At the eighth Gala Dinner sponsored by the Golden Wings Club and HC Lugano Academy Foundation with the intent to raise funds for the Youth Section bianconera,Hockey Club Lugano proudly announced the return from North America of forward Lorenzo Canonica who signed a two-year contract with the HCL valid for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons.
Born 03.09.2003 in Lugano, Lorenzo ("left" center, 181 cm x 87 kg) started playing field hockey at the age of six and, since then, has always worn the bianconera jersey in all age categories until the 2020/21 season, when he embarked on his North American adventure.
Among the protagonists of two splendid seasons with the U20 Elit team, when only the pandemic took away the boys then coached by Luca Gianinazzi's concrete chance to win the national title, Canonica had also made his 16-year-old debut in the HCL first team during the 2019/20 season.
For the past three years, Lorenzo has worn the colors of the Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), one of the three most prestigious youth leagues in the world, with an offensive haul to date of 138 games and 97 points (35 goals, 62 assists), but most importantly with winning the championship in the 2021/22 season and consequently playing in the Memorial Cup, the competition that awards the best youth team in North America.
With the Swiss national team, Canonica has participated in two U20 World Cups, most recently the one held in Canada between Christmas and New Year's Day in which he was voted one of the three best overall players on the Red Swiss team.
TheHockey Club Lugano is especially proud to re-embrace for the start of his professional career a golden boy and a motivated and talented player formed step by step within his Youth Section.