Hockey Profiles | Laval Rocket, Montreal Canadiens, Habs, AHL, Michael Pezzetta, OHL, Sudbury Wolves, Sarnia Sting
Welcome to Montreal Canadiens player profiles. In this series, you will find a bi-weekly breakdown of a player who is a highly-regarded prospect or a member of the Canadiens organization.
In this player breakdown you will find a brief background, junior or college experience, a scouting profile, professional experience and a career trajectory.
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — There were not many positives coming out of the 2021-’22 Montreal Canadiens training camp. A long list of injuries and uninspired play by all levels of players, from long-time NHL veterans to recent draft picks, highlighted the pre-season this Fall. The biggest story was an unexpected leave of absence from franchise icon Carey Price.
One positive was the consistent play of 23-year-old rugged winger Michael Pezzetta. His work ethic was contagious and he often sparked his linemates to raise their effort levels as well. He is the feature of this week’s edition of Habs Profiles.
“If you could have 10 Pezzettas on your team, I’m sure any coach would.” – former Sudbury Wolves head coach David Matsos
Background
Michael “Pez” Pezzetta is a native of Toronto, Ontario and played his minor hockey for the Vaughn Kings Minor Hockey Association. That program also graduated goaltender Jordan Binnington, forwards Michael Dal Colle and Andrew Cogliano, and more recently defender Thomas Harley.
In his OHL Draft year, Pezzetta suited up for the Mississauga Senators, of the GTHL U16 loop. He achieved just under point-per-game numbers with 11 goals and 15 assists for a total of 26 points in 29 games played. That team also featured future NHL’ers, Jordan Kyrou (St Louis) and Givani Smith (Detroit).
At the OHL Cup later that year, Michael did achieve point-per-game numbers with three goals, two assists for five points in five games. His hard work and two-way efforts got the power forward recognized by the Sudbury Wolves. They selected him 11th overall in the summer of 2014.
Michael has an older brother of three years named Stefano Pezzetta. The 5-foot-11-inch left-winger most recently played for York University in the Canadian University loop in 2018-’19.
Junior Experience
The 6-foot-1-inch, 205 pound centre immediately made an impact as a rookie on a downright terrible Sudbury squad that finished dead last in the entire Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Nevertheless, Pezzetta took advantage of the opportunity for more ice time, and posted five goals, seven assists for 12 points in 61 games played.
Perhaps the most telling statistic of that season supporting Pezzetta’s positive impact was that he ranked second best of all skaters who played 60 or more games with a rating of minus-28. The Wolves finished minus-174 in goal differential as a team and their top scorer, power forward Matt Schmaltz was a minus-57. Taking those factors into consideration, Pezzetta rating as a rookie centre, playing in all situations, is quite commendable.
Progress
In year two, the Wolves and Pezzetta both took steps in the right direction. Michael took on a bigger role, cracking the top-6 and shifting to the wing allowing first overall pick David Levin to develop in his natural position at centre. The two showed instant chemistry and spent the majority of the season together.
With Levin being a undersized rookie centre, much of the defensive responsibilities fell on Pezzetta. He took those in stride and even thrived on added duties on special teams. As a result, his work ethic, positive attitude and improved two-way play led to Michael being named an assistant captain.
New head coach David Matsos called the rugged winger “Mr. Consistent.” David Levin was quoted throughout the year calling him “the ultimate teammate” and “a warrior!”
Pezzetta also thrived offensively in his sophomore season, posting 10 goals and 18 assists for a total of 28 points. Even with all the added duties on special teams and as a protector for a young core, he managed to increase his production by 16 points.
Levin and fellow rookie, Russian import sniper Dimitry Sokolov, leaned heavily on Pezzetta in all facets of the game all season. Michael had a career high 98 penalty minutes.
“That is what defines Michael. He takes care of the kids that are younger than him and has respect for the kids that are older than him.” – David Matsos
Playoff Experience
After being drafted in the sixth round (160th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2016, Pezzetta was ready to prove why he was worthy of a pick. He returned to Wolves with one goal in mind, to make the playoffs!
The season was a grind. A very deep Eastern Conference made it tough for an inexperienced Sudbury team to climb the standings.
With a couple of offensive weapons added in the summer, Michael took a step back and focused on his defensive responsibilities in a second line role. However, he was still prominently featured on special teams and still managed to post 10 goals, nine assists for 19 points in an injury-shortened 54 games played.
Every member of the 2016-’17 Wolves accepted their respective roles and it led to not only a playoff spot, but a very competitive first round battle with the highly skilled Oshawa Generals.
On paper, Pezzetta and his Wolves should have been outmatched. Their hard work and tenacity led to an unexpected six game series, which they eventually lost 4-2. Michael’s leadership was integral in having the group buy-in. His all out effort even netted him two playoff goals.
Howl to Sting
In Pezzetta’s fourth and final OHL season, he yet again found himself on a very poor Wolves team. He was honoured with captaincy and wore it proudly through a difficult season that left the club finishing dead last in the OHL.
Michael put up a career year on offence. He scored 15 goals and dished 16 assists for 31 total points in 35 games in Sudbury.
A trade out of town was inevitable. The team was destined to finish near the bottom of the standings and needed to recover some assets spent over the summer and trade deadline of the 2016-17 season. Rumours can distract even the greatest hockey players, but Pezzetta remained focused and committed to his Wolves squad.
On January 9th, 2018, Michael Pezzetta was traded to the Sarnia Sting for two second round picks. Sarnia was one of the best teams in the country, highlighted by a potent offence and stellar goaltending from overager Justin Fazio. League leading point getter Jordan Kyrou (St Louis), along with linemate Drake Rymsha (Los Angeles) highlighted the offence attack.
The Sting were very deep up-front meaning Pezzetta factored in as a bottom six checking centre, the perfect role for his skillset. He posted eight goals, 13 assists for 21 points in the final 27 games of the regular season and added another goal and assists for two points in 12 playoff games.
The playoff run was a short and disappointing one for the Sting, bowing out in the second round. The team that had aspirations, and frankly all the skill, to compete for a championship, ran into a very complete Kitchener Rangers team. They could not overcome the defensive system deployed by Kitchener head coach Jay McKee, and executed by defensive standout Logan Stanley (Winnipeg).
Scouting Profile
Michael Pezzetta is the perfect poster boy for promoting the intangibles that every coach seeks in his players. They are little details that are rarely taught and usually inherited.
Michael has too many of these to list. He is a hard-working, and determined two-way force that will never give up on a play. Even though junior numbers show consistent progress, he has limited offensive upside at the pro level, but will forecheck until the final whistle. Pezzetta is an above average skater and passer with an average shot, yet a very underrated release.
His defensive game improves year over year and he can be trusted and be counted on in any situation throughout the lineup.
The unique experience on a weak Wolves team in Junior gave Pezzetta the opportunity to play on every line. From being a leader at centre with two very skilled rookie wingers, to shutting down the top line with defensive forwards in the final minutes, Michael witnessed a bit of everything in his junior career.
He also stands up for his teammates. In four season of junior and three in the pros (mostly AHL), Pezzetta has never turned down an opportunity to send a message or gain a momentum swing, no matter who the opponent is. He is learning to pick and choose his spots though and has shown significant progress in eliminating unnecessary and usually costly penalties.
Hard work and determination are the keys to his success.
“I’m not sure he can do a cartwheel, but I think he would’ve done one if he could.” – David Matsos
That quote was after Pezzetta found out he was rated as a “C” prospect on the NHL’s November Watch List for the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, after being unranked previously.
Career Trajectory
Now in his fourth pro season, Pezzetta has played 115 AHL games with the Laval Rocket. Mostly utilized in an energy role as a bottom six forward to date, he has still managed to score 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 career points.
This past Fall, Pezzetta had the opportunity to play in several pre-season games for the Habs. He made quite the impression with his tenacious fore-check and all out effort. So much so, he was kept until the final roster cuts.
Upon his return to Laval to start the season, he saw an increase in ice-time and has been consistently featured on special teams as well. This led to a hot start out of the gate! Pezzetta put up three goals, three assists for six points in only eight games and was recently rewarded with his first recall to the Montreal Canadiens.
NHL Debut
He made his NHL debut on Tuesday, November 2nd on a line with former Rocket team mate Jake Evans and fellow call-up Alex Belzile. Pezzetta quickly established his game and got the crowd out of their seats with several key forechecks early on. He stayed consistent with his efforts and helped the young trio to excellent possession numbers all game.
In the dying minute, Michael drove the net and got tangled up with Red Wings goaltender Alex Nedelkovic much to his dismay. This is exactly what the management and coaching staff wanted from him. Energy, energy, energy!
Pezzetta managed to keep up the high pace, in your face style, that he is so well known for without taking any unnecessary penalties. It was an excellent debut in his role and one that should lead to a few more opportunities with the big club shortly.
Michael Pezzetta’s debut was highlighted by finishing with a 90 percent expected goals for rate (xGF%). This stat uses shot quality to determine which team is expected to score more goals when a certain player is on the ice. Obviously this is very unsustainable, as even the most elite of players typically finish with a subpar 70 percent. It does show, however, how effective he was in his NHL debut.
Pezzetta’s bread and butter is clearly as an energy player. He has the intangibles and complete package to be a very effective bottom six forward. Whether this is at the NHL or AHL level is completely up to him. If he can continue to work his way up the Laval Rocket lineup and become a consistent special teams contributor, then there is a good chance an extended NHL experiment could be in Pezzetta’s future, even more so if chemistry is built with some young up and coming talent currently on the Rocket, namely Ryan Poehling, Jesse Ylonen, and Cole Caufield.
When asked by @TheAHLReport Senior Writer Chris G @ChrisHabs360 what his goals were for the upcoming season, Pezzetta had this to say, “I want to play in the NHL. For me, its (about) building my game every single day and showing that I am a call-up option. (Also) showing that I am somebody that can play at the next level consistently.”
By Mike Raschle, Staff Writer
All Habs Hockey Magazine
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