Michael Pezzetta (born March 13, 1998) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

winger for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected in the sixth round, 160th overall, by the Canadiens in the

2016 NHL Entry Draft The 2016 NHL Entry Draft was the 54th NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016 at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine go ...

Playing career

Originally selected 11th overall by the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

in the 2014

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) Priority Selection, Pezzetta made his OHL debut during the 2014–15 season. On January 9, 2018, during his overage season with Sudbury, Pezzetta was traded to the

Sarnia Sting Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron flo ...

. Pezzetta signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the

on March 7, 2018, and would make his professional debut during the 2018–19 season with the Canadiens'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket (french: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play th ...

. During the 2021–22 season, on November 1, 2021, Pezzetta was recalled by the Canadiens and made his NHL debut the following night versus the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. In his rookie season with the Canadiens, Pezzetta collected five goals and six assists in 51 games for 11 points, and led the team in penalty minutes with 81. In the midst of a terrible season for the team, Pezzetta endeared himself to many fans with his effort. Pezzetta signed a one-year, $750,000 deal to remain with the Canadiens for the 2022–23 season. Initially seeing little ice time as the team's 13th forward, a spate of injuries eventually moved him regularly into the lineup again. Appearing in 63 games, he managed seven goals and eight assists, while leading the team in hits (239) and with the most penalty minutes among team forwards. Pezzetta drew headlines for scoring the shootout-winning goal in a March 27, 2023, game against the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

and then celebrating in the style made famous by

Tiger Williams David James "Tiger" Williams (born February 3, 1954) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from the 1974–75 NHL season to the 1987–88 NHL season. He is the NHL's career leader in ...

. On June 2, 2023, Pezzetta signed a new two-year contract with the Canadiens. He expressed enthusiasm for the organization, saying "there's so much history and the fans are wild and it's such a loud and just fun atmosphere to be a part of. You want to stick around in this atmosphere for as long as you can."

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pezzetta, Michael 1998 births Living people Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Ice hockey people from Ontario Laval Rocket players Maine Mariners (ECHL) players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Sarnia Sting players Sudbury Wolves players