Faceoff Factor

Weighing In On Luca Caputi

Jesse Marshall | Juniors

Aug 30, 10:40 AM | Hype this story!

If you like Jordan Staal’s game, you’re going to be in for a real treat within the next few years.

With the the 111th overall selection in the NHL entry draft, the Pittsburgh Penguins literally made a steal of a deal when they grabbed Luca Caputi roughly 40 picks later than he was projected to be taken.

A lot of people asking me what the reason for that drop was. The answer isn’t easy, this draft was off kilter from the start. When the Kings took Thomas Hickey with their early selection and Angelo Esposito was still on the board when the Penguins picked, you knew things were going to be a bit backwards. Caputi might have fallen because his first step is a bit slow or because some of his weight issues. We may never know for sure, but his offensive skills and his in-game smarts are something that cannot be denied.

Caputi reminds me of Jordan Staal quite a bit. Their games aren’t that different. They each battle hard for loose pucks, are very adept at killing penalties, clean up the mess offensively in front of the net, and utilize their huge wingspans to drag the puck out of danger and steal it away from defenders in the boards.

Recently, http://nhldraftbuzz.blogspot.com offered us their assessment of Luca Caputi with a big of projection thrown in.

“Caputi is a guy who is hard to get a read on; some had him as high as the second round, some had him as low as the fourth. DraftBuzz likes his package of size and skill, and ranked him in the 40-50 range. Consistency is a normal issue with guys this young, so you have to project some and hope he puts it together. If the delivery does not get lost in the mail, a team could see themselves with a talented 6’3’‘ power forward who does the “little things.“”

He also outlines some of the problems Caputi can have with his physical game. I believe we saw some of this in Jordan Staal’s rookie year as well.

“He loses balance easily due to light weight and is not an effective hitter yet. A mystery with regards to asserting himself physically, sometimes willing to fight, sometimes willing to let teammates like Osala fight for him, he needs to find a balance between playing with both edge and skill.”

Penguins fans might be getting a glimpse of Caputi sooner rather than later. Not only is he slated to play in the upcoming Kitchener prospects tournament, but he’s already finished his third year of duty in the OHL for the Mississauga Ice Dogs. Caputi might be well on his way to the AHL.

Player Profile:

Gianluca Caputi – LW – 6’3 – 190lbs – Shoots L

2006/2007 Stats:
Reg Season: 68GP – 27G – 38A – 65Pts – +22 – 66PIM
Playoffs: 5GP – 2G – 1A – 3Pts – +1 – 0PIM