Sean Durzi

Sean Durzi (born October 21, 1998) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, Durzi grew up playing AAA ice hockey with the Mississauga Braves before joining the Mississauga Rebels of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

Durzi was born on October 21, 1998, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada to parents Sue and Raami Durzi.

He began skating at the age of five and originally played goaltender in the Timbits Learn To Play Program before his mother forced him to switch to defenceman.

He grew up alongside Riley Damiani as their fathers were childhood friends.

Growing up, Durzi idolized Toronto Maple Leafs player Bryan McCabe and attempted to emulate his play on the ice.

Growing up in Mississauga, Durzi played AA hockey with the Mississauga Braves before moving up to join the Mississauga Rebels of the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

At the time of the trade, Durzi ranked 6th place all-time for points scored by a defenseman with 119 in 163 career games.

He finished the season ranked 124th overall after tallying 38 points through 60 games for fifth among all OHL defencemen in points per game.

After tallying 14 points and 8 penalty minutes with the Rebels during the 2013–14 season, Durzi was drafted by the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League.

After tallying 14 points and 8 penalty minutes with the Rebels during the 2013–14 season, Durzi was drafted by the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

He returned to the Rebels for the 2014–15 season, where he played 31 games and also appeared in two games for the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Durzi later stated that his extra year with the Rebels was "definitely a big part of my career."

Durzi joined the Owen Sound Attack for the 2015–16 season where he recorded 10 goals and six assists for 16 points through 45 games.

He recorded his first OHL goal on October 18, 2015, in a 4–3 overtime win over the Windsor Spitfires.

He finished the season with the teams' Howard Hindman Award as their scholastic player of the year.

Durzi missed significant time with the Attack in the 2017–18 season due to an ankle injury but finished the season with 15 goals and 34 assists.

The following season, Durzi garnered the attention of the National Hockey League (NHL) scouts and was ranked 139th in their midterm reports leading up to the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

At the time of the report, Durzi had tallied one goal and 20 assists, despite missing the beginning of the season with a lower-body injury.

Following the report, Durzi was named the team's Player of the Week after his assist helped extend the team’s franchise record winning streak to 14 games.

Despite this, he went undrafted in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft and was invited to attend the mini camps of the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Islanders, and Florida Panthers.

Durzi's return to the Owen Sound Attack for the 2017–18 season was delayed due to an ankle injury.

Doctors discovered that Durzi had an extra bone growing in his ankle and he required surgery to remove it.

Upon re-joining the lineup, Durzi tallied 15 goals and 34 assists to finish eighth in scoring among OHL defensemen.

His 1.23 points per game and his 0.38 goals per game ranked second across the league.

As well, his 3.05 shots per game helped the Attack outscored the opposition 55-38 with Durzi on the ice at 5-on-5.

As a result of his major junior play, Durzi was drafted 52nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

As a result of his improved play, Durzi was drafted 52nd overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

Following the draft, Durzi participated in the Leafs' Development Camp before returning to the OHL.

In his final OHL season, Durzi was traded to the Guelph Storm alongside Nick Suzuki and Zachary Roberts in exchange for Mark Woolley, Barret Kirwin, Zach Poirier, a 2nd round pick in 2022, a 3rd round pick in 2021, a conditional 3rd round pick in 2022 and a 4th round pick in 2019.

Following his 2018–19 season, Durzi signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Kings.

Upon joining the Storm, Durzi was also traded to the Los Angeles Kings along with Carl Grundström and a first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for defenseman Jake Muzzin.

He later worked alongside Suzuki to help the Storm beat the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5–2 and contributed both goals for the Storm in their 4–2 loss to the Halifax Mooseheads.

He finished the 2019 Memorial Cup tournament with seven points and was named to the 2019 Memorial Cup All-Star Team.

Following this, he attended the Kings' Development Camp but was re-assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Ontario Reign to begin the 2019–20 season.

Upon joining the Reign, Durzi scored his first professional goal in a 6–2 loss to the San Diego Gulls on November 15, 2019.

Durzi concluded his rookie season with the Reign totalling two goals and 12 assists for 14 points through 39 games.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020–21 season began in January 2021.

Durzi attended the Kings' Development Camp but was re-assigned to the Reign for the remainder of the shortened season.

Durzi surpassed his previous seasons total and accumulated four goals and 16 assists for 20 points through 39 games.