Olivia Zafuto (born January 25, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman who is signed as a reserve for the Boston Fleet of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She has previously played for PWHL New York, the Boston Pride, Linköping HC, and HV71, and in the Professional Women's Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).
| Olivia Zafuto | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
January 25, 1997 Niagara Falls, New York, US | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| PWHL team Former teams |
Boston Fleet | ||
| Playing career | 2021–present | ||
College career
editZafuto played her college hockey at Colgate. Her junior and senior seasons, she ranked third-most nationally for points by a defenceman. She graduated with the most points (104) by a Colgate defenseman in program history.[1]
Professional career
editIn 2019, Zafuto was drafted by the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) but many players left to form their own league through the Professional Women's Hockey Player's Association (PWHPA). Zafuto played in Buffalo and Minnesota for two seasons. She then played for HV71 in the Swedish Women's Hockey League (SDHL) for 11 games before signing a contract with Linköping Hockey Club.[2]
After a season-and-a-half, she returned to the United States to play in the rebrand of the NWHL, the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), for the Boston Pride.[3] She was an All-Star selection for the 2022-23 season.[4] After one season with the Pride, Zafuto signed a 1-year $63,000 contract with the Metropolitan Riveters.[5] However, the PHF was acquired by the Mark Walter Group in 2023 and a new, unified league was set up: the PWHL.
Zafuto was drafted by New York in the twelfth round, sixty-ninth overall, in the inaugural PWHL draft. She signed a one-year contract and played in thirteen games for New York during the 2023–24 season, recording one assist.[6] She signed a reserve player contract with the Boston Fleet for the 2024–25 season.[7]
Zafuto has also worked as a coach at Nichols and Thayer Academy.[8]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2015–16 | Colgate University | ECAC | 39 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Colgate University | ECAC | 35 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Colgate University | ECAC | 41 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Colgate University | ECAC | 37 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | HV71 | SDHL | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2021–22 | Linköping HC | SDHL | 35 | 10 | 10 | 29 | 20 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2022–23 | Boston Pride | PHF | 22 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | PWHL New York | PWHL | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| PWHL totals | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Olivia Zafuto". Colgate Athletics. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Sabato, Nick (November 29, 2022). "Niagara Falls' Olivia Zafuto found a home in Boston after traversing the globe as women's hockey reboots". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Cornetta, Kat (November 2, 2022). "The Boston Pride and the PHF were too good to pass up for hockey players Olivia Zafuto and Loren Gabel". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on February 8, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Doherty, Matt (January 17, 2023). "Boston Pride place a league-high nine players on PHF All-Star roster". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "Riveters Sign Fratkin, Zafuto, and Brand From Pride". The Hockey News. May 18, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Healy, Emma (November 29, 2024). "The Boston Fleet's roster is set for the start of the new season. Here's a closer look at the players". Boston.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ "BOSTON FLEET ANNOUNCE 2024-25 ROSTER". The PWHL. November 29, 2024. Archived from the original on December 1, 2024. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
- ^ Kraus, Joe (July 5, 2023). "Niagara Falls' Olivia Zafuto weighing options, hopeful to continue career after professional women's hockey shakeup". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com