Cristiano DiGiacinto

History

2011-12: Cristiano Digiacinto appeared in two playoff games for the Hamilton Reps midget AAA team in Ontario after skating for the club’s minor midget squad during the season. He scored 1 goal and had six penalty minutes in the AAA playoffs. Digiacinto scored 6 goals with 6 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 15 regular season games for the Reps midget minor team and had 2 assists with 32 penalty minutes in eight playoff games.

2012-13: DiGiacinto was an assistant captain for the Hamilton Huskies midget AAA team. He scored 22 goals with 19 assists and 52 penalty minutes in 29 regular season games. DiGiacinto scored 3 goals with 3 assists and 6 penalty minutes in five playoff games.

2013-14: DiGiacinto began the year with the Hamilton Red Wings junior A team after being a late cut at the Erie Otters’ training camp. He skated in nine games with Hamilton before being signed by the Windsor Spitfires as a free agent. In 50 OHL games he scored 17 goals with 11 assists and was +8; finishing third on the Spitfires with 101 penalty minutes. Windsor finished second in the West Division and was swept by Memorial Cup host London in a first round series. DiGiacinto had no points and was minus-1 with 9 penalty minutes in two games; receiving a five-game suspension for a Game 2 confrontation with London’s Gemel Smith (DAL). Not among the 210 North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings Digiacinto was selected by Tampa Bay in the sixth round (167th overall) in the 2014 NHL Draft.

2014-15: DiGiacinto was the third-leading scorer on what was a young Windsor squad and hit the 100 penalty minute mark for the second straight season skating for the Spitfires. He scored 21 goals with 24 assists in 63 games, finishing -16 with 100 penalty minutes. The Spitfires finished last in the West Division with the OHL’s second-worst record, ahead of only Sudbury. DiGiacinto signed an amateur tryout agreement with Tampa Bay AHL affiliate Syracuse in March 2015 but did not play in any games for with the Crunch. DiGiacinto played for the Canada U19 team in the 2015 World Floorball Championship.

Talent Analysis

DiGiacinto is a rugged winger with some offensive ability that often plays on the edge between competitive and undisciplined. A late-round pick following his first season of junior hockey, he was one of the scoring leaders on a Windsor team that was frequently overmatched. DiGiacinto gets the majority of his points through hard work rather than elite scoring skill and his competitive nature and desire is the highlight of his game.

Future

DiGiacinto was a team leader in what was a disappointing season for Windsor in 2014-15. He will attend his second training camp with the Lightning in the fall before returning to Windsor for his third OHL season. Long-term DiGiacinto projects as a Brandon Prust-type forward who can chip in offensively but is best known for standing up for teammates and making things tough on the opposition.