Transfer hammer: NHL veteran Robert Bortuzzo after HC Bolzano?

Transfer hammer: NHL veteran Robert Bortuzzo after HC Bolzano?

The HC Bolzano is looking for reinforcements for the coming season and is working intensively on a transfer for the 36-year-old defender Robert Bortuzzo. The Canadian played in the NHL for over a decade and was most recently active at Utah Mammoth, where he played 17 games in the past season. In his previous NHL career, Bortuzzo was able to look back on 577 regular season games, in which he scored 20 goals and 56 assists. He also gained valuable experience in 60 playoff games, in which he contributed 2 goals and 3 assists, such as [Laola1 reported] (https://www.laola1.at/de/wintersport/eishockey/ice-hocke-league/news/ice-hockey-league --kommet-ein-wehr-veteran-direkt-aus-der-nhl-/).

Bortuzzo was elected in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 78th position in the NHL draft and made his debut in the 2011/12 season. After a transfer to the St. Louis Blues in March 2015, his career course should change significantly. With the blues, Bortuzzo won the Stanley Cup in 2019, which is a very special milestone in its career. Even if he was a healthy scratch in the decisive game of the final series, he scored a total of two goals in the playoffs, including an important goal in the final against the Boston Bruins. The St. Louis Blues won the series with 4-1 and thus secured the first Stanley Cup in their franchise history, as Tbnewswatch reports.

meaning of the Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup is known as the oldest trophy in North American professional sports and is awarded annually to the successful NHL playoff team. The final, which has been held in the best-of-seevent format since 1939, is considered the last phase of these exciting competitions. In the 2025 season, the Edmonton Oilers meet the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup final. The flowering period of this prestigious award remains undisputed, while the best players fight for fame, honor and the coveted cup, as [ESPN notes] (https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/451666374/stanley-cup-history-nhl-Player-Team- Records-Stets).

The meaning of the Stanley Cup is also evident in the impressive statistics and the history associated with it. Players like Henri Richard with 11 titles and Wayne Gretzky, who achieved 10 assists in a single final, are the focus of this great tradition. While Bortuzzo was the first former player of the Superior International Junior Hockey League (Sijhl) to win the Stanley Cup, he joins the list of exceptional talents from Thunder Bay, which have celebrated similar successes in the past, including Eric Staal and Patrick Sharp.

With his upcoming possible move to Bozen, Bortuzzo could continue to contribute his experience and talent on European soil and thus initiate a new era in his career. The team and its fans hope for a positive development that can strengthen both the club internal and international competition.