Nick Sanza (born February 6, 1955) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

Playing career

Sanza played major junior in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

(QMJHL) for three seasons with the Montreal Red White and Blue and

Sherbrooke Beavers The Sherbrooke Castors or Beavers (in English) was the name of two different junior ice hockey teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and another team in the Quebec Eastern Provincial Hockey League. Both later franchises played at the Pal ...

. He set a league record for most shutouts in a single season with seven in 1974–75 (later tied by

Roberto Luongo Roberto Luongo (, , ; born April 4, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and the Vancouver Canucks. Luongo is a two ...

and Adam Russo). He joined the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 48th season of operation in 2022–23. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

in 1975–76 and played with the

Erie Blades The Erie Blades name was used by two professional ice hockey teams in Erie, Pennsylvania. Both teams played their home games in the Erie County Field House. After the second Blades team folded, the void was filled by the Erie Golden Blades, a tea ...

and

Beauce Jaros The Beauce Jaros were a minor professional ice hockey team from Saint-Georges, Quebec, located in the "Beauce" region of the province. The Jaros played one full season in the North American Hockey League during the 1975–76 NAHL season, and we ...

. Sanza turned pro in 1975–76 with the

Tucson Mavericks The Tucson Mavericks were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL). Having been drafted 64th overall by the

Denver Spurs The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championsh ...

in the

1975 WHA Amateur Draft The 1975 WHA Amateur Draft was the third draft held by the World Hockey Association. __NOTOC__ Selections by Round Below are listed the selections in the 1975 WHA Amateur Draft. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 ...

, he joined the club in 1975-76. He had also been drafted 150th overall in the

1975 NHL Entry Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

by the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

, but he never played a game in the NHL. In 1976-77, Sanza returned to the minor leagues with the

Greensboro Generals The Greensboro Generals were an East Coast Hockey League team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, and played at the Greensboro Coliseum from 1999 to 2004. The name was originally used by the Greensboro Generals in the Eastern Hockey League. Th ...

of the SHL. Two seasons later, he enrolled at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

and played in the Canadian university circuit. In 1987-88, he went overseas to play in the Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

with

HC Asiago Asiago Hockey 1935 is an Italian ice hockey team from Asiago which plays in the ICE Hockey League. Until 2021–22, Asiago played in the Italian Hockey League - Serie A, winning the championship eight times. Honours ;Domestic *Italian Hockey Leagu ...

and later with the Milan Devils.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanza, Nick 1955 births Living people Alberta Golden Bears ice hockey players Atlanta Flames draft picks Beauce Jaros players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Denver Spurs (WHA) players Denver Spurs draft picks Erie Blades players Greensboro Generals (SHL) players Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge players Sherbrooke Castors players Tucson Mavericks players