‘Belfast just feels right': Giants' star winger completes top line returnees for new season
The 29-year-old New Jersey native has put pen to paper on a deal that means he will play a third season with the Giants and that the defending Elite League and Challenge Cup champions have their top three forwards back for their title defences.
A prolific scorer in the Elite League, Piccinich netted 29 goals and 65 points in 73 games for the Giants last season on their way to the double, including scoring in the Challenge Cup Final against the Cardiff Devils, good for second top scorer on the team behind only Conway.
Including his first remarkable season with the team, in which he also won the double, the former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick has scored 72 goals and 163 points in 141 games in Belfast, winning four trophies in two seasons.
Bringing back the trio is a statement of intent to the rest of the League from Adam Keefe and the Giants, and Piccinich says that they will not let their ambitions drop just because they've had success before.
'Belfast just feels right. The culture here, the support from the fans, and the standard that's expected – it all pushes you to be your best,' said Piccinich.
"Coming back last season reminded me how special this place is, and I'm thrilled to be here again for 2025/26. We have the talent and determination to compete for every trophy, and I want to be part of bringing more success to this organisation.'
Piccinich joined the Giants when the Elite League resumed following the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 following four seasons as a professional predominantly in the ECHL but also featuring a short 10-game stint in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies and San Antonio Rampage.
But in Belfast he quickly became a hit, finding instant chemistry with Conway and Goodwin and emerging as one of the League's best forwards, scoring 43 goals and 97 points in his debut season in teal as the Giants clinched the League and Cup double, falling one game short of the Grand Slam.
That would lead to a switch to Norwegian side Stjernen Hockey where he spent two seasons, the second of which saw him handed an 'A', and he would rack up 51 goals and 129 points in 93 games there, which included a superb Play-Off display in his second season where he scored six goals and eight points in five games.
Despite agreeing a deal that covered last season in Stjernen, a break clause enabled the former London Knights captain to return to the SSE Arena last summer and it proved an excellent decision, the right winger coming back and winning two more trophies in teal, lifting the Cup before adding the League title, too.
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