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When it comes to South Philadelphia ice-hockey players, Lou Lozzi is in a rink of his own.
The Girard Academic Music Program sophomore tried out for USA Hockey’s Atlantic District team, and was the only player from Philadelphia to make the cut.
The 15-year-old forward, of the 1200 block of Emily Street, will join some of the best young athletes from Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware in Rochester, N.Y., to compete in USA Hockey’s Junior Olympic Select 16 Festival. Every year, USA Hockey sponsors a series of festivals to identify and develop the top players in the United States. The program also gives youths a chance to be seen by college and prep school scouts.
Lozzi, who previously participated in USA Hockey’s Select 14 and 15 camps over the past two summers, will now get his chance to play in an actual Junior Olympic Tournament.
"This is the biggest year," he said during a recent phone interview. "[At the camps] I would play against different guys from across the United States. Now, I am going up to Rochester to play for the gold medal."
The player hopes his performance will be impressive enough to dazzle a scout and win a scholarship to prep school. Lawrence Academy in Massachusetts has already accepted Lozzi, but the sophomore doesn’t plan to leave South Philly for at least another year.
The player already has traveled extensively across North America to pursue ever-higher levels of hockey competition.
In 1998, Lozzi helped his team win a gold medal in an invitational squirt tournament. Two years later, his Philadelphia Flyer-sponsored squad traveled to Quebec to compete in the Peewee World Championships. Like a real Olympian, Lozzi competed in exhibition games against teams from Austria, Sweden and Switzerland.
"It was hard because [the Europeans] play a different style of hockey," Lozzi said. "They are more into their stick-handling and scoring."
The trip also consisted of a double-elimination tournament against other NHL-sponsored youth hockey teams from the United States and Canada. The Flyers were knocked out in the semifinals, but the Olympic-style atmosphere made Lozzi feel like a world-class champ.
His father, Lou Lozzi, also was impressed by the star treatment all the athletes received.
"You don’t appreciate it until you get there," said the dad. "I thought it was just a great experience for them to meet kids from all over the world."
Reaching the national level didn’t come easily for Lozzi, as South Philadelphia has few ice-hockey rinks and programs. Rizzo Rink, Front Street and Washington Avenue, is the only local facility offering ice hockey to local athletes. At age 5, Lozzi was learning the basics at the rink.
"I could just see he always wanted to be on the ice," said his father, who is the hockey director at the Flyers Skate Zone in Northeast Philadelphia.
Recognizing Lozzi’s talent and drive, his family accommodated the demands of taking him to hockey clinics and games for the Thunderbirds travel team in Pennsauken, N.J.
The teen now plays for the Junior Flyers Midget AAA team in West Chester. Staying competitive requires a serious commitment that includes spending three to four days in the weight room at Rizzo Rink, where the 5-foot-6, 140-pound athlete works on building his upper-body strength. Lozzi keeps a close eye on his diet by eating a lot of chicken and vegetables.
The athlete also has to maintain his grades at GAMP, where he also participates in the school choir and plays on the tennis team. But don’t expect him to lead the National Anthem at his hockey games — he clams his voice isn’t that great.
"I try my best," he said.
Lozzi, who previously played four seasons with the Valley Forge Minutemen, is hoping his years playing hockey will eventually lead to a college scholarship.
Adding a few inches to his small frame would certainly help. Despite being one of the smaller players on the ice, Lozzi doesn’t let the bigger guys intimidate him. He tries following the lead of his favorite Philadelphia Flyer, Sami Kapanen, who, at 5-foot-10, is one of the NHL’s smaller players.
"He never quits and always goes for the pucks in the corner," said Lozzi, who predicted that the New Jersey Devils would win the Stanley Cup. "I want to play just like him."
And preferably, he’ll also play in the big leagues someday.
"I want to do something in hockey," Lozzi said. "If an opportunity to play in the NHL comes up, I would love to go play in the league."
For now, he’ll stick to more immediate goals like helping his Atlantic District team bring home a gold medal.
