Andrew Agozzino announces retirement from NHL

A hard-scrabble veteran is hanging up his skates.

On Tuesday, winger Andrew Agozzino announced that he is retiring from the NHL.

Agozzino, 35, is retiring after a 14-year career in professional hockey. He played the majority of last season for the Utah Mammoth‘s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Tuscon Roadrunners, where had 19 goals and 20 assists for 39 points in 56 games. He also went scoreless in two games for Utah.

The Kleinburg, Ontario native began his professional career following a five-year junior career with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), in which he racked up 159 goals and 147 assists for 306 points over 318 games, making him Niagara’s all-time leading scorer.

Despite proving himself to be an offensive force in junior, Agozzino went undrafted by the NHL in large part due to his relatively undersized 5’10” frame. Ahead of the 2012-13 season, he signed a one-year AHL contract with the Colorado Avalanche‘s affiliate Lake Erie Monsters. Agozzino played in the Avalanche organization for four seasons, during which time he notched no goals and three assists in 10 NHL games. In the AHL, however, his scoring touch from junior carried over, as he put up 194 points over 266 games.

Following the 2015-16 season, Agozzino left for the St. Louis Blues‘ organization, and would go on to play for seven total franchise’s, including a second stint with Colorado, over the remainder of his career. He played a total of 53 games over his career, split between the Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, and Mammoth, in which he compiled three goals and nine assists for 12 points.

In the AHL, he registered 284 goals and 378 assists for 662 points over 847 career games. He made the AHL All-Star Game in 2013 and 2019.