Former 13th round pick Lombardi a key piece for Firebirds – Ontario Hockey League

 

By Raine Hernandez/OHL

Competitive teams often have some unlikely contributors, and the Flint Firebirds are no different. The Birds have built through the OHL Priority Selection, with 18-year-old Amadeus Lombardi standing out as a scouting and player development success story.

Selected in the 13th round of the 2019 OHL Priority Selection, Lombardi spent the following season with the Toronto Titans U18 AAA program, a season in which he would tally 95 points in 72 games.

“I had a great coach in Jason Nobili who taught me a lot about the defensive side of the game,” he said, reminiscing on his Titans team that finished first in the GTHL Regular Season standings in 2018-19. “It also allowed me to get a lot bigger and stronger as I was very small in my U16 season.”

A multi-goal period from Amadeus Lombardi seals the deal for the Birds ?

The @FlintFirebirds forward scored both of his goals in the final frame of regulation, as Flint takes Game 5 against Owen Sound and now hold a 3-2 series lead #FLNTvsOS pic.twitter.com/cKNMRUOwVB

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) May 1, 2022

Taking a massive leap in his development, the Aurora native signed with the Firebirds in May 2020, achieving his goal of playing in the Ontario Hockey League.

However, Lombardi would have to wait quite some time to play his first game at the Dort Financial Center.

“The hardest part was the wait and build up,” said the Aurora native. “It was definitely hard at certain points of the year when our season kept getting delayed.”

507 days later, Lombardi finally made his much-anticipated debut with the Firebirds.

“Playing in my debut was a crazy jump from U18,” Lombardi said. “It took me a few games to get used to the speed and physicality, but I eventually did.”

In his first season with Flint, Lombardi emerged as one of the most productive newcomers in the Ontario Hockey League, and in the process, also became one of Ted Dent’s most trusted forwards up front.

Big time solo effort from @FlintFirebirds forward Amadeus Lombardi on Friday. #FLNTvsOS pic.twitter.com/BWOHf0OfoY

— OntarioHockeyLeague (@OHLHockey) April 23, 2022

“He’s a natural playmaker,” said the Firebirds head coach. “It’s hard to contain him and get him because he brings, second, third, and fourth efforts.”

Finishing second in team-scoring with 59 points (18 goals, 41 assists), Lombardi has remained consistent in the Birds’ playoff run adding an additional 14 points, being one of the go-to guys as Flint looks to advance to their first OHL Championship Series in franchise history.

“He’s hungry. He’s growing and getting stronger and is only going to get bigger,” Dent continued. “There’s been a lot of interest in him for sure, scouts have been calling me about him.”

Lombardi will be leaned on Sunday night as the Firebirds head to Windsor for Game 5 without injured forward Coulson Pitre and suspended veteran Riley Piercey in their lineup. The puck drops at 7:05pm.