Tim Benz: Daniel Mantenuto becomes 1st RMU men's hockey Olympian with Team Italy selection

Daniel Mantenuto’s senior year of college hockey at Robert Morris University didn’t conclude in a conventional way. It didn’t culminate with him holding a championship trophy above his head or in a solemn handshake line after a bitter playoff defeat.

No, his NCAA career ended at a pregame meal in Connecticut on March 12, 2020.

That’s when Mantenuto and his RMU teammates learned that their season had been cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, just hours before they were supposed to take the ice against Sacred Heart to begin Round 2 of the Atlantic Hockey playoffs.

“No one really knew what was going on,” Mantenuto recalled. “A week later, I ended up going home (to Canada), and we were finishing class online. I didn’t really know what was next.”

The path Mantenuto took has resulted in him launching a professional hockey career. The next steps he’ll take on that path will be in the Olympic Oval for the opening ceremony of the 2026 games in Italy.

Not with Team Canada. But as a member of the host country’s contingent.

“I was at home finishing my degree. I came downstairs one morning. My mom said she got a call from Italy. An Italian GM called, and they offered me a contract,” Mantenuto said by phone from Ontario on Thursday.

Many of Mantenuto’s college teammates and opponents try to grind their way up the ranks of North American pro hockey through the ECHL and the AHL with the dream of reaching the NHL. Mantenuto went a different way. He took the chance to play in the Alps League of Italian hockey and joined a team in Asiago.

While there, he won a championship and has since moved up to the 13-team ICE (International Central European) Hockey League. That’s the top-tier league in Austria, which also features teams from Italy, Hungary and Slovenia.

Mantenuto joined the Bolzano Foxes in the northeast part of Italy prior to the 2022-23 season. It’s a club that has claimed 19 championships and had Jaromir Jagr for a short time during the 1994-95 NHL labor stoppage.

After his second year in the country, Mantenuto got an Italian passport, thus making him eligible for international play under the Italian flag. He’s logged 44 games in a Team Italy jersey. Over five seasons of club play between both divisions in Italy, Mantenuto has tallied 141 points in 217 games.

???? Daniel Mantenuto (34‘)
@HCB_Foxes ???? @viennacapitals #UnitedByPassion | @win2dayat pic.twitter.com/0Yegi7Xnwd

— win2day ICE Hockey League (@win2dayICE) October 7, 2023

On June 16, Mantenuto was named one of the first six members of Italy’s ice hockey roster for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.

The road to Milano Cortina 2026 starts here! Italy has announced its first 6 players for the preliminary roster.????????????#IIHF #Olympics #NHL #NHLPA @fisg_it @olympics @nhl @nhlpa pic.twitter.com/k7XkJiUxch

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) June 16, 2025

The Thornhill, Ontario, native will be the first RMU men’s hockey alum to participate in the Olympics.

“I’m honored to represent Italy and play in the Olympics, but also to represent Robert Morris,” Mantenuto said. “There’s been so many good players that have gone through that program and have had success at Robert Morris. So, I’m excited to be able to be the first men’s Olympian. I don’t think it’s sunk in yet.”

Mantenuto turned in some highlight moments, such as netting a game-winner at Canisius his senior season with under a minute to go in his return game from a broken arm. He also scored a goal in an elimination game later that season in the playoff against Holy Cross. But he never was a superstar scorer, topping out at 23 points in 40 games his junior season.

That said, RMU coach Derek Schooley isn’t surprised to see how Mantenuto has developed while playing in Europe.

“He came in as a very young hockey player right out of the OJHL. You just remember him getting better and better. Skated well. Had great skill. He had such an upside ahead of him, and you can see it now as he’s still coming into his own,” Schooley said. “He’s made an unbelievable career in Italy. (Graduating college players) think of playing in the AHL or the (ECHL), and don’t understand what they can do as a minor pro or a pro over in Europe. Good for him to be able to knock that out and continue to grow as a hockey player.”

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The RMU women’s program has had four Olympians: Brianne McLaughlin (Team USA), Meeri Räisänen (Finland), Aneta Lédlová (Czechia) and Anna Fairman (China). Schooley is happy that Mantenuto is becoming the first men’s player to boast that achievement.

“We’re really proud of Daniel. It says a lot about where our program was and where our program is going and can continue to grow,” Schooley continued. “His upside is still tremendous. To be able to watch him in the Olympics, everybody will be really excited with Robert Morris hockey.”

Italy gets an automatic bid into the tournament because they are the host country. They have a tough draw. They are in Group B with Sweden, Finland and Slovakia. The American team is in Group C. Canada is in Group A. So Mantenuto won’t see either team unless Italy pulls off a stunner and advances to the medal round. But he thinks the Italian team will impress fans across the world.

“We’re an underdog going in, but I think we have a good team that’s underrated and could surprise people. We’re a hard-working team, with a lot of guys who do have skill and maybe are just overlooked and are very good,” Mantenuto said.

In terms of his role on the team, Mantenuto sees himself playing in the same type of capacity as he has throughout his time in Italy, as well as how he played during his years with the Colonials.

“I think I’ll be relied upon as a two-way centerman who will kill penalties. Maybe power play. We’ll see. Just kind of a reliable center that can play both and battle, and hopefully, I can make an impact,” Mantenuto said.

Regardless of playing time, though, Mantenuto says the pure experience of stepping onto an Olympic sheet of ice will be worthwhile.

“It’s something you always dream of and you never really think will become a reality,” Mantenuto said. “As a younger kid, thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to be in the opening ceremony of the Olympics and play against the best players in the world.’ It’s pretty surreal.”