Toronto Furies first-round draft pick Kristyn Capizzano going back to school, will not play this season

The Toronto Furies have confirmed to PPP that Kristyn Capizzano, the team’s selection in the first round of the 2017 CWHL Draft held on August 20, has elected not to play this season.

“Unfortunately, Capizzano has pulled out from the CWHL” confirmed Furies General Manager Nicole Latreille. She added that Capizzano has opted out of playing professional hockey for the immediate future, and will instead continue her education in California.

The Oakville, Ontario native was selected by the Furies second overall. She was drafted after playing three seasons at Boston College where she impressed with a strong offence.

Capizzano was a standout player pretty much from the time she arrived  on campus, putting up an impressive 102 points over the course of her Boston College career.
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She was anticipated to be able to fill a need for offence for the Furies in the coming season.

Capizzano is one of the better forwards in the draft, with a record of  24 points and an alternate captaincy on a consistently excellent Boston  College team. She’ll provide a boost to the Furies’ ravaged offense.
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It’s not unusual for a player who has been drafted in the CWHL to change her mind or simply not make the team following the draft. However, not only is Capizzano the first first-round draft pick in Furies history to not play for the team, she also was among the last players to sign up for the draft. Life comes at you fast sometimes.

This may not just be a loss for the Furies. Kristyn Capizzano  was a member of Canada’s gold-medal-winning U18 team in 2013—in fact,  she captained that team—before joining Boston College. She was  also part of last year’s National Women’s Development Team for Canada. While she wasn’t centralized this year, she might well have been part of Hockey Canada’s plans for the future.

After the departures this offseason of Kelly Terry, Jenelle Kohanchuk, and Michela Cava, along with national team  centralization of Natalie Spooner, Nicole Latreille has a number of forward spots to fill this season and she just lost one of her best options.