Game On Magazine 2017 Nov Game On low res | Page 22

PROFILE
NICO
LISI
Becoming a
B Y S C O T T TAY L O R
Photos by James Carey Lauder
2 2 | G AM E ON | N OVEM BER 2017
NICO LISI wants to be a hockey
coach someday. Not now. These
days he’s still playing with
the Keystone Junior Hockey
League’s North Winnipeg
Satelites.
But in his future, this
21-year-old University of
Winnipeg Kinesiology student
intends to be a coach.
“I volunteer here (at the
Seven Oaks Iceplex) for the
Garden City Hockey Academy
and I obviously go to school and
down the road I know I’ll always
want to be involved in sports,”
Lisi said. “I want to get into
coach ing as soon as I can. That’s
why I’m at the Academy. I want
to help out as much as I can
in order to get some coaching
under my belt. I want to get as
much experience as possible.
“I enjoy working under
my old high school coach Al
Mironek and Selkirk Steelers
head coach Dustin Hughes
at the Academy. They’re my
mentors. I want them to show
me the ropes before I jump right
into the fold. Of course, as long
as I’m wearing a pair of skates, it
doesn’t matter to me what level
I’m coaching at. I’ll be 80-years-
old and if I can put on skates, I’ll
get out on the ice and I’ll be fine
with that.”
These days, Lisi is still a
player and a good one, too. He’s
in his fourth full season in the
KJHL. Last year, he had 23
goals and 50 points in 31 games
with the Satelites. He was North
Winnipeg’s leading scorer and in
the Top 20 in the league (19th).
It could have been his fourth