Faceoff Factor

Caputi Signs With Penguins

Jesse Marshall | Pittsburgh Penguins

Apr 23, 11:15 AM | Hype this story!

After joining the WB/S Baby Penguins on an Amature Try-Out last week, The Official Site of the Penguins is reporting that Gianluca Caputi has signed an entry level deal that seals his immediate future as a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Caputi matured into a great role with Niagara this year after struggling his first few seasons in the OHL. He finished the regular season with 111 points (51+60) that reaches farther than those numbers ever could. Caputi’s knack for getting to the net and mucking it up for every puck has become widely known.

If you enjoy watching Jordan Staal kill penalties and scoop up rebounds in front of the net, you’ll enjoy watching Luca Caputi. Luca has a reach and a wingspan very similar to that of Jordan Staal’s, with a nastier attitude to boot. Adept at playing in all special teams situations, Luca should be an immediate attribute to the Baby Penguins. If he can bulk up, he should have no problem taking his game to the next level.

For some revisionist history, let’s look back at some of the comments made by Faceoff Factor and NHL Draft Buzz when Caputi was drafted last summer.

Faceoff Factor:

“A lot of people asking me what the reason for the drop in Caputi’s draft status 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.”

NHL Draft Buzz

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 needs to find a balance between playing with both skill and edge”.

Caputi certainly found that balance this year, as he dropped the gloves a few times and stood up for teammates at every chance he had. His game is becoming a fine blend of the lost-art of driving to the net and playing gritty and playing with old-school finesse.

We’re sticking with the projection that this kid is going to become a great blend of a power-forward, special teams player. Hopefully, the edgier part of his game translates over to the next level as well. His willingness to get gritty was one of the better parts of his game the last few years in the OHL.

We’ll be covering Luca’s journey through the AHL playoffs this year as well as his regular season debut next season, so stay tuned to Faceoff Factor for more on this young star.