Written by: Scott Savard
Headline photo: Chad Goddard
Okotoks, AB (December 17, 2025) – Buffalo, New York, home of the Bills, Sabres, the Goo Goo Dolls, Patrick Kane, the Foligno brothers, and Oilers rookie defenceman, Joey Gugino.
“The City of Good Neighbours” is famous for its Buffalo-style chicken wings, passionate sports fans who will sit in an open stadium full of snow to watch the Bills, it’s influnce in the music industry with a plethora of big names like Rick James, its close vicinity to Niagra Falls, as well as many others.
“It’s a decently sized city. Great people, pretty good sports, and great food. We obviously have the Bills, and that’s a really good part of Buffalo since everyone’s hoping for a Super Bowl. It’s a really good place, there’s not tons of bad things going on, but it’s obviously a normal city. Things happen, but it’s the 716, it’s pretty close to Toronto, and in the middle of everywhere. I love it, it’s a great place in New York. Everyone thinks of New York City, but really, Buffalo’s a top place there,” Gugino said about his hometown.
As for the sport of hockey, Gugino believes it’s close to Canada that it definitely plays a part in Buffalo kids giving the sport played on ice a chance.
“I mean, since we are so close to Toronto, Canada, and Ontario, hockey is definitely a big part of it. The Sabres are doing however they are doing right now, but I would say, yeah, a lot of kids grew up playing hockey, and then you always have your football guys, but the Bills are still a very big part of the culture. Both are hand-for-hand great, and the weather is pretty similar. It snows, gets really cold, we have lake effects from Lake Erie, and that will give us six or seven feet of snow some years, and we’ll get locked up for a week, but that’s all a part of it; it’s awesome,” he added about Buffalo’s mentality towards hockey.
When it comes to the Buffalo-style chicken wings, Gugino is a big fan and recommends that anyone visiting should give them a try.
“They’re not breaded. They’re simple and the flavor, like the Buffalo flavour, is the most original. Probably the greatest wing flavour to ever exist. (Buffalo) is home to the wing; we created it, we are probably the best at it. You go to anyplace and you will never have a terrible wing. Some places have better wings than others, but it’s definitely the greatest spot.”
The Canadian lifestyle is nothing new to Gugino, as he frequently visited north of the border for hockey games.
“Growing up, I played for a few teams, and they were in Buffalo, and one was an SCTA (South Central Triple A), so every week we would go up to Canada and play games there because we were in a Canadian League with an American team. So I was probably there around three or four times a month. Like I was crossing the border every single day, almost,” Gugino said about playing hockey in Canada.
“I got to know it really well. I got a bunch of buddies that live in Ontario now, and I always see them over the summer because it’s just a close drive and I love Ontario, love Toronto.”
Gugino mentioned that he hasn’t lucked out by going to a Leafs game in Toronto, but said he made sure to see his favourite baseball team, the New York Yankees, play in the “6ix” against the Blue Jays. He said Torotno feels like home and that the currency exchange definitely helps with the visits.
As for sports teams located around Buffalo, like Madison Square Garden in New York City, Gugino has had the opportunity to witness hockey games played in the iconic arena located in the “Big Apple”.
“I’ve gone to a lot of rinks, to be honest. I’ve gone to pretty much all the close rinks. So, I’ve been at the Minnesota Wild rink (Xcel Energy Centre), the Red Wings (Little Caesars Arena), and I’ve been to the Rangers at MSG. I have been to MSG for a few things like concerts and stuff, too.
Another amazing opportunity Gugino has had in his hockey career is playing for the exemplary organization, Shattuck-St. Mary’s for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 seasons. In those two seasons, Gugino would produce a combined 67 points (7G, 60A) in 109 appearances.
“That was an unbelivable experiance. It’s definitely a crazy change when you’re 14, moving away from home, and it just builds you as a person and builds your character and everything you stand for. Living on your own with a bunch of guys that you just met is definitely a game changer, but it’s built things like friendships that I’ll never lose and taught me a bunch of things in life that I needed to lean and obviously we were the best. Winning was the norm, and that’s what you are pretty much supposed to do there,” he explained about playing for Shattuck-St Mary’s.
“We had a really good team and a bunch of the guys I played with got drafted, and to see those guys go up and continue to shine, it’s awesome to see and great to be close with those guys.”
Name likes Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Toews, Macklin Celebrini, and a plethora of top-end NHL talent all wore the Shattuck-St. Mary’s uniform. Gugino mentioned that the program holds huge praise for the NHL stars and is the reason the standard is set very high. He’s proud of the fact that he got to wear the same jersey and share the same rink, along with the facilities, with such great names in the hockey world.
When Gugino was playing with the Connecticut Jr. Rangers during the 2016-2017 season, he would get another outstanding opportunity as he participated in the highly touted Brick Inventational Tournament played at West Edmonton Mall. Many top-end talent have made their way through the tournament, with names like the Hughes brothers (Quinn, Jack, and Luke), Connor Bedard, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, and many more.
“That was also really fun. I would say it was up there with like my top three favourite tournaments of all time,” Gugino mentioned about the tournament. He would add that it was the first time that he had mass numbers come out to watch him and his team play hockey while playing the best opponents in his age range. Gugino also said it was an awesome experience for his family and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
Playing hockey away from his home is nothing new to Gugino, as it’s been the norm for him for a good number of his playing years, including two seasons with current Oiler teammate Marko Lisica (Plainsview, NY) with the Long Island Gulls.
“I ended up staying as a billet with one of my buddies that I’ve known for a while. We both ended up going to the Gulls at 16. He left prep scholls and I left prep school. We ended up living in the same house for about five out of the seven months that we were there. That was just another great experience. Really nice house, really nice area. Like the cuty, Long Island, their food is unbelievable. It was definitely different from living in a dorm in a small town to living in a house in a big city,” he explained about joining the Gulls.
“I loved it. It was a great change; our team was great, our coaches were great. I ended up staying with Marko for my last two months of my 16th year and then the full 18 year. I ended up billeting with him; his family’s pretty much like my family, and now we’re together again this year. It’s the norm now, to be honest. I know everything about him, and he knows everything about me.”
When Gugino joined the team this season, not only did his former Gulls teammate, Lisica, make the jump with him, but another one of his former Gulls teammates, Henry Sampair (Mahtomedi, MN), suited up for 10 games with the Green and Gold before deciding to go back to play for his high school back in his hometown.
“It was definitely a comfortable thing,” Gugino said about joining the Oilers with two of his former Gulls teammates at the start of the 2025-2026 BCHL season. “Knowing that I’m not going to be the only guy coming out here and being alone out of the Island, and having that reputation of whatever the Gulls have, having Mark and Sam (Sampair) here by my side and rolling with them, and then getting to know all the boys, knowing (Michael) Mikan, (Holden) Pajor, (Josh) Wiebe and all those guys, it was definitley a big help because I can just get closer (with the team) and feel more comfortable being myself and be accepted for that.”
As for having Americans on the team, Gugino expressed that it didn’t make much of a difference to him in terms of adapting because he has played with Canadians and Europeans growing up, playing for a team like Shattuck-St Mary’s. Gugino gives credit to the school for helping him embrace being on his own in a different city.
“Yeah, massive. To be honest, I’m not going to say I don’t get homesick. But I haven’t gotten homesick in a while. I move into a house, and I get close to the family. It’s like my new home. I don’t really get bothered by it. I figure out what I like to do here and what’s different from place to place, and I get to try a bunch of new things. I just got to put into perspective, like, this is the way life is. You move one, you go to new places, you just have to adapt to it. I think it did help me a lot in the long run of doing things,” he said about how Shattuk-St. Mary’s experience helped him get situated in Okotoks.
Gugino lucked out this season as he lives with the Oilers Billet Coordinator, Sheena Denscombe, and Kevin, alongside Lisica.
“She’s definitely a special one. We have our fun and help her cook or whatever, and tell jokes. She’s also really nice. Kevin, their dog Reggie, is great. They want the best for us,” Gugino said about Sheena and her family. “They give us anything we need. You can’t really ask for much more. We have a great setup, we got two rooms, we have a nice basement, and we have this room upstairs. You can’t really ask for much more. It’s a great family.”
As for playing video games with Lisica on their off days, Gugino said the two would rather play on a team together than play against each other. He did say Lisica hasn’t been on for a couple of weeks and joked that Lisica “needs to grow up a bit” because he has been sour since they didn’t perform well after their last game together.
“Yeah, it was also another comfortable thing coming over,” he expressed when asked about Lisica and his relationship. “His mom came, I moved in by myself, my parents stayed home because I was used to it, and it’s his first year moving away. Me having the experience and am helping him through the way of like, we’re going to be together all the time, there is nothing really to feel homesick about. I’m with you, you are with me. It’s being together for the last two years, grown a relationship that can conquer a lot of things. It was a great thing knowing him and that he was going to be in my house.”
When it comes to why Gugino made the jump to the BCHL, he feels the league fits his size and style of game.
“To be honest, right now I’m undersized and got to put on weight, and this is the best league that I feel would help me grow as a person, a player, work on my skills, and have good people surrounding me,” he said about his choice in joining the BCHL. “My advisor last year, we were talking about coming to the BCHL, last year and ended up not. Then we signed with another team, and we ended up going there, but we came here. Okotoks, I didn’t know much about it. I came here in spring camp, visited a few places, and ended up liking it. It’s a great town, people are awesome, great fan base, and community. There’s a lot of support here, and everyone pretty much knows each other, so that’s awesome.”
Gugino has made sure to visit the surrounding areas of Okotoks, as he has ventured out to Banff a couple of times.
“I’ve been to Banff twice. It’s beautiful. I went once when it was summer, so the water was still blue and everything. Then I went when it started snowing, so there was snow all over, and it was frozen. Then I went and visited Lake Louise, that was pretty sweet, too. I think all the guys are going to do a trip up there, and we’re going to go skiing through the mountains. You don’t have that back home in New York, I’ll tell you that,” Gugino said about the surrounding area of Okotoks.
The 2007-born defencemen didn’t always play on the backend, as Gugino took his first strides in the sport as a forward.
“When I was really young, like five or six, I was a forward. I wasn’t really positioned at that point, but I was playing forward,” he mentioned.
Gugino added that his smooth skating and having a teammate early in his career going down with an injury led him to the D-man position, and he hasn’t looked back since. He explained that playing forward to start helped him keep an offensive mind while playing on the backend, but added that he still would like to improve in that area.
“You’re like the quarterback,” Gugino said about what he likes best about being a defenceman. “You can see everything, and everything pretty much runs through you. If you mess up, then the team messes up. If you succeed, the team will succeed.”
He added that he believes that defencemen are the second most important position, as goaltenders hold that role, but said the pressure and the way the position controls the game is what he enjoys best.
For those who haven’t seen Gugino at Viking Rentals Centre this season, he said, “I’m a smaller defenceman who has a lot of offensive skill and good vision. I am fierce and aggressive; I don’t back down from pretty much anyone. I don’t care what size you are; if you are messing with my team, I’m going to try and go.”
Gugino praised the coaching staff for helping him continue to grow his game and said that he has been able to get to know them on a personal level, which he mentioned is important to do. He would give assistant coach Reid Hnatowich a shoutout as he works with the defenceman and has helped him use his smaller stature to his advantage.
As for playing hockey post junior career, Gugino hopes to get a commitment to play in the NCAA, as it has always been a dream of his. He mentioned that he has had schools reach out to him about coming on board, but still wants to wait it out to see all of his options. He also added that he knows he has to perform well to be able to go to a top-tier school, so that is what he’s focused on.
He also explained that school work and hockey balance wouldn’t be an issue as he has already had the college like experiance with Shattuck-St Mary’s. He joked that he’s not the most “Academic Weapon” but knows he would be able to handle the workload.
While Gugino is eyeing post-secondary hockey, his only sibling, Nixon, doesn’t have to worry about that for a while, as he is 13 years old.
“He’s probably my best friend. Being away from him for the last four years and him growing up from like nine to where he is now, he’s just matured and grown so much. I’ll come home, and he’ll be a few inches taller and have a new haircut or something. He got new braces one time, and I was like, ‘When did you get this?’ I stay in contact with him, and if he ever needs anything, like having him reach out and know that I’m his brother, no matter where I am or what I’m doing at that time, I’m always there for him,” Gugino said about his brother Nixon.
Nixon also plays hockey as he’s currently with Gugino’s former team, the Jr. Sabres, and is expected to suit up for nationals this season. Gugino expressed that Nixon is a very good hockey player and also followed his older brothers foot steps as he chose to become a defenceman. He would add that Nixon is the person who is closest to him and misses him every day.
Gugino would also praise his parents, Lauren and Joe, for allowing him to play the game he loves as he chases that NCAA commitment.
“They are the backbone of my life. I wouldn’t do any of this without the,/ My dad’s the one who inspired me to play this sport; he was a goalie. He’s the one who pushes me every day and keeps it real with me if I have a bad game or a good game. My mom’s obviously there always for emotional support and also there for whatever I need. I can call them whenever, and I know they’ll answer. They’ll do anything for me, and I just want to do as much as I can here to repay them, and do as much as I can for them because they’ve sacrificed their whole life and given me everything I need,” he praised his parents, Lauren and Joe.
Joe apparently ended his hockey career as a goalie after he was in gym class and broke both his ankles while making a slam dunk. Gugino joked about his dad’s unfortunate injury by saying, “Since then, he’s thrown on some weight. So I don’t know if I want to see him in pads. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see the net.”
One thing his dad is great at is running a pizzeria, as Gugino praised his fathers restuarnt and explained that his friends will make sure to grab a pie from Joe’s pizzeria.
“It’s pretty cool. All my friends will go in after playing a round of golf, and we’ll all get free food. They make more than just pizza; they make everything, and if I ever need anything, obviously, I can go there and get it. If I’m hungry at two in the morning, I’ll go make a pizza. There’s pizza and wings pretty much in our fridge 24/7,” Gugino said about the benefits of his dad’s pizzeria.
Gugino said the food to get at his dad’s pizzeria is the steak and chicken finger pizza, along with 20 mild and 20 BBQ wings on the pit.
As for the Green Army, Gugino said he appreciates the fan base and is humbled that people would come out and pay money to watch him, along with the Oilers play hockey.
“It’s the first year that’s ever happened for me, so I think it’s really cool to see your community come together and cheer you on as a team. Obviosuly we have picked it up in the last five or six games, and we’ve been doing as we can to get you guys (the Green Army) the most enjoyment we can and put up goals. I feel like you guys keep coming out with more every game, and it just gets us more fired up and gives us more energy. Obviously, the Oilers are a big part of the community, as I’ll go to like breakfast at Sweetgrass or something, and people will come up to us and say ‘Great game. You guys dominated that one.’ It’s cool to see that people recognize you in the community and that you do mean something,” he praised the Green Army.
“I appreciate you guys, and I really hope to see you guys keep coming out.”
The young fans in the crowds at the Oilers games, Gugino sees you and appreciates the support you show. “I think it’s really cool to be a role model and have kids excited to come watch you and your team play. The first junior hockey game I went to was with the Barrie Colts, and I’ll always remember it. We went and got their cards after the game and had them sign them all. It definitely showed me that I want to be like one of those guys one day, and have kids look up to us and all that. I think it’s really cool and fun.”
10 Questions with Joey Gugino:
What is your go-to cheat meal?
“I’m not too much of a strict diet guy, I’m trying to throw on some weight, but I would say here, I’d go to Freddy’s and get a California style with no tomato. Back in Buffalo, there’s a place called Jim’s Steak Out. I would get a 12-inch Jim’s Blue, no tomato.”
Favourite sport other than hockey?
“Football. Buffalo Bills”
Have you put yourself through a table as a Bills fan?
“I have, yeah.”
What is your favourite movie and TV show?
“Movie is The Goonies, or Sandlot, or The Lion King. Those three in my eyes are perfect. Tv Show, I would say Blacklist. I went through all 10 seasons of that. Raymond Reddington was like my idol for a little bit. The guy’s a beast.
Favourite player and team growing up?
“Probably Dalla Stars just because I like Tyler Seguin. I love Tyler Seguin, I don’t know why. I think just his style. He was a cool player. I loved Tyler Seguin growing up.”
What is your guilty pleasure song?
“Rihanna or Ellie Goulding. The Monster by Rihanna and Something in the Way You Move by Ellie Goulding.
Who was your celebrity crush growing up?
“Margot Robbie from The Wolf of Wall Street.
If you could relive any day of your life, what day would you choose?
“I’ll probably say winning the national championship. Knowing that was going to happen after two years of losing it in the finals. It was just like a deep breath, and like, wow, I finally did it, and having it in Vegas with my whole team. We weren’t old enough to go to any clubs or bars or anything, but you can definitely still have a great time, and that day was very, very fun.”
Would you rather go to the past or the future?
“The past, 20 years ago. Buy as much Bitcoin as I can.”
If you could meet anyone in the world, alive or dead, who would you meet?
“Probably Conor McGregor. Probably go to a nice restaurant with him and ask him what his favourite fight is and how he has so much aura.”
Bonus:
Where in the world would you go if I could snap my fingers and get you there right now?
“Bora Bora, just to get away from everything. Really nice water, I love the beach and warm water. Just like a self mindset and reconnecting with nature. I think it’s a great vacation spot. Never been, but I really want to go.”
Who has the worst stick tape job on the team?
“If Henry Sampair were still here, I would give it to him. He does a full blade and then cuts it off at the toe, to where it’s like you’re six years old playing hockey again. But, Josh Wiebe, he overlaps way too much.”
Do you prefer white or black hockey tape?
“To be honest, I prefer black. Black with wac, I think it looks better. But every time I use black, I don’t think I play good and then I get a text saying you don’t play good with black tape, so put it away.”
Who on the team would be your emergency contact?
“Michael Mikan. I feel like he would drive ot fly to the place very quickly. If I need to get somewhere or needed somthing, I feel I could call him ASAP. He’s always answering calls and always on his phone.”
Best advice you have got from your parents?
“Just go play your game and have fun. Have fun, live life.”
The Okotoks Oilers are a not-for-profit, community-run junior hockey franchise competing in the BCHL and operating out of Viking Rentals Centre. For more information, visit okotoksoilers.com or follow the Oilers on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram.
