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Zellio Toppazzini

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Zellio Toppazzini
Born (1930-01-05)January 5, 1930
Copper Cliff, Ontario, Canada
Died April 1, 2001(2001-04-01) (aged 71)
Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Right
Played for Boston Bruins
New York Rangers
Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career 1947–1964
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1964–1968Providence
Head coaching record
Overall31–60–1 (.342)
Plaque at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in honor of Toppazzini

Zellio Louis Peter Toppazzini (January 5, 1930[1] – April 1, 2001) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 123 games in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, and Chicago Black Hawks between 1949 and 1956. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1948 to 1964, was mainly spent with the Providence Reds of the American Hockey League. After He was the brother of Jerry Toppazzini, who played in the NHL from 1952 to 1964, and the great-uncle[citation needed] of Justin Williams, who played in the NHL from 2000 to 2020.

Playing career

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Toppazzini spent most of his career with the American Hockey League's Providence Reds. Nicknamed "Topper", Toppazzini is the all-time leading scorer in Reds history. During his 12 years with the Reds, from 1951 to 1964, he amassed 279 goals, 448 assists and 727 points in 650 regular season games, and another 16–28–44 in playoff action. All are team records.

In 1955–56 the line of Toppazzini, Paul Larivee and Camille Henry spearheaded the Reds to both regular season and Calder Cup championships. Toppazzini earned career highs of 42 goals, 71 assists and 113 points in leading the AHL in scoring and in the playoffs he also added 7–13–20.

Post-playing career

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In 2000, The Rhode Island Reds Heritage Society named Toppazzini its "Player of the Century"; it presents an annual award in his honor. In 2012, Zellio was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame.

Toppazzini coached the Providence College hockey team for four seasons from 1964–65 through 1967–68 compiling a 31–60–1 (0.342) record. His best and only winning season behind the PC bench was his first year (1964–65) when the Friars went 14–11–1 (0.558). Toppazzini was replaced by Lou Lamoriello.

Toppazzini was inducted as a charter member of the Rhode Island Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1946–47 Copper Cliff Jr. Redmen NOJHA 9 10 3 13 6 5 4 4 8 5
1947–48 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 33 27 18 45 53 3 4 4 8 2
1948–49 Boston Bruins NHL 5 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0
1948–49 Hershey Bears AHL 49 9 14 23 15
1949–50 Boston Bruins NHL 36 5 5 10 18
1949–50 Hershey Bears AHL 34 16 9 25 6
1950–51 Boston Bruins NHL 4 0 1 1 0
1950–51 Hershey Bears AHL 12 6 5 11 2
1950–51 New York Rangers NHL 55 14 14 28 27
1951–52 New York Rangers NHL 16 1 1 2 4
1951–52 Cincinnati Mohawks AHL 7 2 4 6 0
1951–52 Providence Reds AHL 33 20 25 45 6 11 3 7 10 2
1952–53 Providence Reds AHL 64 35 32 67 23
1953–54 Providence Reds AHL 70 33 43 76 18
1954–55 Providence Reds AHL 62 21 53 74 12
1955–56 Providence Reds AHL 64 42 71 113 44 9 7 13 20 2
1956–57 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 7 0 0 0 0
1956–57 Providence Reds AHL 44 13 40 53 16 5 0 1 1 4
1957–58 Providence Reds AHL 70 27 42 69 14 5 1 1 2 0
1958–59 Providence Reds AHL 67 17 38 55 14
1960–61 Providence Reds AHL 68 31 34 65 2
1961–62 Providence Reds AHL 66 21 36 57 2 3 1 2 3 0
1962–63 Providence Reds AHL 61 16 24 40 10 6 4 4 8 0
1963–64 Providence Reds AHL 14 1 6 7 0 1 0 0 0 0
AHL totals 785 310 476 786 184 40 16 28 44 8
NHL totals 123 21 22 43 49 2 0 0 0 0

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Providence Friars (ECAC Hockey) (1964–1968)
1964–65 Providence 14–11–1 7–9–1 8th ECAC Quarterfinals
1965–66 Providence 7–14–0 2–12–0 14th
1966–67 Providence 3–17–0 2–13–0 14th
1967–68 Providence 7–18–0 3–13–0 15th
Providence: 31–60–1 14–47–1
"ARMADURA Z29 HELMET ARMOR Z29" by OSCAR CREATIVO

Total:
31–60–1

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Zellio Toppazzini #15 RW". www.nhl.com.
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