Rick Morocco (born February 14, 1963) is a Canadian-Italian ice hockey executive, and former professional player. A native of Niagara Falls, Ontario, he played

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

in Ontario, before winning a national university championship with the York Lions. During six seasons of professional hockey in Italy, he also played for the Italy men's national team at the World Championships and Winter Olympics. After his playing career, he served as an executive for Ontario University Athletics, the Professional Hockey Players' Association, the Canadian Junior Hockey League, and the Ontario Junior Hockey League. He was inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 2005.

Early life

Rick Morocco was born on February 14, 1963, in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He played ice hockey as a youth, and won an

Ontario Minor Hockey Association The Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) is a minor ice hockey governing body in Ontario. The OMHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. History The OMHA was founded on November 30, 1940, after a merger of the Ontari ...

championship in 1973.

Playing career

Morocco played hockey as a left winger, and was a left-handed shooter. He was listed as and . He began playing

in the 1978–79 season with the Fort Erie Meteors at age 15. His team won the Niagara District Junior B Hockey League championship, and he won the league's rookie of the year award. During the 1979–80 season, Morocco played for the Aurora Tigers in the

Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best d ...

, and scored 24 goals and 26 assists in 38 games. After the season, he was offered a hockey scholarship to Boston University, and was selected fourteenth overall in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft. During three seasons in the OHL, he played for the Kitchener Rangers,

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was ...

, Niagara Falls Flyers, and North Bay Centennials. Attending York University, Morocco played three hockey seasons for the York Lions from 1984 to 1987. With the Lions, he won three Ontario University Athletics titles, and the CIAU University Cup as national champion in 1985. Morocco played six seasons of professional hockey in the Italian Hockey League first division from 1987 to 1993, which included tenures with

Alleghe Hockey HC Alleghe is a professional ice hockey team in Alleghe, Italy. The team plays in the country's second-tier Italian Hockey League and play at Stadio Alvise De Toni. The team was the surprise winners of the 1992-93 Alpenliga. They were formerly co ...

HC Merano HC Merano is an ice hockey team in Merano, Italy. They play in the Serie B, the second level of ice hockey in Italy. History Merano was founded in 1968. They won the Serie A twice, in 1986 and 1999. Since 2004 the club is playing in the 2nd highe ...

, and

HC Devils Milano HC Devils Milano were an ice hockey team in Milan, Italy. They played in the Serie A. History The club dominated the Serie A between 1991 and 1994, winning three straight titles. They also participated in, and won, the Alpenliga in 1991. NHL pla ...

. He also played for the Italy men's national team at the Ice Hockey World Championships and the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

. Morocco was inducted into the Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame in 2005.

Executive career

After his playing career, Morocco served as executive director of the Ontario University Athletics, director of player relations of the Professional Hockey Players' Association, and managing director of the

Niagara Falls International Marathon The Niagara Falls International Marathon is an annual marathon running competition from Buffalo, New York, United States to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, first held in 1974. It is one of the few marathons in the world that starts in one count ...

. He was named the first executive director of the Canadian Junior Hockey League in February 2014. He served in the role until September 2016, when succeeded by

Brent Ladds Brent Ladds (born 1951) is a Canadian ice hockey administrator. He has served as president of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL) since 2016, and was previously president of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1980 to 2012, commissio ...

. Morocco later served as the director of business development and events for the Ontario Junior Hockey League as of 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morocco, Rick 1963 births Living people Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy Canadian Junior Hockey League Canadian sports executives and administrators HC Alleghe players HC Merano players HC Milano players Ice hockey people from Ontario Ice hockey players at the 1992 Winter Olympics Italian ice hockey left wingers Kitchener Rangers players Niagara Falls Flyers players North Bay Centennials players Olympic ice hockey players of Italy Ontario Junior Hockey League Ontario University Athletics ice hockey players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sports labor leaders Sportspeople from Niagara Falls, Ontario York Lions players