The world of Canadian hockey recently lost a notable personality with a local connection.
Lou Nistico, who most recently served as the Assistant General Manager of the Hawkesbury Hawks, died on November 27 at the age of 67.
Before his time in Hawkesbury, Nistico had a junior and professional hockey career that took him to various places across Canada and the United States as a forward.
Nistico was born in Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay), on January 25, 1953. From 1967 to 1970, he played for the Westfort Hurricanes in his hometown. From 1970 to 1973, he was with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Nistico played for the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in three separate seasons, 1973-1974, 1974-1975, and 1975-1976 with brief stints playing for teams in Jacksonville Florida and Utica New York in between each of his seasons with the Toros. After his final season in Toronto, Nistico played for junior teams in Buffalo New York and then back to the WHA in Birmingham Alabama before a three-game NHL stint with the Colorado Rockies in 1977-78.
After Colorado, Nistico played for a junior team in Phoenix, Arizona before returning to Ontario in 1977 for one season with a senior team in Brantford before ending his playing career in Welland in 1979.
Nistico earned the nickname “Leapin’ Lou” due to his enthusiastic on-ice celebrations whenever he scored a goal.
In addition to his work for the Hawks, Nistico was also a former General Manager of the Kanata Stallions.
Lou Nistico had three children and seven grandchildren. A celebration of life is being planned for the spring of 2021.
