Peter and Anastasio Abbandonato | Two brothers, two passions, one team

One is active on the ice, the other on the bench. Peter and Anastasio Abbandonato both live from their respective passion…together.

Hockey is often a family affair. Over the years, we have seen the Stastnys, the Sedins, the Benns, the Staals at work. But the phenomenon is rare.

If it is extremely difficult to reach professional levels, it is even more difficult to do it together. Most of the time, only one member of the same sibling succeeds.

Among the Abbandonato, natives of Laval, it was Peter who broke through on the ice. His brother, Anastasio, is destined for a fine career in the field of equipment management; here he is since September within the same organization as his brother, the Rocket. The Press met the brothers between the walls of Place Bell, after training.

Peter Abbandonato signed with the Rocket in July 2021. Prior to that, he spent two years organizing the Syracuse Crunch. And before that, he had spent four years with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, with whom he won the Memorial Cup.

All the while, his brother, Anastasio, was always behind him cheering him on.

Anastasio, the eldest at 26, has also long wanted to one day reach the NHL. He also played up to the junior AA level. But like many others, he once realized he was “not strong enough”. He therefore set himself a new objective: to work in the world of hockey. He studied marketing and sports management to try his luck as an agent. He also tried refereeing and coaching.

” [En 2019]one of the coaches at McGill offered me the job of equipment manager for the team and I fell in love with the position,” he says.

He spent three seasons there until the two brothers learned, in the summer of 2021, that the equipment manager of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies was leaving his position. It was there that Peter took matters into his own hands and proposed his brother’s candidacy to the general manager, Marc-André Bourdon, whom he knows well.

“They did interviews with Staz [Anastasio] and it worked, says Peter. It is certain that I played four years in Rouyn. Staz still followed me, he came to see me several times, he texted me all the time. The family grew up in the culture of Rouyn-Noranda. When he left there, he already knew what it was like to be a Huskies. »

In Abitibi, Anastasio was boarding with the same family as his brother at the time.

“Working with a team like the one in Rouyn-Noranda, where my brother experienced great things, where he won cups… It was a great honour,” he says.

Together at the Rocket

We transport ourselves to last summer. After moving up the ranks from the Trois-Rivières Lions to the Rocket during the season, Peter Abbandonato has signed a new one-way deal with the team. Anastasio had just completed his first year with the Huskies.

The brothers were on vacation when Peter received a text message from the Rocket’s equipment manager, Simon Payette: “What would you think if your brother stayed in Laval? »

” What are you talking about ? “replied the striker.

In a few days, it was settled: Anastasio Abbandonato became the third link in the equipment of the Rocket, after Simon Payette and Jean Huynh. He is therefore responsible, in particular, for preparing the bench for training and for washing. During games, he acts as an assistant in the visiting team’s locker room; he helps her throughout the match.

The two men, who have always been close, therefore rub shoulders all day long within the same professional organization, at home moreover. They also live together with their parents, in Laval. “I don’t know if you know the Greeks and the Italians, but it stays at home for a long time! laughs Peter.

Of course, when they set foot in the amphitheater, the brothers keep in mind the fact that they are each professionals in their respective fields.

“I let him do his thing, and I do mine,” says Anastasio. If he’s on the ice and I’m preparing the bottles, we talk a little. »

“This morning, we had lunch together,” adds Peter. It’s still nice! »