Perry Florio (born ), is an American 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 ...

player who spent the majority of his career with the

Johnstown Chiefs The Johnstown Chiefs were a minor league ice hockey team located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that played in the ECHL. The team was founded in 1987 in the All-American Hockey League, and moved to the East Coast Hockey League (now ECHL) when th ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

Personal life

Florio is married, has two children, and three siblings. Both of his parents are deceased.

Career

Florio played the 1986 and 1987 seasons for the Providence College Friars, leading the team in penalty minutes both years. Following the 1986 season, Florio was named to the

United States men's national junior ice hockey team The United States men's national junior ice hockey team represents the United States at the IIHF World Junior Championship. The team has won seven times World Junior Championships (2004, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2021, 2024, 2025). Many NHL prospects, ...

for the World Junior Championships. Florio transferred to

Northern Michigan University Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designa ...

, where he played ten games in his senior year in 1989. He started his pro career in the 1989-90 season for the

Knoxville Cherokees The Knoxville Cherokees were an East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. History The franchise was formed in 1988 along with the ECHL. The team moved to Florence, South Carolina in 1997 and was renamed the Pee Dee Pr ...

of the

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

before going to the

the next season. Save for a three-game stint with the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

in 1992, he played the rest of his professional career in Johnstown, retiring after the 1995 season; he served as the team's captain, and was named to the franchise's 20th Anniversary Team. At the time of his retirement, he was the all-time ECHL leader in games played. He was further honored by being named to the ECHL's all-time 10th Anniversary Team in 1997. Florio also played in

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in ...

for the

Philadelphia Bulldogs The Philadelphia Bulldogs were an inline hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of Roller Hockey International (RHI). They were part of the 1994 RHI Expansion. Th ...

in 1994 and 1995; he played in the RHI All-Star Game in 1994 where he was named the game's MVP.

Coaching

After retiring as a player, Florio became an assistant coach for the

Roanoke Express The Roanoke Express were a professional minor league ice hockey team in the ECHL from 1993 until 2004. Home games were played at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. History Roanoke Valley's first minor league ice hockey team, called ...

of the

in 1998, and was named head coach and general manager in 2000. After making some controversial and unsuccessful trades, he was fired in January 2003 with the team just out of first place, a move unpopular with the players. He was promptly hired as interim head coach for the Anchorage Aces, with whom he finished the season, before going on to be the head coach for the

Pee Dee Pride The Pee Dee Pride, known as the Florence Pride for the 2003–04 ECHL season, was a professional minor-league hockey team that was based in Florence, South Carolina, where they played in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) from 1997 until 2005. ...

in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He also was the head coach of the

Elmira Jackals The Elmira Jackals were a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Elmira, New York. They were members of the United Hockey League from 2000 to 2007 and the ECHL from 2007 to 2017. The Jackals played their home games at First Arena. ...

of the

United Hockey League The United Hockey League (UHL), originally known as the Colonial Hockey League from 1991 to 1997 and last known as the International Hockey League from 2007 to 2010, was a low-level minor professional ice hockey league, with teams in the Unite ...

in 2006.

Career statistics

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Florio, Perry 1967 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Hershey Bears players Johnstown Chiefs players Knoxville Cherokees players Living people Los Angeles Kings draft picks Northern Michigan Wildcats men's ice hockey players Philadelphia Bulldogs players Providence Friars men's ice hockey players American inline hockey players 20th-century American sportsmen