Massimo Rizzo (ice hockey)

Massimo Rizzo (June 13, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was an All-American at the University of Denver and helped their ice hockey program win a national championship in 2022 and 2024.

Playing career
The Burnaby native was a standout player in juniors, averaging at or near two 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 2019 NHL Entry Draft. 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 team in scoring by the end of the first round series, however, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the remainder of the playoffs. Rizzo sat out the entire season and prepared himself for the start of his collegiate career.

Rizzo debuted for the University of 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 first-place finish in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). Denver stumbled a bit in the conference tournament but went on a run in the NCAA bracket. Rizzo scored the team's third goal in the title game and helped Denver win their ninth championship in program history. The following year, Rizzo led the team in scoring, helping them once again win a league crown. While he was named as an All-American, he could not get the team to repeat as champions and the Pioneers were knocked out in the first round.

On August 9, 2023 Rizzo's rights were traded along with a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for the rights to David Kase. On April 17, 2024, Rizzo was signed to a two-year, entry-level contract by the Flyers.