Table of Contents
Lucas Caputi
Hometown Hero as a Player and a Coach
Written by Andrew Nebiolo
The Italian-Canadian that I would like to highlight is Luca Caputi. A former NHL player and now OHL coach, Luca was not only born in my hometown of Maple, but he is also my cousin. Born October 1, 1988, Luca developed a love for hockey through his family but was most influenced by his father who had a passion for the game himself. Throughout the majority of his minor hockey career, Caputi played with boys a year older, which provides some insight on just how skilled he was.
His talent was good enough to get him drafted in the second round to the Mississauga Ice Dogs of the OHL. In his final season with the newly relocated Niagara Ice Dogs, Caputi produced 111 points in 66 games. This led to Caputi getting drafted in the fourth round of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL where he would later score his first NHL goal on his first NHL shift. Over the course of a 12-year NHL career Caputi played for the Anaheim Ducks and his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. He would later play for two years in Sweden’s top division before retiring and becoming a coach in the OHL. The purpose of this essay is to recognize the career of an Italian-Canadian hockey player from my family and my hometown who continues to give back to the sport by coaching the next generation.
Through a variety of archives, I was able to gather information on the short but impactful coaching career of Caputi. In 2015, Caputi was hired to the Guelph Storm, one of the OHL’s more storied franchises. At the age of 27 Caputi was hired for his innovative mindset to help a team entering a rebuild. Through examining the OHL archives and team’s record each year Caputi coached, his impact on the team was evident. His successful coaching with the Guelph Storm landed him a promotion with the Kingston Frontenacs in the beginning of the 2018 season. After just his second season with the team, their record has improved substantially as seen once again in the OHL archives. In a number of articles from various archives such as the Global News, his peers and players rave about his coaching ability, but Caputi is quick to thank his coaching partners and praise his players for their good performances and deflect the spotlight away from himself. Caputi has a chance to leave a coaching legacy as good if not better than his playing one.
After examining a number of archives and researching the career of Luca, I have two recommendations. One is that someone should take a more in-depth look at his playing career. Caputi played for twelve years at hockey’s highest levels and further analysis is needed regarding his career as a player. My second suggestion would be that his time as a Toronto Maple Leaf is analysed. A kid from Maple growing up and playing for his hometown team fulfilling a childhood dream. As he continues to develop as a coach and excel at the sports highest level, he continues to amaze me. After creating this poster I have an even greater respect for him as a both a player and a coach, and my only hope is that individuals who see this poster feel the
December 2020
Bibliography
“Frontenacs Promote Kurtis Foster to Head Coach, Name Luca Caputi Associate Coach.” ontariohockeyleague.com/article/frontenacs-promote-kurtis-foster-to-head-coachname-luca-caputi-associate-coach.
Jeffries, Doug. “Kurtis Foster, Luca Caputi to Coach Kingston Frontenacs for 2018 Season.” Global News, Global News, 16 July 2018, globalnews.ca/news/4334251/kurtis-fosterluca-caputi-to-coach-kingston-frontenacs-for-2018-season/.
“Luca Caputi at Eliteprospects.com.” www.eliteprospects.com/player/11313/luca-caputi.
“Luca Caputi.” guelphstorm.com/luca-caputi.
“Luca Caputi.” www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/
How to cite this page:
MLA STYLE: Author. “Title.” Title of container, Other contributors, Number (vol. and/or no.), Publisher, Publication Date, Location (pages, paragraphs and/or URL, DOI or permalink). 2nd container’s title, Other contributors.
Nebiolo, Andrew. ”Luca Caputi: Hometown Hero as a Player and a Coach.” In Archival Research of Italian-Canadian Immigration and Culture, supvr. T. Russo, issue 4: Italian-Canadians as Athletes and Community Builders: Contributions in the Sports Industry, Brock University, December 2020, St. Catherines (Sports in Italian-Canadian Communities – Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (italianheritage.ca)). Italian-Canadian Narratives Showcase (ICNS), Sandra Parmegiani and Nivashinee Ponambalum.