Robert Bortuzzo

At 35 years old, Robert Bortuzzo has this physical status:

Robert Bortuzzo (born March 18, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Bortuzzo has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him in the fourth round, 78th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Bortuzzo and the Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Early life

Bortuzzo was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to parents Oscar and Susan. His father was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers in 1977 and inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Sergio's grandfather worked at Thunder Bay's DaVinci Centre, where they also host an annual bocce tournament named in his honor.

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Playing career

Bortuzzo, a teenager in Thunder Bay, competed in both baseball and ice hockey. After barely missing the Little League World Series three years ago, he co-captained his little league baseball team to the Senior League World Series. Bortuzzo was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires during the 2005 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Prioritization Selection, but the Vancouver Spitfires continued to play in the Superior International Junior Hockey League until 2006. He led the team to a league championship, the Dudley Hewitt Cup, but they failed to qualify for the 2006 Royal Bank Cup final. Bortuzzo called it a "great experience and definitely a learning curve," despite going pointless in five games during the 2006 Royal Bank Cup Final.

Bortuzzo was acquired by the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2007 draft following his completion of the season with Fort William North Stars. In a 4–2 loss to the London Knights on November 2, he scored his first career OHL goal after attending the team's training camp. Bortuzzo drew comparisons to Fedor Tyutin and was lauded by Mark Seidel, a scout for the NHL Draft, leading up to the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Despite the fact that the NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranked Bortuzzo 48th overall among North American skaters, he was drafted in the third round, 78th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Bortuzzo was invited to the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL camp on September 4, 2007, but he was recalled to the Rangers for the 2007–08 season. Bortuzzo scored the game winning goal in a 4–3 victory over the Saginaw Spirit during his second season with the Rangers. The Rangers eventually claimed the Hamilton Spectator Trophy as the OHL team with the best record in the regular season. Bortuzzo was a volunteer for the 2008 Memorial Cup, and the team recovered from a shoulder injury to earn eight assists and a plus-18 rating. "He's got a good work ethic, he doesn't get beat one on one," Bortuzzo's play during the tournament, according to former Penguins director Jay Heinbuck. I don't imagine him as an offensive defenseman, but his passing is above average."

Bortuzzo attended the 2008-09 season at the Penguins Conditioning Camp, but he missed the 2008–09 season due to a shoulder injury and subsequent recovery. Bortuzzo played in the remaining 23 games and collected one goal and 16 assists after returning to the team. He signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Penguins on May 27, 2009, to bring an end to his major junior career. Bortuzzo completed his tenure with the Rangers, winning 49 points in 138 regular-season games.

Bortuzzo was reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the AHL's affiliate in the Penguins, following the 2009-10 season. During a 5–3 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on November 19, he scored his first AHL goal in his career. Bortuzzo tallied 12 points, 109 penalty minutes, and a plus-13 rating in 75 games in his rookie season.

Bortuzzo was recalled by the Penguins' training camp on September 29, 2010, the first day of the season. Following a game against Norfolk Admirals on December 11, Bortuzzo, Jesse Boulerice, and Stefano Giliati were all suspended for one game as a result of their conduct. He had scored two goals and 16 assists in 45 games and was tied for third among AHL defensemen with a plus-17 rating by January. As a result, he was chosen to participate in the 2011 AHL All Star Classic, in which he scored two goals. Bortuzzo finished his second season with 26 points in 79 games, marking a league-best plus-28.

Bortuzzo attended the Penguins' training camp for the third year in a row, but the Penguins' injured reserve was used to start the season. Due to a lower body injury, he missed the team's final Rookie Tournament game against the Blackhawks. Bortuzzo had to miss all of training camp and the start of the season to recover from his injury. He was admitted to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when he was medically fit to play, and he continued to play two games before being called up to the NHL for his debut on November 4. Bortuzzo made his NHL debut against the Los Angeles Kings as a substitute for an injured Ben Lovejoy. He was then the first SIJHL alumni to play in a National Hockey League game.

He was back to the AHL for a few games before getting a recall. Bortuzzo was hurt during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 8, 2011, while with the Penguins, from a hit by Zac Rinaldo. He was out for several weeks with a concussion, but he was able to return to action in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton later this season. He helped the team qualify for the 2012 Calder Cup playoffs, where they ultimately lost in the Eastern Conference Semi-finals to the St. John's IceCaps. Bortuzzo scored 21 points in 51 AHL games during the regular season.

Bortuzzo did not sign a AHL deal with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins prior to the 2012-13 season. Bortuzzo's role on the team continued to rise during the 2012-2013 lockout season, playing in 15 of Pittsburgh's 48 regular-season games. Bortuzzo's first NHL goal was against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur on February 2, 2013; the Penguins won 5–1. Bortuzzo did not appear in the Eastern Conference Finals of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs, being a healthy scratch every game.

Bortuzzo made the team's opening night roster for the first time during his tenure as he entered his seventh season with the Penguins. Bortuzzo's playing time continued to rise in the 2013–14 season, in large part due to rampant injuries within the Penguins' defensive core. He appeared in 54 of Pittsburgh's 82 regular-season games, registering ten assists. Bortuzzo appeared in his first Stanley Cup playoffs game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2014 playoffs, after Brooks Orpik sustained an undisclosed upper body injury in the series's previous game. During 5-on-five play, he played 13:36 minutes on his debut in his first appearance.

Bortuzzo was signed by the Penguins 2014–15 lineup on October 20, 2014 after suffering an injury during training camp. He sat as a healthy scratch at several points to start the season before scoring his first goal of the season on November 8, 2014. Bortuzzo was paired with rookie Derrick Pouliot and totaled five points in 13 games as a result of injuries to the Penguins' blueline. Despite all this, he was suspended two games for assisting Jaromr Jágr during a game against the New Jersey Devils on December 4. By January, main members of the Penguins' defence had recovered from injury, leading to him moving to a new pairing with Simon Després.

Bortuzzo was traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Ian Cole after playing in 38 games and accumulating six points. On March 5, 2015, he made his St. Louis Blues debut against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Bortuzzo was ruled out of the remainder of the 2014-15 season with the Blues, earning 2 points in 13 games. Bortuzzo was signed by the Blues to a two-year deal in order to keep him on the team's roster at the end of the season. Despite the fact that the Blues qualified for the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs, he was unable to participate due to an upper-body injury.

Bortuzzo was accepted to the Blues' opening night roster for the 2015–16 season on October 7, 2015, but his ability to play was doubted due to a pre-season injury. He sustained a lower body injury during a game against the Montreal Canadiens on January 17, 2016, and he missed just one game to recover. Bortuzzo made his post-season debut with the team against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Second Round. Since "one's a defensive player and one's an attacking player," Coach Ken Hitchcock paired him with Kevin Shattenkirk, one of them is an attacking player...We need more attacking right now." [Bortuzzo] is a guy who jumps up on the play but really attacks. He's a natural performer on his toes, and he's good at assisting in the rush and making plays from the red line in." Despite beating the Stars, the team ultimately lost to the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Final.

Despite being named to the Blues' inaugural night roster for the 2016–17 season, Bortuzzo sustained a lower-body injury during a loss to the Detroit Red Wings on October 27, 2016, and he missed ten games to recover. Following his return from his injury, Bortuzzo was subsequently paired with Colton Parayko until he was re-injured on December 3 during a game against the Winnipeg Jets and put on injured reserve. Bortuzzo signed a two-year, $2.3 million contract extension to remain with the team in the final year of his career on December 29. In 11 games, he had two points, a goal, and an assist, while still averaging 13:48 minutes of ice time at the time. Bortuzzo recovered from his injury against the Jets and returned to the Blues line-up against the Los Angeles Kings on January 12, 2017. On March 31, he sustained another injury against the Colorado Avalanche, which postponed his 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs debut against the Minnesota Wild until Game 2 against the Minnesota Wild. He played a total of ten games before the Blues were suspended from the postseason.

Bortuzzo was signed to the Blues' opening night roster on October 2, 2017, partnered with rookie Vince Dunn. Bortuzzo was fined $3,091.40 for a cross-check that was delivered to the New York Islanders' forward Brock Nelson seven days later. Bortuzzo sat as a healthy scratch five times and was injured in his career-high 55th game of the season. He missed five games to recover from his left knee injury, but the Blues welcomed him back to the Blues on March 3. Despite his injury, Bortuzzo set career records and points with four goals and 13 points. Bortuzzo appeared with the Blues in the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, in which he confronted Nashville Predators forward Kevin Fiala in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round, causing a season-ending injury. In six games, the Blues lost to the Predators, bringing the Predators to their first conference final in franchise history.

Bortuzzo elbowed Washington Capitals defenceman Michal Kempne during a pre-season game before the 2018-19 season, and was suspended for the remainder of the pre-season and one regular season game. Bortuzzo sustained a lower-body injury in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 20 and was placed on injured reserve following his return to the regular season. He was eventually released from injured reserve on November 30, 2018, more than a month after the initial injury. Bortuzzo fought teammate Zach Sanford during a Blues practice on December 10, 2018. Before being separated by coaches, the two pundits received a few punches in on one another. St. Louis had lost eight of their last 11 games at the time. Bortuzzo was signed by the Blues to a three-year, $4.125 million contract extension from October 2021 to the end of the 2021–22 season.

The Blues were in last place around the entire league in January 2019, resulting in a coaching and goaltender change. Bortuzzo ended the regular season by playing in 59 regular-season games and receiving ten points as the team qualified for the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Blues qualified for the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks over the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars. The Blues and Sharks returned to Game 2 at the SAP Center, where Bortuzzo scored the game-winning goal at 16:34 of the second period in a eventual 4–2 win after losing in Game 1 of the Finals. In the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals, the Blues won the series and met with the Boston Bruins. Bortuzzo and the Blues won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in seven games, beating the Bruins in seven games, becoming the first SIJHL alumni to do so. Despite being delayed for the last game of the series, Bortuzzo was rewarded for his efforts with a Day with the Cup.

Bortuzzo continued to develop his game while in the Blues' lineup during the 2019-20 season. Bortuzzo won by a score of 5:20 in a game against the Calgary Flames on November 21, 2019. Bortuzzo was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for injuring Nashville Predators winger Viktor Arvidsson by repeatedly cross-checking him. Bortuzzo expressed concern for his suspension against the Chicago Blackhawks on December 2nd, saying, "the game's temperature is high at times." I'm not a sarcastic player, yet. I'm not out here trying to hurt people, and I stand by that." Bortuzzo fought twice during the game, with Arvidsson and Jarred Tinordi, as the team lost 4–3.

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