Caputi, D'Amigo strut stuff

[hockey123]

Caputi, D'Amigo strut stuff
By LANCE HORNBY, Toronto Sun

Caputi and D’Amigo. No they’re not two competing ristorantes on Toronto’s Corso Italia, but the surnames of two young Maple Leafs competing for jobs, hoping to put a little gusto into the lineup.
Luca Caputi and Jerry D’Amigo were on opposite wings of the same line when scrimmages opened at the MasterCard Centre on Saturday and both caught the eye of coach Ron Wilson for different reasons.
Caputi, like many Leafs on strength coach Anthony Belza’s weight program, was 15 pounds heavier, but not at the expense of speed, while D’Amigo, at his first NHL camp, looked the worse for wear at the end of Day 1.
“I have to get up to this pace,” D’Amigo said. “I had the first 45-minute practice, then the (hour-long) game and coming off the V02 (endurance test) yesterday kind of got us. But that’s what it’s going to be like during the season, so I have to work myself into that and get my legs going.”
Caputi was picked 111th in 2007 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, but made it high enough up their ladder to be swapped for Alexei Ponikarovsky at the trade deadline. He had six points in 19 Leaf games last season, but was obscured when the Leafs went on a summer trade and signing binge of forwards and then D’Amigio wowed the club at the world junior tournament for Team USA.
The two found themselves together yesterday with centre John Mitchell, but their similar heritage helped them to hit it off right away.
“Just coincidence, but being Italian never hurt anyone,” the Toronto-born Caputi said with a wink. “If we speak Italian on the faceoff, no one will know what’s going on. I’m pretty fluent in it, but he’s, you know, an American.
“But he’s a good kid with a bright future. He can make plays, he’s fast, but it’s the first day of camp and everyone has rust and no one is happy with the way it went. We’ll shake it off and come back better tomorrow.”
Caputi doesn’t intend to be overlooked at this camp and his heavier frame will help achieve that.
“That was one of the things I was lacking that the Leafs told me to focus on,” Caputi said. “As long as I do that and prove myself I’ll be OK. It’s different (than Pittsburgh’s program), which was more heavy weight lifting. Pittsburgh was also more of an endurance-cardio thing. I like both, but this one seems to be working for me.”
Wilson says it shouldn’t be hard for any of his Leafs to pack some muscle on.
“Guys put the weight on scientifically now,” Wilson said. “Back when I played (in the late 1970s), if you wanted to put 10 pounds on, you ate more doughnuts. Now anyone here can put 10 pounds on by doing squats. Look at Luca and Carl Gunnarsson, they’ve both put 10 pounds on and it won’t affect their ability to play at all. It’s part of growing up.”
D’Amigo said his head is spinning a bit, going from the compacted Leafs rookie tournament in London last week to the club physicals Friday and getting out with Caputi and Co. for the start of three practice days.
“It’s the first time we’ve skated together, but I think two Italian boys can get a good chemistry out there,” D’Amigo said. “It’s moving pretty quick out there.”

[AlphaDog]

re: "MasterCard Centre on Saturday"

Where the heck is that???

..bwah.. 'member when hockey used to make so much money that rinks could just have permanent non-company names? Maple Leaf GARDENS, Boston GARDENS, Montreal FORUM, Buffalo MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM.

Now its Prudential Center, Wells Fargo Center, Hong Kong Shanghai Bank of Commerce Arena, Verizon Center.

Wow how the people in charge must have messed things up that badly to sell our beloved sport away... it's such a shame. Hockey owners that used to have their teams play in proud named arenas have become beggars. "Please please please give me X dollars and I'll let your company be the name of the arena". 'Never used to be like that. Hockey teams were around for decades upon decades without selling their soles (or even putting ads on the boards and ice!) I guess anyone would sell their mother's sole if the price was high enough. Those long-standing traditional names were the soles of the buildings. Everyone has a price.

Even us. (Jack Gatecliff Arena -> Gatorade Complex ) I'll let my tax dollars go up only if a city-built rink keeps a proud name. NIAGARA GARDENS would be nice (especially with this being the Garden City). But if they're going to raise taxes then slap some BS corporate name on the building, there'll be hell to pay.:offrant:

[dv8]

re: "MasterCard Centre on Saturday"

Where the heck is that???

..bwah.. 'member when hockey used to make so much money that rinks could just have permanent non-company names? Maple Leaf GARDENS, Boston GARDENS, Montreal FORUM, Buffalo MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM.

Now its Prudential Center, Wells Fargo Center, Hong Kong Shanghai Bank of Commerce Arena, Verizon Center.

Wow how the people in charge must have messed things up that badly to sell our beloved sport away... it's such a shame. Hockey owners that used to have their teams play in proud named arenas have become beggars. "Please please please give me X dollars and I'll let your company be the name of the arena". 'Never used to be like that. Hockey teams were around for decades upon decades without selling their soles (or even putting ads on the boards and ice!) I guess anyone would sell their mother's sole if the price was high enough. Those long-standing traditional names were the soles of the buildings. Everyone has a price.

Even us. (Jack Gatecliff Arena -> Gatorade Complex ) I'll let my tax dollars go up only if a city-built rink keeps a proud name. NIAGARA GARDENS would be nice (especially with this being the Garden City). But if they're going to raise taxes then slap some BS corporate name on the building, there'll be hell to pay.:offrant:


The Mastercard Centre is the NEW complex that was built just behind the old Lakeshore Lions rink (In conjunction with them I believe)

ANY new arena will be named, the owners WILL take anyones money because hockey is a business. Whoever bids the highest gets the naming rights, WFCU, JLC, Hershey Centre, its just a matter of time, the good news is we already have a rink in the region named after what sounds like a mental disorder(The Bob Gale Complex) so perhaps the new rink could be called the GM Complex, or the Niagara Parks Commission Arena, The HOCO Centre, Fallsview Casino Complex, the list could go on and on.

[AlphaDog]

The Mastercard Centre is the NEW complex that was built just behind the old Lakeshore Lions rink (In conjunction with them I believe)

ANY new arena will be named, the owners WILL take anyones money because hockey is a business. Whoever bids the highest gets the naming rights, WFCU, JLC, Hershey Centre, its just a matter of time, the good news is we already have a rink in the region named after what sounds like a mental disorder(The Bob Gale Complex) so perhaps the new rink could be called the GM Complex, or the Niagara Parks Commission Arena, The HOCO Centre, Fallsview Casino Complex, the list could go on and on.

I realize hockey's a business. It always has been - but we haven't always stuck stupid company names on the buildings. Why not just keep going? Stick ads on their players uniforms like they do in Europe. Stick cars in the 4 corners of the stands advertising them.

Hockey used to operate just fine and keep nice original names on the buildings. It wasn't until rink owners allowed money to buy out their honor that we had useless corporate names on the rinks. I personally won't buy Gatorade anymore (I go for the Kirkland brand at Costco) because I despise them for slapping a corporate name on our long-standing rink. Screw Gatorade and their suits for ruining our heritage. Sure for a corporate-built and run private building, they can do whatever they want with it. They can call it the National Car Rental Center for all I care (Whoops!! that's already been done). Not on a public building though. Not with my money. ;)

[hockey123]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/mapleleafs/article/863783--it-s-all-business-at-leafs-training-camp



Mark Zwolinski

Don’t look for the Leafs to waste much more than the next four days getting their 64-player training camp whittled down to a group of about 27.
“I’m not going to spend a lot of time giving reasons why they’re here or why they’re not, and I think players will know why they’re not here,” Leafs coach Ron Wilson said as the Leafs wrapped up a third day of scrimmages in preparation for the team’s first exhibition game – Tuesday night at home against Ottawa.
“This isn’t baby sitting or kindergarten … where you give an explanation. Hopefully we’ll have the group down to 26 or 27 by the weekend and I can do my job to prepare the team (for the start of the season).”
Wilson’s comments represent a certain shift in attitude from Leafs camp a year ago when several young players were kept on the pre-season roster down to the last exhibition game.
With the acquisition of several proven NHL talents – including former Stanley Cup winners Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong – Wilson and Leafs management have stressed intensity and physicality, even in the scrimmages going on for the past three days.
It also appears the coach would like a working roster – or a group very close to it – earlier on in camp.
Camp shifts to games the next four nights against the Senators and Flyers – a stretch which should give management ample time to decide the roster makeup.
In the meantime, the intensity is way up – as evidenced by two scraps Monday. That makes three fights over the past two days of camp.
On Monday, Mike Komisarek and Jay Rosehill turned on each other in a mild scrap, one started basically out of frustration and the heat of the moment. Moments later, Luca Caputti and Tim Brennan dropped the gloves in a more spirited bout.
“We both got our tempers flaring, and I don’t think either one of us was sure what to do,” Rosehill said.
“He wasn’t going to fight and I wasn’t either, I think it was two guys butting heads. We both talked a shift afterwards, and we weren’t going to fight, but definitely, it was two guys competing.”
Rosehill also noted that pre-camp talks a year ago stressed a no-fighting code through the scrimmages. While there has been an “all-in-one-family” discussion about the Leafs and Marlies rosters, Rosehill said he “didn’t hear anything about that (no fight code).”
The Leafs can work out their pent up intensity beginning Tuesday when they host the Senators. The club plays the Senators again at the Air Canada Centre Wednesday, then plays Philadelphia (in London) Thursday and the Flyers again Friday at home.

[AlphaDog]

With Caputi's offensive talent, his beefed-up size, and dropping the gloves once in awhile, he should stick on the big-club roster no probs.

[Section M]

"The Jack" is new. Forever it was called Garden City Arena. I'm not saying Jack Gatecliff doesn't deserve the honor, but whatever name they give the (fingers crossed) new arena it will develop it's own nickname. The Aud, The Gardens, The Shark Tank, the Duck Pond.... The Dog House??

[AlphaDog]

"The Jack" is new. Forever it was called Garden City Arena. I'm not saying Jack Gatecliff doesn't deserve the honor, but whatever name they give the (fingers crossed) new arena it will develop it's own nickname. The Aud, The Gardens, The Shark Tank, the Duck Pond.... The Dog House??

True, both they're both names giving tribute to something, and are non-corporate. Garden City arena giving praise to the nickname of St. Catharines, and Jack Gatecliff is just like the "Joe Louis" arena in Detroit, giving praise to a person. I've got no problem with either (although I still prefer the Garden City Arena and often still call it as such on the home page). It'll just be a hard pill to swallow when we get a new building called the WalMart Arena or something.

How much do the Dogs get per year for slapping "Gatorade" on the side of the building anyway? Could they still survive without the tacky name? Or would it break the team? If it's a make/break situation with owners in financial risk, I can see it. But if it's just more money in the accounting books.. gawd man.. go mug someone instead. It's more honorable. :ack2:

I know kids teams are called stuff like the "Tim Hortons <name>" or "Joes Repairs <name>" etc... because some of those teams literally would NOT survive without the sponsorship. So I guess it's not far off before our Niagara IceDogs become the Burger King IceDogs or whatever other team wants to through enough money in someone's face to change the name. I mean, what's the difference. Do it for the building name, why not the team as well?

Anyway I'll shattap about this for the time being. I'm not going to change anything by whining about it endlessly. It's just the hockey traditionalist coming out of me again.</name></name>

[hockey123]

Caputi won't be pushed around

By LANCE HORNBY, Toronto Sun



The fastest growing sector of Leafs Nation could be Luca Caputi’s torso.

Though his biceps look more sculptured up top, much of the 15 pounds the winger packed on this summer came to rest below decks, giving him core strength to get to pucks first and battle bigger National Hockey League defencemen who used to shove him around. That led to a goal and assist Wednesday against the Ottawa Senators and a return invite to the lineup on Thursday in London against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The only complaints are coming from his tired tailor and a Guess-Your-Weight carny at Canada’s Wonderland, who had to give up a big stuffed bear to Caputi’s girlfriend when he misjudged the Leaf’s load by at least 20 pounds.

“When he said that, she thought I should start eating more,” Caputi said jokingly on Thursday morning at the MasterCard Centre. “You lift weights, but you do it more with your legs.

“I had to go to my tailor and have him let out every single one of my suits in the ass. It cost $200 because my friggin’ rear end got bigger. Maybe I’m going to toss them (the Leafs) the invoice.”

General manager Brian Burke would gladly pay the expense for Caputi and a lot of other Leafs who bought into team strength coach Anthony Belza’s summer program and came out looking like Lou Ferrigno. If the Leafs couldn’t get by without enough skill and talent, Burke decreed they would get a lot stronger in areas such as protecting the puck. Belza designed personal nutrition and weight-lifting plans for each Leaf..

Several players showed up in August with improved physiques. Christian Hanson, Luke Schenn and smaller-framed players such as Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri all looked noticeably different.

“Belza deserves a great deal of credit,” Burke said. “Our guys used the off-season well under his tutelage. A significant number of players boosted their lean muscle mass and their VO2 max (in testing).”

Assistant coach Rob Zettler saw right away that Luke Schenn was ready to roll.

“Luke’s fitness level went up right across the board; strength, endurance and agility,” Zettler said of the third-year defenceman. “That was a huge step for him. He looked like he had jump in his legs and was looking to hurt guys physically. Best of all, he was snapping pucks at people.”

Caputi, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Alexei Ponikarovsky at the March trade deadline, had six points in 19 games as a Leaf, however, he seemed lost in the shuffle of incoming wingers during the summer and knew he needed to rise above the growing crowd of third and fourth liners.

“I took everything Brian and Ron Wilson told me to heart, that I was right there, my foot’s in the door (for a regular spot), if I really work hard in the off-season. Belza did a lot for me.”

Caputi ended his junior career with 51 goals and 111 points for the Niagara IceDogs, but pro hockey was a different animal. He was not a well-known player on the offensively blessed Penguins, but his hometown Leafs are truly a team in need.

“I’m trying to get off on the right foot and a goal (Wednesday) helps,” Caputi said. “It’s no secret that I score a good portion of my goals, about 80%, from the hash marks in. You get the odd shot from the outside, but for me, it’s getting the puck in, getting it deep on forechecks and getting to the net.

“Even our second goal (Wednesday) night with me getting the puck to (Mikhail) Grabovski, taking the puck to the net. Last year, that (Ottawa) guy’s probably going to catch me. I definitely felt better Wednesday night, but it’s just one game.”

That Caputi also scored a power-play goal was a bonus as Toronto’s troubles in that area can often be traced to zero traffic in front of the opposition’s net.

“So many times last year with the puck, I’d end up on all fours, knocked off of it,” Caputi said. “(Now) I could play my style and not get pushed off. I believe in myself.”

[cope]

Heading to see the game in Buffalo on Saturday, I hope he plays.

[hockey123]

s Caputi Kaput-i?

By LANCE HORNBY, Toronto Sun

Last Updated: September 29, 2010 6:35pm



Luca Caputi is having the training camp of his young hockey life, getting plaudits from coaches, teammates and fans.

But it’s likely all he gets for his 22nd birthday on Friday is a seat in the press box for the Maple Leafs final two exhibition games, a prelude to an uncertain fate on the team’s NHL taxi squad or possible demotion to the Marlies.

All along, Caputi knew that Fredrik Sjostrom would be given his job back on left wing for the third line, as soon as the Swede received the all-clear from spring shoulder surgery. That came earlier this week, when Caputi found himself with the Purple Haze, five Leafs forwards dressed in mauve with no assigned line.

Sjostrom, a six-year veteran and a long-time favourite of Wilson’s, is slightly smaller and less defined in upper body than Caputi, but has an edge in speed and got the nod to open on the line with Colby Armstrong and possibly Tim Brent at centre. If Caputi did play the middle, he’d be a lock based on this camp, but Caputi is now on a waiting list.

“That’s the cruelty of the NHL,” assistant coach Tim Hunter said Wednesday morning at the MasterCard Centre. “There are other guys better than you and you have to live with that and work hard every day and try and get back in the good graces of the coaches so you can play as a regular.”

Hunter illustrated his point later when asked about defenceman Korbinian Holzer’s surprise promotion for the Ottawa game when Luke Schenn’s back acted up.

“Here’s a guy who was practising with the Marlies this morning and gets a second opportunity. You get sent to the minors, you think your life is over. But things change in a hurry.”

Caputi had a great exit meeting with Wilson and general manager Brian Burke in April. After joining the team in a late-season trade with Pittsburgh for Alexei Ponikarovsky, the 6-foot-2 Caputi had six points in 19 games, was told his foot was in the door and if he came back in autumn bulked up, he’d be kicking it open. He made many improvements in his upper legs and shoulders and had three points in his first four games. But he was given the purple sweater and only made it into Wednesday’s game in Ottawa in part because Kris Versteeg was in Chicago getting his Stanley Cup ring.

“At the end of the day, I can look myself in the mirror and say I’ve done all that I could,” an upbeat Caputi said. “If things don’t work out, they don’t work out. If I do get sent down, I’ll try and get back here as soon as I can. That’s the way it goes.”

The Leafs could cut up to four surplus forwards in the next few days, with centres Mike Zigomanis, John Mitchell and enforcer Jay Rosehill are prime candidates. That would leave Caputi and centre Nazem Kadri. If the 19-year-old Kadri isn’t going to play on the top two lines, he could be demoted. But Caputi isn’t distracting himself trying to play amateur GM.

“You just wait around for your opportunity,” Caputi said. “Just being around the NHL guys is good.

“I love Freddy, too, his stall is next to mine and we talk all the time. It’s just the way things are, it’s a business. At times it doesn’t go in your favour, but you can’t sit there and pout about it, you have to come back and work harder. That’s the way I’m going to go about it.”

He insists he’s not getting a swelled head at the glowing early season media reviews.

“I don’t pay much attention, but you know yourself if you’re playing well and if you have more to give. I’m happy with the way things are going.”

The added weight allows Caputi to protect the puck better, especially on power plays where he admits he was getting worked over pretty good by foes when he was with the Pens. Reinforcement from Wilson and Burke has been gold, too.

“They give me tidbits here and there and you take it for what it’s worth,” Caputi said. “They’ve been in the league a long time, so whenever they give you advice or positive feedback it’s good. Store it in the back of your head and keep doing what you’re doing. “It will be good to get the season started and see what happens.”