Mitch Calvert
For Gabe Capozzi, leaving family and friends this past summer was a small sacrifice to prolong his hockey career.
Capozzi is not your typical Fort Frances Jr. Sabre, hailing from Fairlawn, N.J., but he’s as passionate about the game as anybody.
The 20-year-old forward is in his last final of junior eligibility—playing for the love of the sport more than anything. Still, he’s also hoping to land himself a college scholarship for next season.
“Wherever I can find a school that wants to pay for me, really,” Capozzi said of his aspirations. “And, of course, wherever I can get the best education I can, as well.”
Capozzi, who spent last season with the SIJHL’s Marathon Renegades, currently has six goals and 12 assists in 27 games with the Sabres this season. He said he’s just enjoying the moment and focusing on doing what he can to help the team win.
“It’s just great to be part of something like this,” Capozzi said of the fan support in Fort Frances. “Hockey is not too big where I’m from, and you come up here and it’s unreal.”
So how did a kid from New Jersey get so interested in a sport that’s third- or fourth-fiddle in his neck of the woods?
“It was actually the 1980 ‘Miracle’ team,” Capozzi said. “My father [Gabe Sr.] and I would watch a documentary on it before the movie “Miracle” came out, and it always made me want to play for my country.
“But, go figure, I’m up playing in Canada,” he laughed.
Like any proud hockey parents, Gabe and Mariann drove Capozzi to countless practices, spent hundreds of hours in chilly arenas cheering him on, and likely invested significant money in his development.
“They know that I love to play,” he stressed. “They do really want me to go to school, and they’ve encouraged that, but I can go that way anytime.”
Capozzi certainly has adjusted to a host of things while living in Canada, but the bone-chilling weather and snow hasn’t been one of them.
“It doesn’t snow like this back home at all, it’s still 60 degrees [Fahrenheit] back there,” he noted.
But Capozzi surely will stick through it to continue his hockey journey. He’s been a valuable asset to the Sabres so far this season, able to play with a variety of linemates and different roles—and seems to be willing to do whatever task is put on his shoulders.
The odds may seem to be stacked against the Sabres reaching their goal of a Dudley Hewitt Cup title, but so far they aren’t listening to their critics and have been winning games. And just maybe they can pull off Capozzi’s own version of the “Miracle on Ice.”
It would be a fitting end to his junior career.
