Luca Caputi

Luca Caputi
Born (1988-10-01) October 1, 1988
Toronto, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs
VIK Västerås HK
IK Oskarshamn
NHL Draft 111th overall, 2007
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 2008–2015

Gianluca Caputi (born October 1, 1988) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current assistant coach with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League.

Playing career

Amateur

Luca grew up in Maple, Ontario, a suburban community north of Toronto. In his 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.

Caputi was drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins of 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.

Professional

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 by the Leafs to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Nicolas Deschamps.

On August 31, 2013, Caputi signed abroad on a one-year contract with European team VIK Västerås HK of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.[5] Caputi enjoyed a successful debut season in Sweden, posting 35 points in 45 games with VIK.

On July 15, 2014, Caputi decided to remain in Sweden, however joined fellow Allsvenskan club, IK Oskarshamn, on an optional two-year deal.[6]

Career statistics

    Regular  season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2003–04 Toronto Jr. Canadiens 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 — — — — —
2011–12 Toronto Marlies AHL 21 2 1 3 10 — — — — —
2011–12 Syracuse Crunch AHL 39 10 12 22 19 — — — — —
2012–13 Norfolk Admirals AHL 35 3 15 18 23 — — — — —
2012–13 Fort Wayne Komets ECHL 15 6 8 14 17 — — — — —
2013–14 VIK Västerås HK Allsv 45 14 21 35 36 7 0 2 2 6
2014–15 IK Oskarshamn Allsv 39 10 9 19 36 — — — — —
NHL totals 35 3 6 9 20 — — — — —

References

  1. ↑ "Penguins sign Luca Caputi". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2008-04-23. Retrieved 2008-11-10.
  2. ↑ pageContainer "Habs foil Pens" Check |url= value (help). CBS Sports. 2009-02-03. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  3. ↑ "Caputi re-assigned to Wheeling". CitizensVoice. com. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  4. ↑ "Leafs trade Ponikarovsky to Penguins for Skoula, Caputi". TSN. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  5. ↑ "Vasteras agree to terms with NHL player Caputi" (in Swedish). VIK Vasteras HK. 2013-08-31. Retrieved 2013-08-31.
  6. ↑ "Caputi to Oskarshamn" (in Swedish). IK Oskarshamn. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2014-07-15.
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