Luca Caputi

History

2006-07: With Mississauga IceDogs recorded 27 goals and 38 points while playing in 68 games. He added two goals and an assist in five playoff contests.

2007-08:Caputi almost doubled his previous season’s total of 27 goals and 65 points with 51 goals and 60 assists in 2007-08, good for first on the team, fourth in the OHL, and more points than highly touted prospects like Steve Stamkos and Cody Hodgson. The young forward also added an element of nasty to his play with 107 penalty minutes, fourth overall on his team.

2008-09: Caputi spent most of the season with Wilkes-Barres, only seeing five games worth of action with Pittsburgh, scoring a goal in his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadians. In his time with Wilkes-Barres, Caputi would add 18 goals and 45 points to a solid rookie season as a pro. He’d also play a shore three game stint with the East Coast League, scoring three points in three games with Wheeling.

2009-10: Back to Wilkes-Barres, Caputi went, only appearing in four games this year with Pittsburgh, and again only adding one goal in his time with the Penguins. During his 54 games in the Minors, Caputi would improve to 2three goals and 47 points before being dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Alexei Ponikarovski at the deadline. In 19 games with Toronto, Luca would register a goal and five points with 30 penalty minutes.

2010-11: Caputi skated in just 20 games in his first full season with the Toronto organization as a sports-hernia injury affected him most of the year. Caputi played seven games with the Leafs in the early part of the season and was scoreless and -2 with 4 PMs; averaging 11 minutes of ice time. In 13 AHL games with the Toronto Marlies he scored 1 goal with 4 assists and was an even plus/minus with 30 PMs. Caputi signed a one-year contract with the Leafs in June 2011.

2011-12: After appearing in 26 games for the Leafs over the previous two seasons, Caputi spent his entire fourth pro season in the AHL – first with the Toronto Marlies and then, following a January 2012 trade to the Anaheim organization, with the Ducks AHL affiliate Syracuse. Caputi skated in 21 games with the Marlies, missing most of November due to a hand injury, and scored 2 goals with 1 assist; finishing minus-four with 10 penalty minutes. His offensive numbers picked up with the Crunch – as he scored 10 goals, including four power play goals, in 39 games. He also had 12 assists and was plus-five with 19 penalty minutes. The Crunch reached the AHL playoffs after finishing fourth in the East Division. Caputi missed the playoffs after suffering an injury in the third-to-last game of the season. He was tendered a qualifying offer by the Ducks in June 2012.

 

Talent Analysis

Caputi has pro-level size but it has become decreasingly clear whether or not he has the tools to use it effectively. He can muscle opponents at the AHL level, but that has not translated into production whether in the form of his own scoring or that of linemates for whom he recovers pucks and wins battles. There has been no lack of results in his brief period with the Crunch, however, as he has exploded onto the Syracuse scene. He may be back on track to becoming an NHL power forward.

 

Future

An explosive junior player, Caputi has struggled in stops with the Pittsburgh and Toronto organizations. At age 23, he can hardly be written off and may one day be a second-line winger in the NHL. Even if he does not reach that potential, Caputi has the capability to fill a role as a grinder with respectable hands.