Jason Cirone

Jason Gerardo Cirone was a Canadian-born Italian ice hockey forward, and later a coach. Between 1987-91 he played in the Ontario Hockey League, when still under 20-years-of-age, with the Cornwall Royals and the Windsor Spitfires, standing out as one of the best forwards in the League.

In the summer of 1991, Cirone signed a contract with the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL, but made only three appearances before going on to loan to the Moncton Hawks in the AHL. In the 1992-93 season, Cirone came to Italy to play for Hockey Club Asiago, where he made 16 appearances and scored 11 points. After returning to the United States, Cirone played for several clubs between 1993 and 2000, including the Cincinnati Cyclones, Rochester Americans and, especially, the Kansas City Blades, where he made 322 appearances. In 2001 Cirone returned to HC Asiago where he remained until 2006, and scored 188 points in 189 appearances.

After his second Italian experience Cirone returned to America, first to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and then to the Flint Generals, where he ended his playing career in 2008. After becoming a coach, he led teams such as Metro Jets and Midland University until he had to leave in August 2017 after being diagnosed with a myxoid liposarcoma in his calf.

Thanks to his Italian passport, Cirone was called up to the Italian national team in the 2003-04 season. He played with them in the First Division World Championship in 2004, and in 2006 took part in the XX Olympic Winter Olympics and the World Championships in Riga. He was a key player for the national team at the World Championships in Moskva in 2007 (he scored the decisive goal against Latvia, which guaranteed the Azzurri’ salvation), and in Quebec in 2008. Married with two children, Cirone passed away in October 2024 aged just 53.