Luca Caputi
| Luca Caputi | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 1, 1988 Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb) |
| Position | Left Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team (P) Cur. team Former teams |
Anaheim Ducks Syracuse Crunch (AHL) Pittsburgh Penguins Toronto Maple Leafs |
| NHL Draft | 111th overall, 2007 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2008–present |
Gianluca Caputi (born October 1, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Contents |
[edit] Amateur career
Luca grew up in Maple, Ontario, a suburban community northor the same team for four seasons, even after the Mississauga IceDogs moved and became the Niagara IceDogs, until 2007–08. After his 2006–07 season, Caputi was drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft as the 111th overall pick. While several scouts projected him as high as the 40th pick claiming that he was a great package of both size and skill possessing a long reach, he managed to drop into the 4th round. Teams passed on him due to his inconsistent play of edge and skill with a lack of effective hitting.[citation needed]
In the following and final season with the Niagara IceDogs, Caputi found his balance with 51 goals and 111 points in just 66 games, becoming an offensive juggernaut on the first line. His 111 points were fourth in league scoring and his 51 goals were third in the OHL while both his 51 goals and 111 points are the most in one season for the Mississauga and Niagara IceDogs organization. Caputi led the team into the playoffs where they defeated the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors 4-0 before losing to the Oshawa Generals 4 games to 2 in the conference semifinals.
[edit] Professional career
Following his breakout season, on April 23, 2008, Caputi signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[1] He then helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League reach the Calder Cup Finals with 8 points in 19 games.
After starting the 2008–09 season with Wilkes-Barre, Caputi made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on February 3, 2009, scoring his first NHL goal on his first shift after being on the ice for just 2:03 of ice time.[2]
On March 4, 2009, Caputi was assigned to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL due to "a violation of team rules."[3]
In the 2009–10 season on January 5, 2010, Caputi was recalled back up from Wilkes-Barre due to the injured Chris Kunitz. He scored a goal and played on the Penguins' second line against the Atlanta Thrashers.
On March 2, 2010, Caputi was traded along with defenceman Martin Skoula to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Alexei Ponikarovsky.[4] On March 4, he played his first game for the Maple Leafs and recorded an assist against the Boston Bruins. He scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf against the Boston Bruins on March 9 with 40 seats reserved for family and friends in Toronto.
On October 4, 2010, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Caputi was one of four players assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. On October 27, 2010 Caputi was called up by the Maple Leafs.
On January 3, 2012 Caputi was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Nicolas Deschamps.
[edit] Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003—04 | Toronto Jr. Canadians | GTHL | 52 | 52 | 55 | 107 | 127 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Mississauga IceDogs | OHL | 48 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Mississauga IceDogs | OHL | 32 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Mississauga IceDogs | OHL | 68 | 27 | 38 | 65 | 66 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Niagara IceDogs | OHL | 66 | 51 | 60 | 111 | 107 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 14 | ||
| 2007–08 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 66 | 18 | 27 | 45 | 45 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Wheeling Nailers | ECHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 54 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 35 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
[edit] References
- ^ "Penguins sign Luca Caputi". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2008-04-23. http://penguins.nhl.com/team/app?articleid=361383&page=NewsPage&service=page. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
- ^ "Habs foil Pens". CBS Sports. 2009-02-03. http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/gamecenter/recap/NHL_20090203_PIT@MON?tag=pageRow;pageContainer. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
- ^ "Caputi re-assigned to Wheeling". CitizensVoice.com. 2009-03-04. http://community.citizensvoice.com/blogs/penguins/archive/2009/03/04/breaking-news.aspx. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
- ^ "Leafs trade Ponikarovsky to Penguins for Skoula, Caputi". TSN. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=312141. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
[edit] External links
- 1988 births
- Living people
- Canadian ice hockey left wingers
- Canadian people of Italian descent
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Mississauga IceDogs alumni
- Niagara IceDogs alumni
- Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Sportspeople from Toronto
- Syracuse Crunch players
- Toronto Maple Leafs players
- Toronto Marlies players
- Wheeling Nailers players
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players
