"What a tremendous honor," Vitucci said on a recent episode of the Preds Official Podcast. "I was absolutely shocked with it, and obviously right after it happened you start reflecting on your career and all the great teammates and the teams and the coaches that I was able to play on and with, obviously a huge thing for all of them as well."
Vitucci started his career off like any other hockey hopeful: just trying to get noticed. At the same time, the Welland, Ontario, native was in line for a job with General Motors - but the game was still calling.
"My father finally pulled me aside and he said, 'Son, you're 21 years of age, you have 44 years 'till you retire. If you get hired by General Motors, what's 43 or 42 years going to make a difference?' So, I was off to Winston-Salem, North Carolina," Vitucci recalled.
To Vitucci, playing hockey was an easy choice. With his decision, it helped him not only grow as a hockey player, but as a person as well. His coaches, teammates and the league itself was all growing at the same time, and that helped shape him into the person he is today.
"I not only grew as the league grew from five teams to 27 teams, which it's at now, but a very average goaltender grew as well, but as a person," Vitucci said. "That's the most important thing I take away from my experience in the ECHL. I was growing as well, and it's something I will never forget."
Like many hockey fans, Vitucci is an avid collector of hockey gear, memorabilia and especially hockey pucks. Vitucci has over 7,000 pucks in his collection, and he remains an fervent collector of pucks to this day. The hobby has allowed him to stay in touch with the game as a fan and helps remind him of just how much fun it is to still be involved with hockey fandom and to get away from the grind of the job.
"It is kind of an escape, and it always has been whether I was a player or a coach," Vitucci said. "Collecting has always been a big part of my life."
