Dante Giannuzzi received the exciting phone call from the Portland Winterhawks about returning to the team while Joel Hofer is away at World Juniors representing Hockey Canada. He joined the Winterhawks last week before Portland’s series of games over the weekend.
The 17-year-old Winnipeg, Manitoba native has been playing in the MJHL this season. He started the year with the Winnipeg Blues before being traded to the Steinbach Pistons on October 28.
The Blues were near the bottom of the pack in the MJHL, currently 9th of 11 teams, yet Giannuzzi gave his team a chance to win every night. In his six games with Winnipeg, he faced an average of 47 shots per game, held a 3.91 goals against average, and a .918 save percentage.
With the trade to Steinbach, Giannuzzi moved about an hour southeast, but was comfortable changing teams.
“It wasn’t too bad,” Dante said of the trade. “I was settled there in Winnipeg, which is home for me, so I was living at my house. Other than having to move to a new billet house it was pretty easy. The team I moved to is great, welcoming, and overall it was nice and easy.”
Portland’s fifth round pick in the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft has started eight games (one relief appearance) with his new team, who currently sit atop the MJHL standings. Giannuzzi has seen an average of 30 shots per game with the Pistons, quite a difference from what he saw with the Blues.
After the Winterhawks completed a three-in-three last weekend, Dante traveled back to Steinbach and recorded his first career MJHL shutout on Wednesday. He stopped all 21 shots sent his way by the Neepawa Natives.
The milestone in the MJHL came after Giannuzzi registered his first win as a WHL starter on Saturday against Tri-City. “It was a good feeling. The guys played really well in front of me and made my job super easy, didn’t have to make too many big saves. They did a great job blocking shots and getting pucks out, made it easy on me.”
November 4, 2018 was Dante’s first career win in the WHL which came in relief against the Spokane Chiefs.
Being back in Portland is exciting for the 2002-born netminder. “It is great being here. It was good to go back and get some games in, but this is the spot I want to be. I feel like I’ve developed since I was down and up. I feel a lot more confident now.”
His transition back to the Winterhawks was seamless, “It was nice and easy, like I was never gone honestly. All the guys are really welcoming when I came back. I have a lot of great friends on this team, especially Seth (Jarvis). It is great to be back.”
Giannuzzi is expected back in Portland upon the conclusion of the holiday break. Dante remains laser focused and is continuing to refine his game in both practices as well as games. “I’m just trying to simplify my game and make it easier on me. Sometimes I will maybe try too hard for plays, just try to make it easier on myself and limit my movements.”
Portland currently sits two points behind the Everett Silvertips in the U.S. Division standings after 32 games played.
The Winterhawks were 8-1-0-1 in their last ten games before 12 days off between games. A tough three-in-three still resulted in five-of-six points for Portland. “Not the outcome we wanted in the third game, but the boys battled hard, three-in-threes are never easy,” Giannuzzi said. “Overall, I thought getting five out of six points was really good. In the spot we are in with the standings, it is always good to get points, huge to get five-of-six.”
The Winterhawks are back in action next Friday, December 27, in Tri-City.
