Rochester’s Agostinelli Adjusting to Life in Canada and the OHL
When Rochester native, Anthony Agostinelli arrived in St. Catharines for training camp on August 27th, he had a decision to make. His distinguished play with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres’ under-16 program gave him a number of options. Most importantly, he was selected by the Niagara IceDogs in the eighth-round (159th overall) of the 2019 Ontario Hockey League’s Priority Selection but was also garnering interest from NCAA programs.
A strong camp, along with the professional and personable approach of IceDogs’ management was enough to convince him and his family to commit.
While most parents might hesitate at the thought of their 16-year-old son relocating to another country, Anthony and Marion Agostinelli embraced it.
“Anthony’s dream is to play in the NHL and we thought if he wanted to fulfill that or take a shot at fulfilling that, this was going to be his best route,” said the elder Anthony Agostinelli. “He’s determined – for a 16-year-old to leave Rochester and go to Canada, it takes a special kid. We’re a close family [and] to leave that unit and chase his dream and aspire to take a shot at being the best he can be, takes a lot of character, a lot of heart, determination. He stands for all those attributes.”
“The transition — as hard as it was for us to even imagine Anthony moving away at age sixteen, the adjustment went much better than I was expecting; a lot of it has to do with the organization itself,” said Marion Agostinelli.
“They made this transition so much easier and smooth — there were no real glitches or problems [and] everything was handled perfectly on the IceDogs’ end. It just made it a little bit easier for us to accept. Anthony’s awesome billet family, who we love, have taken a big undertaking as well and we are thrilled with them and that has helped his transition.”
Another major selling point for the Agostinelli’s was the proximity of Niagara from their Western New York home. “It was nice to know that Anthony would be close enough that we could drive up for the day and attend home games. That part was huge.” Marion Agostinelli cited the 165 km distance.
On the ice, the skilled first-year pivot is starting to feel right at home in his newly adopted country, showcasing his offensive potential, most notably, scoring the first two goals of his OHL career in Niagara’s 11-3 victory over the Kingston Frontanecs Thursday.
“It was a relief to get the first two before the Christmas break,” said Agostinelli. “At the beginning of the year, it was a big adjustment playing against bigger, stronger, older guys,” added the five-foot-11, 163-pounder. “I’m starting to get my game going, starting to play good hockey now. I’m getting familiarized with the league, feeling a lot more comfortable and confident.”
