OHL Ottawa 67's

Then and Now: Catching up with Danny Battochio

Published on March 31, 2010 under Ontario Hockey League (OHL)
Ottawa 67's News Release


Then: In 2003, this twice passed-over minor hockey goalie from Lively Ontario (think Sudbury) was a walk-on hopeful at the Ottawa 67's training camp. He made the team as a back up to Lukas Mensator and played 15 games before a seizure on Christmas Day put his fledgling OHL career on hold -possibly for good. But, defying the odds, Danny had successful surgery in January 2004 and returned to his team at the start 2004-2005 season. And boy, what a season he had as he backstopped the team to an improbable run to the Memorial Cup. The NHL was locked out and the tournament featured many future NHL'ers including Sydney Crosby. There were legions of hockey-hungry fans watching Danny's 62-save performance against the Kelowna Rockets over 5 periods of hockey that ended with Brad Staubitz's power-play goal at 15:41 of double overtime (that's 95:41 minutes of hockey). Some of Danny's saves were on the highlight reels for weeks. The Memorial Cup run is clearly Danny's favorite memory of his OHL career.

He finished his OHL career at the end of the 2005-2006 season with career stats of 64 wins in 102 games and a GAA of 3.03. He also collected a shelf full of hardware and accomplishments along the way: the OHL Roger Nielson Memorial Award (twice) that is awarded to the top academic College/University player, the Bobby Smith Trophy that is to the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year who best combines high standards of play and academic excellence, he was the 67's MVP a couple of times and he graduated from the Police Foundations Program at Algonquin College. That's a whole lot of stuff to get done in three short seasons.

Now: It's only been 4 years since Danny graduated from the OHL and headed off to St. Francis Xavier to join a number of 67's alumni to resume his studies, his hockey career and his award-winning ways. The team made the playoffs all three years he played, he was his team's rookie of the year and in his last year he and former 67's Will Colbert were both named as the team's MVPs. In his last season he played the most minutes in the Atlantic University Sports league and was named to the second all-star team. He also graduated with a sociology degree in three years, having been credited with a year for his studies at Algonquin College. With his degree in hand, in 2009 Danny signed with the Rapid City Rush of a different CHL- the Central Hockey League. In the second season of this franchise in a small South Dakota city, Danny has been outstanding as he backstopped his team to the conference title. He was recently named the CHL Rookie of the Year, was named to the All Star and All-Rookie teams, was a Goaltender of the Week in January and was the Goaltender of the Month in February.

I'm out of breath just writing it all down.

Despite all this success he's an easy-going guy who really enjoys playing professional hockey. And what's not to like when team owners are this committed. He understands and enjoys the responsibilities that go with being a sports figure in small market - interacting with the fans and being active in the community.

That long-shot walk-on in 2003 has made the best of his opportunities. He played in the OHL including a run at the Memorial Cup, he benefited from the generous OHL scholarships and obtained a college diploma and a university degree and he is playing professional hockey. Along the way, his professionalism and skill has won him legions of fans. And when the hockey is done, he plans to get into law enforcement hopefully back in Sudbury. If his hockey and academic careers are any indication, he will be an intelligent, hard working, effective, and popular member of any police force that is lucky to recruit him.

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Ontario Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2010


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