“…an honest coach, more reserved when he needed to be, but when he needed to let you know the hard truth he let you know it.”

By Jim Mason/OJHL Communications

Rich Ricci entered the coaching fraternity as a wet-behind-the-ears assistant coach with the St. Michael’s Buzzers Jr. A team in 1999.

Fast forward more than two decades, and you’ll see the now head coach and GM of the Buzzers recording his 500th win with the storied Toronto franchise.

Including his time (2008-10) on the Oshawa Generals’ staff, Ricci also hit 750 total wins in junior hockey, the Buzzers announced in late December.

Beyond the wins, Ricci’s Buzzers teams have made the playoffs every year since 1999-2000.

Ricci “had no experience,” he told the Ontario Junior Hockey – from where else, driving to a Buzzers’ road game in Trenton – when he signed up with St. Mike’s.

Now the active senior statesman in terms of games coached in the 24-team OJHL, Ricci and Vic Criscuolo, his right-hand man with the Buzzers, joined head coach Chris De Piero’s newly formed staff in those late 1990s.

It was a natural fit. The three of them were “best friends” from their days attending St. Mike’s as students. Ricci played hockey and football at the school at Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue.

Ricci has remained with the Buzzers, save for those two years in the OHL when he served again under Dipero with Oshawa.

General manager and head coach of the Buzzers since 2010, Ricci was on the staff of three OJHL title teams: 2005, 2006 and 2013.

“Naturally, winning those championships was amazing,” he said.

The Buzzers lost in the championship series in 2004 to the eventual national champion Aurora Tigers, meaning they won 14 of 15 best-of-seven playoff series over a three-year span.

“That was a lot of high-level hockey,” he said.

Ricci marvels at the future NHLers who played for him at St. Mike’s, including Mitch Marner, Andrew Cogliano and the Smith brothers, Reilly and Brendan.

“Those guys had a different mindset,” Ricci told the OJHL. “It wasn’t arrogance but they knew if they kept at it they could get where they wanted to go.”

Jake Evans, now in his sixth season with the Montreal Canadiens, was another one of “those guys.”

He was just 16, when he signed with the Buzzers team that would hoist the OJHL championship trophy in 2013. (Vegas Golden Knight Marner, who is a year younger than Evans, also played a key role on that team as a minor hockey affiliate.)

“When you get there, you don’t really expect much,” Evans told the OJHL before a game in Winnipeg this week. “You just hope to just make a team and get some ice time. (Rich) gave me a good chance to do well and put me with good players.

“And I got to play on the first power play right off the hop. When your coach does that, it gives you that confidence to do good things, too.”

Others noticed. Evans was voted to the OJHL’s First All-Prospect team in both of his seasons in the league and named Top Prospect across the Ontario Hockey Association in 2014

After St. Mike’s, Evans played four years at Notre Dame, captaining the Fighting Irish in his senior season. He signed with the Canadiens in 2018, four years after they picked him in the NHL Draft.

Evans is now a 29-year-old father of twins. But he’s still in touch with some of his Buzzers teammates, particularly Captain Patrick McCarron.

And he remembers Coach Ricci well.

“I think the biggest thing is that he always built a good team,” Evans said. “He got the right guys and put them in the right positions. Yeah, especially my first year. I mean, we had the best team in the league and he built that team, putting guys in the right seats in the right positions.”

“He was pretty relaxed when things were going well, and then hard on you when he needed to be… He was an honest coach, more reserved when he needed to be, but when he needed to let you know the hard truth he let you know it.”

“Coach Ricci is an honest coach with lots of experience and knowledge on the game. I might’ve not always loved what he had to say about my game, but he was right, and his critique and advice has helped me advance to the NCAA level and grow into the player I am today.”

– Boston Bruins draft pick Jonathan Morello

Jonathan Morello also won three Top Prospect honours during his two seasons (2022-24) at St. Mike’s. Drafted out of the OJHL by the Boston Bruins in 2024, he’s a freshman at Boston University.

“Coach Ricci is an honest coach with lots of experience and knowledge on the game,” he told the OJHL. “I might’ve not always loved what he had to say about my game, but he was right, and his critique and advice has helped me advance to the NCAA level and grow into the player I am today.

“Rich gave me the opportunity I needed to showcase my skills and helped me use my size and speed to my advantage. I am, and always will be grateful for everything Coach Ricci has done for me and my career.”

What keeps Ricci coming back year after year?

“It’s still fun. We’re still good friends here and that makes it easy,” he said. “I’ve been able to run the team as if it was mine, so that is appealing.”

Stable ownership is a blessing, said Ricci, who got caught in the middle of an ownership change in Oshawa. “That wasn’t fun,” he said.