The Penticton Vees have added some Swiss skill to next seasons’ line-up with the addition of forward Stefano Bottini.
The 17-year-old comes to the Vees with a vast amount of experience playing in his native country of Switzerland.
The 6’0″, 176-pound forward is coming off of his first full season with the HC Lugano under-20 team in the U20-Elit league, the highest level of junior hockey in the country.
Bottini was the second leading scorer on his team, scoring 12 goals and 28 assists for 40 points in 43 games played.
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All of Bottini’s time spent play hockey has been with the HC Lugano club at differing levels, beginning with the U15 squad and working through the U17 ranks, where he captained his team a year ago and completed the 2019-20 season with the U20 team.
Bottini, a dual citizen of Canada and Switzerland, has represented the Swiss on the national level many times, including this past season at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, playing in the Czech Republic and Slovakia while getting into 33 career games of International play. Bottini’s ties to Canada include his mother being born in the country.
“I can’t wait to start my new journey in Penticton,” said Bottini, “I will give everything I’ve got to help the team.”
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