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Penticton Vees alumni Massimo Rizzo gets picked up by Carolina Hurricanes

Rizzo captained the Penticton Vees during the 2018-19 season, was drafted 216th overall
Jordyn Thomson
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Cade Webber, who has committed to playing with the Penticton Vees this upcoming season, was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes at the NHL Entry Draft in Vancovuer on the weekend. (Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/nhlcanes)

The Carolina Hurricanes selected a pair of Penticton Vees players at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

The Hurricanes selected Cade Webber, who is committed to play next season with the Vees, 99th overall.

“This is a big, rangy defensemen who moves extremely well. Where the game is going, you need speed. Cade has it at that size,” said the Hurricanes director of player personnel Darren Yorke. “You talk about players who are hard to play against and hard to get around, Cade has all those things.”

Webber played with The Rivers School in Massachusetts last season and skated in seven games with the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2018-19. He is committed to play college hockey at Boston University. Webber was ecstatic about being drafted.

“It was a dream my whole life. As a little kid, this is what you dream of. Sitting up there is obviously never-wracking. finally, when your name is called, you just up. It’s just unreal,” he said on NHL.com.

Former Vees player Massimo Rizzo is the 33rd player out of the club to be drafted into the NHL, with the Carolina Hurricanes choosing him 216th overall.

Rizzo is following in the footsteps of Vees alumni Justin Krueger and Zac Dalpe, who were drafted to the Hurricanes in 2006 and 2008, respectively.

READ MORE: Penticton Vees assistant coach Jason Becker moving on

According to a press release from the Vees, Rizzo missed 21 games during the 2018-19 season but was still able to finish over a point per game with 11 goals and 29 assists in 37 games. He also finished first on the Vees in scoring during the playoffs, with three goals and three assists in six games against the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

Rizzo also represented Canada at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge this past eseason, claiming two assists in six games with Team Canada West. The Burnaby-native has an NCAA scholarship for the University of North Dakota for the future. selected

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