Captain Column: Patrick Guzzo
12/26/2023 3:42:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Growing up with a father who owned a hockey rink, Patrick Guzzo began skating at age two and never looked back. His father played semi-pro hockey and after he retired, kept hockey in his life with his own facility.
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Even though he is from Marysville, Mich., about an hour from Detroit, Guzzo's favorite team growing up was the Pittsburgh Penguins. The rivalry between the Penguins and Red Wings couldn't stop Guzzo from loving the Penguins and especially Evgeni Malkin, his favorite player. Currently, Guzzo tries to model his game after Malkin and chooses to wear the number 71 to match him as well.
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Hockey wasn't the only sport Guzzo participated in during his childhood. He played soccer until middle school and basketball for a year. When explaining why he stopped playing other sports, he said, "You get to a point when you have to choose which sport you want to play, hockey or something else, and I'd obviously pick hockey over anything."
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After Guzzo chose to put his focus on hockey, he began playing for the Blue Water Stars, where his father was his coach. He thoroughly enjoyed this time in his hockey career and remembers "traveling with all [his] best friends and playing mini sticks in the hotels." Aside from having fun with his friends, Guzzo appreciated being able to spend time with his father on the bench as part of the Blue Water Stars.
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Guzzo played for the Blue Water Stars from first through fifth grades, and from there joined AAA Little Caesars in Detroit, where he played until his freshman year of high school. During his sophomore year, Guzzo was drafted into the USHL by the Waterloo Blackhawks in Iowa. He skated with the Blackhawks for his junior and senior years of high school, and from there came to play hockey at Ohio State.
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Moving to Iowa in the middle of high school wasn't easy for Guzzo. He explained how it was tough to leave all his friends behind and see them hanging out back at home. What made the transition easier for Guzzo was that his teammates in Iowa were going through the same thing. Though it was a hard transition, he said he wouldn't change it for the world.
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Guzzo's path to playing college hockey was a little different than some of his teammates. His freshman year of high school, he verbally committed to play hockey at a different Division I school, but when he was about to make it official, things fell through. Guzzo said the first call he got was from Ohio State and that "It was kind of a nobrainer to come here, and I made the right decision. I love the school here."
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In addition to playing hockey, Guzzo is majoring in economics. He said that his first two years were pretty easy academic-wise, so he was able to balance hockey and school. Now that he is taking harder classes, Guzzo said having both hockey and school is getting tougher, but he has a lot of support and people available to help.
Aside from hockey, Guzzo has many interesting things about him. Firstly, he is a dual citizen in both Canada and the United States because his father is from Toronto. During the offseason, Guzzo likes to spend time with his friends he doesn't see very often and works at a pizza shop making lots of pizzas.
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Guzzo may not have ended up at Ohio State in the most traditional way, but he wouldn't change anything about how he got there. He said his experience with the team last season was the most fun and successful he's had at Ohio State and is trying to surpass that this year.
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Even though he is from Marysville, Mich., about an hour from Detroit, Guzzo's favorite team growing up was the Pittsburgh Penguins. The rivalry between the Penguins and Red Wings couldn't stop Guzzo from loving the Penguins and especially Evgeni Malkin, his favorite player. Currently, Guzzo tries to model his game after Malkin and chooses to wear the number 71 to match him as well.
Â
Hockey wasn't the only sport Guzzo participated in during his childhood. He played soccer until middle school and basketball for a year. When explaining why he stopped playing other sports, he said, "You get to a point when you have to choose which sport you want to play, hockey or something else, and I'd obviously pick hockey over anything."
Â
After Guzzo chose to put his focus on hockey, he began playing for the Blue Water Stars, where his father was his coach. He thoroughly enjoyed this time in his hockey career and remembers "traveling with all [his] best friends and playing mini sticks in the hotels." Aside from having fun with his friends, Guzzo appreciated being able to spend time with his father on the bench as part of the Blue Water Stars.
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Guzzo played for the Blue Water Stars from first through fifth grades, and from there joined AAA Little Caesars in Detroit, where he played until his freshman year of high school. During his sophomore year, Guzzo was drafted into the USHL by the Waterloo Blackhawks in Iowa. He skated with the Blackhawks for his junior and senior years of high school, and from there came to play hockey at Ohio State.
Â
Moving to Iowa in the middle of high school wasn't easy for Guzzo. He explained how it was tough to leave all his friends behind and see them hanging out back at home. What made the transition easier for Guzzo was that his teammates in Iowa were going through the same thing. Though it was a hard transition, he said he wouldn't change it for the world.
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Guzzo's path to playing college hockey was a little different than some of his teammates. His freshman year of high school, he verbally committed to play hockey at a different Division I school, but when he was about to make it official, things fell through. Guzzo said the first call he got was from Ohio State and that "It was kind of a nobrainer to come here, and I made the right decision. I love the school here."
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In addition to playing hockey, Guzzo is majoring in economics. He said that his first two years were pretty easy academic-wise, so he was able to balance hockey and school. Now that he is taking harder classes, Guzzo said having both hockey and school is getting tougher, but he has a lot of support and people available to help.
Aside from hockey, Guzzo has many interesting things about him. Firstly, he is a dual citizen in both Canada and the United States because his father is from Toronto. During the offseason, Guzzo likes to spend time with his friends he doesn't see very often and works at a pizza shop making lots of pizzas.
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Guzzo may not have ended up at Ohio State in the most traditional way, but he wouldn't change anything about how he got there. He said his experience with the team last season was the most fun and successful he's had at Ohio State and is trying to surpass that this year.
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Players Mentioned
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