Ricci was born and raised in the
Toronto suburb of
Scarborough, Ontario. He attended St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic school and
Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate Institute. As a youth, he played in the 1984
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a
minor ice hockey team from
Mississauga. He was a 2nd round pick of the Ontario Hockey League's
Peterborough Petes in 1987 after a strong season with the Toronto Marlboros Bantams. Ricci was also a talented soccer player growing up playing for the Scarborough Blues program with his cousin,
Paul Peschisolido, who went on to a solid international career. Ricci's father Mario was a professional soccer player in
Italy before emigrating to Canada. Ricci was selected in the 1st Round 4th overall by the
Philadelphia Flyers in the
1990 NHL entry draft. He had just completed three stellar seasons with the Peterborough Petes, and was dubbed a cannot-miss prospect. Ricci lasted only two years in
Philadelphia, as in the summer of 1992 he was traded to the
Quebec Nordiques in the
Eric Lindros trade. He had a career year in his first season with the Nordiques, scoring 78 points. The next season,
1993–94, he scored a career-high 30 goals, with 5 of those coming in one game against the
San Jose Sharks. In 1996, Ricci and the
Colorado Avalanche won the
Stanley Cup following the franchise's relocation from Quebec. On November 21, 1997, Ricci began a new endeavor with the Sharks. Ricci quickly became an elite defensive centreman with San Jose, but never was able to regain the offensive prowess of his earlier years. Ricci was an essential cog to San Jose's success, and was there when the team made its first trip to the Western Conference Final in 2004. San Jose fans admired Ricci for his gritty style of play and were saddened when he was let go. In 2005, Ricci switched his uniform number to 40 in honor of former
National Football League (NFL) player
Pat Tillman, who was killed in action while serving for the
U.S. Army. The two had met in San Jose. Ricci played the 2005–06 season with the Phoenix Coyotes. On August 13, 2007, he announced his retirement after telling
The Peterborough Examiner that he had not recovered from neck surgery as well as he had hoped. ==Post-playing career==