Nick Tuzzolino’s long and winding career path took him through four pro leagues and 14 teams before landing him in Worcester as the new GM and Associate Coach of the Railers. His experiences, both on and off the ice, have shaped his passion for mentoring the next generation of hockey players
WORCESTER—There is no evidence indicating that Paul McCartney is a fan of the ECHL, AHL, SPHL, NHL or any HL for that matter.
“The Long and Winding Road,” however, could serve as the anthem for many careers in professional hockey, especially for Nick Tuzzolino, the Railers new general manager and associate coach.
Tuzzolino, 38, has played in four different pro leagues, two of which are out of business. He has skated for 14 different pro teams including six in the AHL and six in the ECHL.
One of those AHL teams was the Portland Pirates and Tuzzolino played for them against the Worcester Sharks in 2010-11. One of those ECHL teams was the 2015-16 Elmira Jackals, coached by future Railers coach Jamie Russell.
Russell is not Tuzzolino’s only Worcester connection.
He grew up outside of Buffalo in Amherst, NY. That’s the same hometown as former Sharks president and current Worcester State University Athletic Director Mike Mudd. The two have never met, but that will change this year for sure.
Tuzzolino is a full-blooded Bills fans, for all that brings with it, and loves snow. That’s because the family business includes getting rid of it.
“It’s like money falling from the sky,” he said.
Tuzzolino also spent several seasons working in player development for the Sabres and knows former IceCats, and Sabres, coach Don Granato.
“I am very happy for him,” Granato said in a phone call from Buffalo. “He is a great guy, a very passionate guy about the game. He will bring that same level of passion to Worcester.”
Granato is an interesting bridge between Railers general managers. He has worked with Tuzzolino and coached his predecessor as GM, Jordan Smotherman, with the AHL Chicago Wolves in 2008-09.
Tuzzolino was drafted by the NHL but never played in that league, which is a good place to start his story.
His junior career was in the Ontario Hockey League and he made an impression, which will happen when you are 6-foot-6 with skill. The Islanders took him in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. It was every junior player’s dream come true, but the dream got detoured when New York did not sign him to a contract.
“There is a reason, I believe,” he said as he looked back on those years, “that my hockey journey has led to this point. I was a draft pick by the Islanders and in major juniors, I had a very high level of arrogance and it wasn’t confidence. It was cockiness.
“The Islanders didn’t offer me a contract so you sort of get thrown back into the pool. Now you’re trying to figure out how do I grind back into it?”
Tuzzolino began the grind with Flint of the International Hockey League in 2007-08 on a team that included future Sharks defenseman Brett Westgarth. Tuzzolino was a 21-year-old rookie and had a splendid season. He played in all 76 games and led the IHL in rookie scoring and compiled 159 penalty minutes
“I fought everything,” he said.
That was the case for most of Tuzzolino’s career. From that season through 2013-14 he totaled 1,130 PIM. Tuzzolino got noticed and by 2010-11 he made his American Hockey League debut with Portland.
His playing career went on hiatus after the 2015-16 season. His wife gave birth to twins and the family settled in Buffalo. Tuzzolino worked for the Sabres and started a hockey business — Tuzzolino Pro Consulting. Two years ago, though, he found himself with some time and a chance to make some money, and make a career move at the same time.
At age 36 he signed in mid-season with the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates and played 20 more pro games after a seven-year break. The return should have been a shock to the system, but was not.
“I hate to say it this way but it was much easier than expected,” he said. “From a skills standpoint, I had been teaching skills at the NHL level for six years prior, and when you teach you can learn a lot more and do a lot more.
“Other than my stride being significantly different because old age is old age, the skill set, the IQ was through the roof. I had been studying players, studying systems, so I could basically get away with not having to do much and be very effective.”
The Savannah put in motion the chain of events that led Tuzzolino to the Railers. He was named an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season along with Alex Loh. The Ghost Pirates fired head coach Rick Bennett midway through the year. Loh and Tuzzolino took over for the rest of the season and Tuzzolino was hired here this past summer.
There are many things Tuzzolino would do differently given the chance but there is a long line of successful people who feel the same way.
“That’s basically the reason for where I am now,” he said, “because I’ve had to go through so much. There was a fall from grace…there are off-ice mistakes that effect your on-ice mistakes. I’m an open book about it, not shy to share it.
“I’ll give myself credit for the climb I had to make, but I made it really hard on myself because of some of the decisions I made. I want to help fix that for the next generation.”
Granato’s career is a good template and not just for Tuzzalino.
Granato never played in the NHL but spent two seasons in the ECHL. He then coached in the ECHL for three years before taking over the IceCats in 2000-01. His career was detoured when he was diagnosed with lymphoma, but Granato eventually made it to the NHL as an assistant, then finally as the Sabres head coach.
It was a long and winding trip to the National Hockey League, but he eventually arrived.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
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