The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired former Oakville hockey players Brandon DeFazio and Matt Lorito as scouts.
Both players spent multiple years in the OJHL before having prolonged professional hockey careers.
Lorito played two seasons in the OJHL, scoring 160 points in 97 games for the Villanova Knights. He then committed to Brown University, where he played for four seasons and served as the team's captain in his final season.
After his time at Brown, Lorito played eight seasons in the American Hockey League, where he played for Albany, Grand Rapids, Bridgeport, Toronto, San Diego, and Hartford.
Lorito also suited up for two NHL games for the Detroit Red Wings in 2016-17, where he scored one point.
After his time in the AHL, he played in the Swedish Hockey League, the KHL, and finally the German Hockey League.
Brandon DeFazio played for two years in the OJHL, splitting time between the Milton Icehawks and Oakville Blades.
After his time in junior hockey, DeFazio committed to Clarkson University and played for the Golden Knights for four seasons.
After school, Defazio played six full seasons in the AHL and two NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks.
DeFazio still recalls his first NHL game like it was yesterday.
"It's something that I am extremely proud of," said DeFazio. "I remember Travis Green (Canucks head coach at the time) calling me, I remember calling my dad, I remember every word and every feeling. I remember looking at my wife with so much pride and so much gratitude for her support."
After six years in the AHL, DeFazio spent the next six years of his career in several different European leagues and decided to retire after the 2022-23 season.
But how did this opportunity get presented?
In DeFazio's case, he has a long history with current Penguins President and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Dubas was Brandon's first agent when DeFazio played at Clarkson University.
He represented him as a young player, and ever since then, he has always kept in contact with Dubas and reached out to him once Kyle was assembling his new staff after being hired by the Penguins as their new president and general manager in June.
"When Kyle moved over to Pittsburgh, I assumed there would be some openings," said DeFazio on how he got the ball rolling on getting hired by Pittsburgh.
"So I touched base with [Dubas], and a few weeks after that, he came back and asked me if I wanted to get involved with the process for hiring and give myself a chance to throw my hat in the ring and give myself a chance to be hired."
In hockey, all organizations give scouts their own sanctioned area to scout.
One person may be in charge of scouting the Canadian Hockey League, one person may be in charge of scouting the American junior levels, one person may be in charge of scouting in Sweden, etc.
Brandon's job will be to scout all over Ontario, whether it is the OHL, OJHL GOJHL, or the NOJHL. It will be Brandon's job to find players in Ontario junior leagues that fit the Pittsburgh Penguins' culture and style of play.
Brandon touched on what he looks for in a player.
"I'm a work ethic guy," he said emphatically. "I don't have a ton of time for bad body language and bad teammates, and I don't have a ton of time for guys who look like they don't want to win."
Brandon also added that he can't wait for the season to start to help the Penguins and learn in this new position.