Nick Ricci Explained

Birth Date:June 3, 1959
Birth Place:Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
Height Ft:5
Height In:10
Weight Lb:160
Position:Goaltender
Catches:Left
Played For:Pittsburgh Penguins
Draft:94th overall
Draft Year:1979
Draft Team:Pittsburgh Penguins
Career Start:1979
Career End:1985

Nicholas Joseph Ricci (born June 3, 1959) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1980 and 1983. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1979 to 1985, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League and International Hockey League.

Playing career

Born in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Ricci played junior hockey for the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. He was drafted 94th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins and signed with their organization that summer. He played the 1979–80 season for the Grand Rapids Owls of the IHL, and was called up to the Penguins to play four games. For the next three seasons, Ricci played several games each year for the Penguins, but played mostly in the minors. In 1983, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, joining the Leafs' AHL affiliate, the St. Catharines Saints. He split the 1983–84 season with the Saints and the Muskegon Mohawks of the IHL, and played one final season in the IHL in 1984–85 with the Peoria Rivermen.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP W L T MIN GA SV%GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1976–77Niagara Falls FlyersOMJHL7 309 32 0 6.21
19788–79Niagara Falls FlyersOMJHL52 3129 183 3 3.49 20 1172 54 1 2.66
1979–80Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL4 2 2 0 240 14 0 3.51 .898
1979–80Grand Rapids OwlsIHL29 1585 113 1 4.28
1980–81Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL9 4 5 0 536 35 0 3.92 .861
1980–81Binghamton WhalersAHL8 2 4 0 359 34 0 5.68 .841
1981–82Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL3 0 3 0 158 14 0 5.32 .843
1981–82Erie BladesAHL40 16 19 4 2254 175 0 4.66
1982–83Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL3 1 2 0 148 16 0 6.53 .789
1982–83Baltimore SkipjacksAHL9 3 3 2 486 41 0 5.06 .871
1983–84St. Catharines SaintsAHL15 3 4 1 597 47 0 4.72 .854
1983–84Muskegon MohawksIHL13 1 11 1 764 59 0 4.63
1984–85Peoria RivermenIHL7 4 3 0 423 30 0 4.26
NHL totals19 7 12 0 1080 79 0 4.39 .857

Awards

References