Ronald Kenneth Zanussi (born August 31, 1956) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

right winger who played five seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) for the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

and

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

between 1977 and 1982.

Playing career

Zanussi was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and played minor hockey for the West Hill Minor Hockey League team in the SHA (Scarborough Hockey Association). As a youth, he played in the 1969

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...

team from

Dorset Park Dorset Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the western part of the district of Scarborough. The neighbourhood is bordered by Highway 401 to the north, Midland Avenue to the east, Lawrence Avenue to the south, a ...

. He later played with the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their ...

of the OHA. He was selected in the third round, 51st overall, by the

in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft and in the eighth round, 87th overall by the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1975–76 WHA season, 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and t ...

in the 1976 WHA Amateur Draft. He played his first pro year with the

Fort Wayne Komets The Fort Wayne Komets are a minor league ice hockey team, which currently plays in the ECHL. They play their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In all of North American professional hockey, only the Orig ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1976–77, scoring 53 goals and was named the co-winner of the IHL's rookie of the year award. He joined the North Stars the following season, playing the majority of the next four years in Minnesota before moving onto the Maple Leafs for two. Zanussi retired in 1984 having played 299 NHL games and scoring 52 goals.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanussi, Ron 1956 births Living people Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Canadian ice hockey right wingers Cincinnati Tigers players Cleveland Crusaders draft picks Fort Wayne Komets players Fort Worth Texans players London Knights players Minnesota North Stars draft picks Minnesota North Stars players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Oklahoma City Stars players St. Catharines Saints players Sherbrooke Jets players Ice hockey people from Toronto Toronto Maple Leafs players