BUFFALO’S COSTANTINI NAMED OJHL’S TOP PROSPECT
College-bound Jr. Sabre top-ranked OJHLer in 2020 NHL Draft
Mississauga, ON –….The Ontario Junior Hockey League announced that Matteo Costantini of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres is the OJHL’s Top Prospect for 2019-20.
Costantini was ranked 96 thon National Hockey League Central Scouting’s final draft rankings released Wednesday – tops of the four OJHL players included on the list. The Top Prospect award is presented to the player adjudged by NHL Central Scouting to be the league’s best prospect for the upcoming NHL Draft.
The OJHL is announcing the winners of its annual awards this spring.
Costantini, a 17-year-old from St. Catharines, jumped onto the junior hockey scene this season, scoring 68 points (36G/32A) in 50 games in Buffalo. He was named to the OJHL second all-star team and played in the Prospects Game at the OJHL All-Star Celebration. In Buffalo’s first-round playoff win over Burlington, Costantini led both teams with 10 points (2G/8A) in six games.
“For us this year, Matteo was a dynamic 200-foot centreman,” Jr. Sabres general manager and head coach Nick Tuzzolino said this week. “He not only created offense for himself but for all of his teammates around him. We used him in all situations, whether we were down by a goal at the end of the game, or we had the lead and were trying to close the game out.”
“Matteo transformed from a gifted offensive player at the beginning of the year to a complete hockey player by the season’s end.”
Two years ago, Costantini was the third from last – 298 thoverall – player selected in the Ontario Hockey League draft by the Hamilton Bulldogs from the Niagara North Stars AAA minor midgets.
He was 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, a shadow of his current 6-foot, 180.
“Not everybody gets drafted and I was fortunate to be picked,” he said. “From there it was just keeping my head down, pushing, grinding. Trying to be the best player I could be. I just kept working hard. And after that, new doors started to open for me.”
Since the age of 14, Costantini has worked out during summers at the LECOM Harborcenter in downtown Buffalo, home of the Jr. Sabres and practice facility for the NHL Sabres.
Impressed with the staff in Buffalo, he signed with the midget U16 minor Sabres and lit it up – 101 points in 87 games – during the 2018-19 season.
“We saw a dynamic offensive player with great speed and scoring ability,” Tuzzolino recalls. “His major improvement this year is that he became a complete player. He was reliable in all three zones and was used in every situation.”
Costantini and Jr. Sabres teammate Michael Craig carpooled daily – NEXUS cards in hand – from their St. Catharines high school across the border to LECOM Harborcenter this past season.
“Pretty smooth,” Costantini said. “Maybe 35 minutes. A pretty straight shot.”
Costantini credits Tuzzolino and assistant coach Tim Kennedy, the former NHLer from Buffalo, for helping him transform his game – and his teammates’.
“I have to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff,” he said on Good Friday. “They put a lot of faith in me this year and set up a really good structure for me and the team. The boys just bought in. It was a real tight group in Buffalo this year and when the team started to succeed it just led to individual success, as well.
“I thought it was a really good year for us. We were young but resilient. It’s just sad that we couldn’t see what would happen. But sometimes life happens and you just have to deal with it.”
NHL scouts and NCAA coaches agreed with Coach/GM Tuzzolino’s assessment. Costantini has had plenty of school interest but is the only one of the four OJHLers on the NHL draft list without a college commitment.
For now.
He was in the middle of the process, visiting campuses and speaking to coaches, when COVID-19 struck. Depending on how those talks go, Costantini could be playing college this fall or return to junior.
For now, he’s completing his Grade 12 courses online and working out in his family’s basement gym. To mix things up, there’s a hill to tackle in his St. Catharines neighbourhood.
And then there’s the matter of the NHL Draft. Originally scheduled for Montreal in June, it will be rescheduled, the NHL says.
