Mario Brunetta (born January 25, 1967) is a Canadian-born Italian 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. He played 40 games 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 ...

with the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

between 1987 and 1989. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1987 to 2003, was mainly spent in Europe. Internationally Brunetta played for the Italian national team in several tournaments, including the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

and three

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Playing career

Brunetta was born in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. As a youth, he played in the 1979 and 1980

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 ...

s 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 Quebec City. Brunetta was drafted 162nd overall by the

during the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. Following three years in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

he was promoted to the

Fredericton Express The Fredericton Express were a professional ice hockey team based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League between 1981 and 1988. The Express were affiliated with the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks of ...

of the AHL. He had a 4-1 start with the Express and was promoted to the Nordiques where he played 29 games that season. During the next two seasons he spent the majority of his time in the AHL and was eventually released. He pursued a career in Europe, playing for teams in Italy, Germany and Sweden.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1967 births Living people Asiago Hockey 1935 players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Eisbären Berlin players ERC Ingolstadt players Fredericton Express players Frölunda HC players Halifax Citadels players HC Varese players Ice hockey people from Quebec City Ice hockey players at the 1998 Winter Olympics Italian ice hockey goaltenders Laval Titan players Olympic ice hockey players for Italy Quebec Nordiques draft picks Quebec Nordiques players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Quebec Remparts players {{Canada-icehockey-goaltender-stub