Drake Caggiula

Drake Caggiula (/kəˈdʒuːlə/; born June 20, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Edmonton Oilers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Drake Caggiula
Born (1994-06-20) June 20, 1994
Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Arizona Coyotes
Edmonton Oilers
Chicago Blackhawks
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present

Playing career

Undrafted, Caggiula played junior hockey in Ontario with the Stouffville Spirit of the Ontario Junior Hockey League before enrolling to play college hockey for the University of North Dakota of the NCAA. Although Caggiula was drafted by the major junior hockey team, the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League, he was not convinced he could play in the league. As a result, Caggiula accepted a scholarship to play at North Dakota.[1]

In his freshman year at North Dakota, while majoring in kinesiology, Caggiula played in 39 games and ranked second among the team's rookies in points, goals, and assists.[2] The following season, Caggiula participated in the 2014 Frozen Four, where North Dakota lost 2–1 against Minnesota.[3]

Prior to his junior year at North Dakota, Caggiula was invited and participated in the Buffalo Sabres 2014 Development camp.[4] At the conclusion of his junior year, Caggiula was named to the NCHC Second All-Star Team.[5]

In his senior season with North Dakota in 2015–16, Caggiula led North Dakota to win the 2016 NCAA championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.[6] He was also named to the Second-Team All-American West[7] and to the NCHC First All-Star Team.[8] Following the end of the season, Caggiula gained attention from numerous NHL teams as the top available collegiate free agent.[6][9] On May 7, 2016, Caggiula agreed to a two-year entry-level deal with the Edmonton Oilers.[10]

Although Caggiula was expected to make his debut on October 12, it was delayed due to an injury.[11] His debut eventually came on November 19 in a 5–2 win over the Dallas Stars.[12] Caggiula scored his first NHL goal on December 3, 2016 in an Oilers overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks.[13]

On June 14, 2018, Caggiula re-signed with the Oilers on a two-year contract.[14] During the 2018–19 season, Caggiula suffered a hand injury during a game against the St. Louis Blues and was placed on injured reserve. At the time of the injury, Caggiula had recorded 10 points in 23 games.[15]

On December 30, 2018, Caggiula was traded by the Oilers along with Jason Garrison to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Brandon Manning and Robin Norell.[16] On February 1, 2019, Caggiula scored his first goal as a Blackhawk in a 7–3 win against the Buffalo Sabres.[17]

Despite hampered by injury in the 2019–20 season, Caggiula was a dependable role player with the Blackhawks, posting 9 goals and 15 points in 40 regular season games, before the season was effectively cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to salary cap constraints, Caggilua as an impending restricted free agent was not tendered a qualifying offer by Blackhawks, ending his two-year tenure and releasing him to free agency on October 8, 2020.[18] On December 21, 2020, Caggiula was signed to a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Arizona Coyotes.[19]

Personal life

Caggiula is of Italian descent.[20] His older brother Brody previously played hockey and is a Level 4R Ontario Minor Hockey Association official.[21]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Stouffville Spirit OJHL 48 22 23 45 35 8 2 6 8 4
2011–12 Des Moines Buccaneers USHL 4 1 1 2 8 — — — — —
2011–12 Stouffville Spirit OJHL 25 10 24 34 36 23 17 20 37 38
2012–13 U. of North Dakota WCHA 39 8 8 16 31 — — — — —
2013–14 U. of North Dakota NCHC 42 11 13 24 52 — — — — —
2014–15 U. of North Dakota NCHC 42 18 18 36 30 — — — — —
2015–16 U. of North Dakota NCHC 39 25 26 51 60 — — — — —
2016–17 Edmonton Oilers NHL 60 7 11 18 16 13 3 0 3 25
2017–18 Edmonton Oilers NHL 67 13 7 20 37 — — — — —
2018–19 Edmonton Oilers NHL 29 7 4 11 16 — — — — —
2018–19 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 26 5 7 12 12 — — — — —
2019–20 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 40 9 6 15 32 8 1 2 3 2
NHL totals 222 41 35 76 113 21 4 2 6 27

Awards and honours
Award Year
OJHL
First Team All-Prospect 2011–12 [22]
Playoff MVP 2011–12
College
NCHC Second All-Star Team 2014–15 [5]
Tournament Most Outstanding Player 2015–16
First All-Star Team 2016 [8]
Second-Team All-American West 2016 [7]

References
  1. "A tale of two NCAA prospects". TSN.ca. March 30, 2015.
  2. "DRAKE CAGGIULA". fightinghawks.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  3. "Minn. scores winning goal with 0.6 on clock vs. North Dakota". ncaa.com. April 11, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  4. Ray, Joe (July 17, 2014). "IN HIS OWN WORDS: DRAKE CAGGIULA". NHL.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  5. "CAGGIULA NAMED 2ND TEAM ALL-NCHC". ojhl.pointstreaksites.com. March 11, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  6. "Free agent Caggiula begins making NHL rounds". April 19, 2016.
  7. "2015-16 All-Americans". ahcahockey.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  8. "CAGGIULA NAMED 1ST TEAM ALL-NCHC". pointstreaksites.com. March 9, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  9. "Kuzma: Canucks covet college free-agent Caggiula". May 3, 2016.
  10. "Drake Caggiula's father thanks UND fans". Grand Forks Herald. May 7, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  11. McNair, Brian (October 20, 2016). "Pickering's Drake Caggiula has NHL debut with Edmonton Oilers delayed by injury". durhamregion.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  12. Frankson, Ryan (November 20, 2016). "Drake's dream debut". NHL.com. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  13. "Talbot's 31 saves, Draisaitl's OT winner lead Oilers past Ducks". Sportsnet. Canadian Press. December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 3, 2016.
  14. "Oilers sign forward Drake Caggiula to two-year contract". sportsnet.ca. June 14, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  15. "Oilers place Drake Caggiula on injured reserve with hand injury". sportsnet.ca. December 6, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  16. "Blackhawks acquire Caggiula and Garrison from Oilers". Chicago Blackhawks. December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  17. "Chicago Blackhawks at Buffalo Sabres Box Score — February 1, 2019". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  18. "Drake Caggiula not qualified by Chicago". CBS Sports. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  19. "Coyotes sign Drake Caggiula to a one-year contract". Arizona Coyotes. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  20. "Drake Caggiula makes name for himself with Oilers". sportsnet.ca. October 4, 2016. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  21. "HOW I RAISED MY HOCKEY FAMILY". omha.net. October 17, 2017. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  22. "Canadians in Frozen Four happy to have chosen U.S. for hockey". CBC.ca. April 2, 2015. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Jon Gillies		 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
2016		 Succeeded by
Jarid Lukosevicius
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