MichaEl Prezioso

We are honoured to announce our first inductee into the Durham Dirty Ball Hockey Hall of Fame: Mike Prezioso 

Mike began his career with the Durham Dirty Shwas in the Fall of 2011, and made an immediate impact. ‘Pretzel’, as he was known to his teammates, or “Anthony Chow” as he was known to the pizza community, gave 110% effort every time he stepped on the floor, and caused havoc to the opposition.  Mike was the type of player you hated playing against, but loved to have on your side. As a wrecking ball on both ends of the floor, Pretzel frustrated the hell out of most Leacock competitors.

 Prezioso played in 112 regular season games with the Shwas, amassing a total of 62 goals and 71 assists.  In the Spring of 2014 Pretzel set a personal high with the Shwas, registering 10 goals, and 15 assists for 25 points.  

 Mike’s strong season culminated only weeks later in the 2014 Winter Provincials. His biggest impact came during the Gold Medal game in overtime, where Prezioso grinded his way through multiple defenders, got a great shot off on net, which set up Graham Hart’s golden goal off of the rebound.  Without his hard work, the biggest moment in Shwas history would not have happened.

 Mike also spent many years in the YCBHL acting as team captain for Rampage, leading them to multiple league titles.  His leadership capabilities, athleticism and infectious personality were evident as players around the league respected the man on and off of the floor.  He also could rock the jeans and no underwear look in the dressing room like nobody else could. 

 After a storied run, Mike retired from competition in the Winter of 2016.

In the end, Prezioso played 711 career games, finishing with an impressive 702 regular season points. 

Please help us honor Michael Prezioso as the very first member of the Durham Dirty Shwas Hall of Fame.  We couldn’t think of a more deserving player.