By day Jeff Riccardi is a Financial Security & Investment Representative, by night he’s involved with the Thunder Bay Kings hockey program.
Before he became a coach, Riccardi did have a lengthy playing career in hockey, which took him through several leagues in North America from the junior level with the OHL and later minor pro with IHL and ECHL, to overseas playing in Germany’s Deutsche Eishockey Liga and Italy’s Serie A pro leagues.
Looking back at his playing days, Riccardi feels fortunate to have had a number of influential coaches which may have led him to get behind the bench.
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“Locally, I had Jim Johnson and Tony Riccardi as coaches,” reminisced Riccardi. “I was lucky enough to spend four years in the Ottawa 67’s organization, which was coached by Brian Kilrea. When I was with the Manitoba Moose my head coach was Randy Carlyle and I even had the privilege of having Duane Sutter as my coach in the Chicago Blackhawks organization.”
The Winnipeg Jets picked Riccardi in the eighth round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. After bouncing around in North America, Riccardi took his career overseas in 1997 and has no regrets about the decision.
“I played in some rinks that were actually semi-outdoors,” Riccardi recalled. “The crowd really gets into the game with their drums and jerseys; in some rinks the crowd is standing room only. It was an exciting time in my life and I really enjoyed my time in Europe.”
Riccardi, who will turn 50 in June, will be behind be bench for the Midget AAA Thunder Bay Kings U-18 squad for the 2021-2022 season.
