Chris Pelosi looks to future with Team USA, while honoring memories of his late heroes
PLYMOUTH, Mich. — Chris Pelosi skated here Monday with the USA Hockey crest on his sweater and South Jersey in his heart.
As Pelosi pursues his dream of earning a roster spot on Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa, he represents a close-knit hockey community that has endured a devastating year.
Pelosi grew up in Washington Township, N.J., playing on rinks made famous by his childhood idol, Johnny Gaudreau. Johnny’s father, Guy, was Pelosi’s coach for one season at Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester City, N.J.
In August, Johnny and his brother, Matthew, were struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver on the eve of their sister’s wedding.
“He was always around the rink I skated at,” Pelosi said of Johnny. “He came on the ice multiple times with us . . . I didn’t know him personally too well, but being around him a lot, you can definitely feel his spirit. He wants to play hockey. He doesn’t want anything else but hockey. Whenever he’s at the rink, he’s working hard, he’s having fun, he’s always smiling.”
Less than two months before the tragic deaths of the Gaudreau brothers, Tony Voce — Pelosi’s youth hockey coach in Sewell, N.J. — died suddenly at age 43.
“All three of them — the Gaudreau brothers and Tony Voce — are with me every day,” Pelosi said. “I think about them every day. It’s nice to be able to carry that with me.”
Pelosi was on campus at Quinnipiac University, preparing for his first season of college hockey, when he learned of Voce’s passing. After traveling home to attend Voce’s funeral, Pelosi quickly returned to his offseason training.
“He was such a straightforward guy,” Pelosi said of Voce. “I grew up with his stepson, Josh. I was around him a lot, all the time. It didn’t really hit me until I got to the service, then I got upset.
“Once I went back to school, I went right back to work. I knew that’s what he would want us to do.”
Surely, Voce would be proud of Pelosi’s performance this season: He has appeared in all 15 games for the Bobcats, while earning the trust of his coaches as an adept penalty killer and 200-foot center. Because of those attributes, Pelosi could have a path to make the U.S. roster in a bottom-six role.
Typically, the U.S. World Junior roster is the domain of blue-chip talents who were identified as future superstars in their early teens. That wasn’t Pelosi’s path. While many candidates for the U.S. roster are graduates of the National Team Development Program, Pelosi spent the first half of his U18 season in the Tier II North American Hockey League.
“There’s different ways to work your way through the ecosystem to a really high level,” U.S. head coach David Carle said after Monday’s opening practice. “That’s what’s great about the system. Not every player is ready for level X, Y, or Z at age 16, 17, or 18. There’s levels where you can continue to get better, develop, and still reach a really high level.
“He’s passed a lot of players in the last 24 months. That’s a credit to him and the coaching and the parenting that’s been going on in his life. Happy for him that he’s here. I thought he had a good first day. Look forward to keep working with him.”
After two years at Mount St. Charles Academy, Pelosi hoped to spend his U18 season with the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks. Those plans changed when the Lumberjacks cut him at the end of training camp in 2022. Pelosi, then 17, found a home in the NAHL with the Janesville (Wis.) Jets.
“When I got sent down from Muskegon, it was a couple days of hard thinking about what I’m going to do and where I’m going to go,” Pelosi recalled. “Luckily, Janesville took me in and made me their own.”
Voce and Tom Bunting — Pelosi’s youth coaches at Hollydell Hockey — reached out with encouragement. They told him he’d earn a spot in the USHL if he continued to work. And they were right.
Pelosi registered 17 points in 24 games with the Jets. Tony Gasparini, general manager of the Sioux Falls Stampede, took note of his production, size, and skating ability. Gasparini acquired Pelosi’s rights from Muskegon and promoted him to the USHL shortly thereafter. Pelosi was so impressive during the half-season with Sioux Falls that the Boston Bruins selected him in the third round of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Pelosi said the work ethic he learned from his parents, Chris and Jenn, has served him well. Chris is a retired captain with the Washington Township Police Department.
“He went up the ranks,” Chris said of his father. “He started at the bottom. I got all my hard work from him. I learned how to hold myself up, how to be a man. He doesn’t let me go a day without working hard and showing that my potential is coming.”
Pelosi has remained in touch with those who mentored him during his time in the NAHL, including coaches Joe Dibble and Ryan Black. From Janesville to South Jersey, a lot of hockey households may watch this World Junior with appreciation for Pelosi’s perseverance — and in remembrance of those who inspire him still.
Jon Paul Morosi is an MLB Network broadcaster and lead features reporter for NHL Network’s coverage of the World Junior Championships.
