshman season under coach Ted Donato.[12] As a result of his overall play, Abruzzese was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year[17] and was selected for ECAC First All-Star Team,[18] First Team All-Ivy, and All-Rookie Team. In March 2020, Abruzzese was also selected for the AHCA Second Team All-American.[19] However, following his successful freshman season, Harvard — along with the rest of the ECAC's Ivy League schools and Union — did not play during the 2020-21 NCAA season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, Abruzzese returned home to New York to complete online classes and underwent hip surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery.[20]

Once collegiate hockey resumed for the 2021–22 season, Abruzzese returned to Harvard as their team co-captain alongside Casey Dornbach.[21] In this role, he contributed 33 points through 28 games.[1] Before leaving for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Abruzzese was one of Harvard's top point producers with 21 points through 17 games. He also ranked tenth in the country with an average of 1.24 points per game.[22] After returning from the Olympics, Abruzzese helped guide the team to the NCAA regional semifinal by scoring the game-tying goal in an eventual win over the Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey team in the ECAC Semi-Finals.[23] Upon reaching the NCAA Albany Regional semifinals against Minnesota State, the Crimson fell 4–3 and were subsequently eliminated.[24] Following the elimination, Abruzzese was named to the 2021–22 NCAA ECAC First All-Star Team.[25]

Professional

Abruzzese ended his collegiate career by signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 26, 2022.[26] He made his NHL debut on April 4, 2022, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers where he skated for nine minutes through 15 shifts.[27] Abruzzese scored his first career NHL goal, a game winner, against the Boston Bruins on April 29, 2022.[28]

On July 21, 2023, Abruzzese signed a two-year, $1,550,000 contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a restricted free agent.[29]

International play

During his junior year at Harvard, Abruzzese and teammate Sean Farrell were named to Team USA's men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[30] He scored the game-tying goal in an eventual 3–2 loss to Slovakia that eliminated Team USA from the tournament.[31] Abruzzese ended the tournament with one goal and three assists for four points through four games.[1]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2016–17New Jersey Junior TitansNAHL 41010 —————
2017–18Chicago SteelUSHL 5613233612 71342
2018–19Chicago SteelUSHL 6229518020 1177140
2019–20Harvard UniversityECAC 311430444 —————
2021–22Harvard UniversityECAC 28924338 —————
2021–22Toronto Maple LeafsNHL 91012 —————
2022–23Toronto MarliesAHL 6916324818 72570
2022–23Toronto Maple LeafsNHL 20220 —————
NHL totals 111232 —————

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2022 United States OG 5th 4 1 3 4 0
Senior totals 4 1 3 4 0

Awards and honors
Award Year Ref
USHL
All-USHL First Team 2018–19 [10]
College
AHCA Second Team All-American 2019–20 [19]
ECAC All-Rookie Team 2019–20
ECAC Rookie of the Year 2019–20 [17]
Ivy League Rookie of the Year 2019-20
ECAC First All-Star Team 2019–20 [18]
ECAC First All-Star Team 2021–22 [25]
AHCA East First Team All-American 2021–22 [32]

References
  1. "Nick Abruzzese". Elite Prospects. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  2. Creech, Hayes (February 9, 2022). "Nick Abruzzese: Top things to know about Team USA's forward". Olympics. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  3. "Nick Abruzzese". Team USA. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  4. nancy.kriz (January 14, 2022). "Class of 2017 alumnus Nicholas Abruzzese named to the 2022 USA Olympic Hockey team". Minisink Valley Central School District. Retrieved October 13, 2022.
  5. "Class of 2017 alumnus Nicholas Abruzzese named to the 2022 USA Olympic Hockey team". Minisink Valley. January 14, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  6. Scandura, Mike (April 1, 2014). "TIER I 14U MID-FAIRFIELD YANKEES LIVE UP TO REPUTATION". USA Hockey. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  7. "Forwards announce commitment to UVM". The Burlington Free Press. March 11, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  8. Kloke, Joshua (May 25, 2020). "Mind over matter: The gift that defines Maple Leafs prospect Nick Abruzzese". The Athletic. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  9. @HockeyCommits (December 3, 2018). "Nick Abruzzese (Chicago Steel) has committed to Harvard University for 2019-2020. @HarvardMHockey @abruzzesenick @ChicagoSteel @USHL" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. "All-USHL Teams Announced". United States Hockey League. April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  11. Proteau, Adam (June 22, 2019). "Leafs boost talent depth at 2019 NHL Entry Draft". National Hockey League. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  12. "Nick Abruzzese". Harvard University. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  13. "No. 19 Men's Ice Hockey Beats Dartmouth, 7-3, in Season Opener". Harvard University. November 1, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  14. "Nick Abruzzese Named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month". Harvard University. January 7, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  15. "Abruzzese Named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Week". Harvard University. January 20, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  16. "Abruzzese Earns Third Straight ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month Award". Harvard University. March 3, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  17. "Abruzzese Named ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year". Harvard University. March 19, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  18. "ECAC Hockey Announces 2019-20 All-League Selections". ecachockey.com. ECAC Hockey. March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  19. "Rathbone, Abruzzese Named CCM/AHCA Hockey All-Americans". March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  20. "Leafs prospect Abruzzese on the mend following surgery, looks forward to next season". Toronto Sun. November 24, 2020. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  21. "Dornbach, Abruzzese Named 2021-22 Men's Ice Hockey Captains". Harvard University. August 5, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  22. "Abruzzese, Farrell and U.S. Men's Ice Hockey Team Set to Begin Competition at Beijing Olympics". Harvard University. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  23. "No. 15/15 Men's Ice Hockey Heads to Albany For Thursday NCAA Opener Against No. 1/1 Minnesota State". Harvard University. March 22, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  24. "No. 15/15 Men's Ice Hockey Sees Comeback Effort Fall Short, 4-3, Against No. 1/1 Minnesota State in NCAA regional semifinal". Harvard University. March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  25. "ECAC Hockey Announces 2022 First-Team All-League". ECAC. March 10, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  26. "Maple Leafs sign Nicholas Abruzzese". Toronto Maple Leafs. March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  27. McMillan, Ken (April 4, 2022). "Ice hockey: Minisink's Nick Abruzzese makes NHL debut with Leafs". Yahoo!. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  28. "Maple Leafs' Nick Abruzzese: First NHL goal stands as winner". CBSSports.com. April 30, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  29. "Maple Leafs Re-sign Nicholas Abruzzese to A Two-year, Two-way Contract". NHL.com. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
  30. "Nick Abruzzese and Sean Farrell Named to 2022 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team". Harvard University. January 13, 2022. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  31. Browne, Ken (February 16, 2022). "Slovakia stun USA and progress to semi-final after penalty shootout thriller at Beijing 2022 Olympics". Olympics. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
  32. "Four players return to 2021-22 Division I men's All-American teams, led by three-time pick Dryden McKay". USCHO.com. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
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