From her first strides on the ice in Connecticut to continuing her development in Vancouver, Washington, 16-year-old Gia Orizotti’s path in hockey has never been confined to one place. Instead, it’s shaped by change like new environments, new challenges, and a willingness to adapt. She’s spent the past two years skating at Winchendon School bringing that journey full circle back to the east coast. She took another major step forward this summer being named to USA Hockey’s U-18 National Team Select Camp Roster and participating in the USA Hockey Girls 16/17 National Development Camp. For Orizotti, already committed to Harvard, it’s the latest chapter in a story that’s still unfolding.

There are often stories about players beginning their journey to professional hockey as young as age two, but Orizotti has a bit of a different story. She was six years old when she started skating and playing hockey.

“No one, really, in my whole family played hockey. I have a second cousin who played hockey, but other than that, no one really did,” Orizotti said. “I lived on the East Coast for four years. I lived in Connecticut, and while I was out there, my dad took me to a Bridgeport Sound Tigers game. I absolutely loved it. I was like, ‘I wanna play hockey. Can I please play hockey?’ From there, I started doing skating lessons. We moved back to Vancouver, and then I started getting into playing.”

Orizotti has spent the past two years at Winchendon School in Massachusetts.

“I absolutely loved Winchendon. It's such a great place. It really is a place that feels like home and there's such great people there,” said Orizotti. “The hockey was so much fun. It's a really great environment. I made so many great friends there being there those two years.”

Coaches make all the difference in sports, especially in the development of young players.

“I had the opportunity to play for Coach [Jeff] Pellegrini at Winchendon for those two years and he's such an amazing coach and an even more amazing person,” said Orizotti. “That’s really a big reason I'm going to Masters Academy. He's going over there and to have the opportunity to keep playing for him is something I couldn't pass up. He's really a coach worth following anywhere and so I'm really excited to get to keep playing for him.”

“Gia is the kind of player who immediately gets your attention. She has a relentless motor, a high-end competitive edge, and she plays the game with real purpose. She attacks the hard areas, drives the net, pressures pucks, wins battles, and has the ability to impact a game in a lot of different ways,” said Pellegrini. “What sets her apart is that her value isn’t tied solely to offense; she can shift the momentum of a game with her pace, physicality, energy, and willingness to do the difficult things that winning players do.

Orizotti will be following Coach Pellegrini to the new Masters Academy International in Stow, Massachusetts this fall.

“I’m really excited. I really do love getting to meet new people, so I'm so excited to get to meet this new team. Then just learn about everyone, get to play with everyone. It's so fun to get to learn each other's playing styles,” said Orizotti. “Being at a boarding school is so fun because you're in the dorms together. You're a foot away from each other. You can go knock on each other's doors, be like, ‘What's going on?’ Then we work out together. We are at the rink together. It's a really fun environment to be a part of.”

Attending a boarding school helps accelerate building the on-ice chemistry between players.

“You spend so much time together, breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” said Orizotti. “We eat together. We live together. We go to practice together. We lift together. We're in classes together. It's so much fun because you get to get so close and then you get to play together.”

“We’re thrilled to have Gia at Masters Academy International and to be part of the next chapter of her development before she heads to Harvard,” said Pellegrini. “She already has so many of the qualities you look for in an elite player. I believe her ceiling is exceptionally high, and the next couple of years of her development are going to be incredibly exciting to watch.”

Orizotti is a player to keep an eye on over the next few years as she continues to develop her game.

“The first thing I would think of is just hardworking. That's something I can always control in my game. I'll never not give 100% of what I have. I would say fast. I love when the game's fast-paced and super competitive. Trying to like play composed but also play fast and drive to the net as fast as you can. Back check as fast as you can,” said Orizotti. “Forward check is a big part of my game. Going really hard and pinning to the wall or like just trying to get the puck out of the corners is a really big part of my game. I'd also say attitude and body language is a really big part of my game. Having a positive attitude and good body language is something that's really important to me.”

She has an impressive foundation for her game, but no athlete is ever done working on their skills.

“Something I've been working on a lot is my hands and getting better at that. That's something that I've progressively been trying to get better as well as just continuing to work on my off ice. Increase my speed and my strength so I never get left behind but keep growing as I go up in the age group,” said Orizotti. “Continuing to work on my shot and just make sure that I'm focused on a lot of different parts of my game so that I keep getting better.”

“One of the things that really stands out about Gia is how driven she is to improve,” said Pellegrini. “She is highly coachable, embraces feedback, and genuinely wants to understand how she can take the next step. That combination of talent, competitiveness, humility, and work ethic is special in a young player.

The mental aspects of hockey are vital to success on the ice.

“I think that's a huge piece of it and that's also something that I've really been trying to work on. Trying to focus, too, on not being too hard on yourself is something that I've definitely been trying to work on,” said Orizotti. “I think that's a really big piece of sports is you can't be too hard on yourself. You have to know, ‘Okay, I had a bad shift but now I need to think about the next one,’ and go out there and have a good shift this time. If that shift wasn't good, then, it's okay, I got the next one. Just trying to focus on that is a really big piece of the game as well.”

Orizotti was named to USA Hockey’s U-18 National Team and participated in the USA Hockey Girls 16/17 National Development Camp this summer.

“That was one of the best experiences of my entire life. It was so incredible to get to play for those coaches and to play for those girls. It was so much fun. I'm so grateful that I had that opportunity,” said Orizotti. “Getting to play for Team USA is something that I've dreamed of for as long as I can remember. I've dreamed of it and I still am dreaming of it. It's something that I've been working for for so long. It felt almost unreal. It means so much to me to be able to be on that team and to get to play with those girls and play for those coaches.”

“Her experience with USA Hockey this summer was another important step in her development,” said Pellegrini. “Competing with and against some of the best players in the United States and Canada allowed her to test herself, learn, and continue raising her standard.

Orizotti has pre-committed to Harvard.

“I'm so excited, and I'm so grateful for that opportunity. I really can't wait. Over the course of the summer, I got to build a really good relationship with the coaches. I really love all the coaches, and I think that that's going to be a really good fit for me," said Orizotti. “Getting to play there is such a dream of mine. It's such a dream come true to get to play D1 hockey. I also do really love Massachusetts. I'm really excited to still get to be in that area, to be in Boston, close to the city.”

While the PWHL is a goal for Orizotti, she also is thinking past the pros as well. 

“I think I want to do something in the health sciences. I think I'd like to be a nurse,” said Orizotti. “Hopefully I can play pro, and then hopefully get my nursing degree and get to do that. So something in the health science, like public health.”

From early east coast ice to a national team stage, Orizotti’s rise has been steady and remarkable. At 16 she’s already checking major boxes with more to come. She still has strong ties to her home state of Washington and will continue cheering for the Torrent, and one of her favorite players Alex Carpenter, this fall.