Drake Caggiula (; born June 20, 1994) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

currently playing for the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliates of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He previously played for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

and the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

Early life

Caggiula was born on June 20, 1994, in

Pickering, Ontario Pickering (2021 population 99,186) is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada, immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. Beginning in the 1770s, the area was settled by primarily ethnic British colonists. An increase in population occurre ...

, Canada to parents Sal and Terri Caggiula. His father coached and mentored him from the ages of eight to 15.

Playing career

Junior

Growing up in Pickering, Caggiula played minor midget hockey with the Ajax/Pickering Raiders in 2009–10 before being drafted in the third round of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) by the

Erie Otters The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...

. At the time of the draft, Caggiula had finished the season with 95 points through 66 games. In order to maintain his NCAA eligibility, Caggiula chose to instead play with the

Stouffville Spirit The Stouffville Spirit are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. The Stouffville Spirit are members of the Central Canadian Hockey League of the Ontario Hockey Association. History From 1970 until 1984, th ...

of the

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

(OJHL). As a rookie in the OJHL, Caggiula was selected for the OJHL North-West Conference 1st Team All-Prospect after tallying 45 points in 48 games. Due to his success at the junior level, Caggiula was drafted by the

Des Moines Buccaneers The Des Moines Buccaneers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the United States Hockey League (USHL). The team has played in the Western Conference since the 2009–10 season. History The Buccaneers began USHL play during the 1980–81 season ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictly ...

. He attended the Buccaneers USHL Fall Classic event before returning to the Spirit for another season. During this time, Caggiula verbally accepted a full scholarship offer to play

college hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

for the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. Upon returning to the Spirit for a second season, Caggiula helped push them through a long playoff berth by tallying 17 goals and 37 points en route to their first-ever OJHL title. He was subsequently selected for the OJHL 1st Team All-Prospect for the second straight season and was named the most valuable player of the OJHL playoffs. During the season, Caggiula also participated in the inaugural Central Canada Cup Challenge championship against the Ligue de Hockey Junior AAA du Quebec All-Stars

Collegiate

Caggiula played for the Fighting Sioux at the University of North Dakota from 2012 to 2016 while majoring in

kinesiology Kinesiology () is the scientific study of human body movement. Kinesiology addresses physiological, anatomical, biomechanical, pathological, neuropsychological principles and mechanisms of movement. Applications of kinesiology to human health ...

. Upon joining the team for his freshman season, Caggiula played as a left-winger alongside

Rocco Grimaldi Rocco Niccolas Grimaldi (born February 8, 1993) is an American professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing with the San Diego Gulls of the American Hockey League (AHL). Grimaldi was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the second rou ...

and

Carter Rowney Carter Rowney (born May 10, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently under contract with Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Rowney has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pitt ...

. In his freshman year at North Dakota, Caggiula played in 39 games and ranked second among the team's rookies in points, goals, and assists. The following season, Caggiula participated in the 2014 Frozen Four, where North Dakota lost 2–1 against Minnesota. Prior to his junior year at North Dakota, Caggiula was invited and participated in the

2014 Development camp. He began his junior season strong by averaging 1.44 points per game during November for 13 points through nine games. His point total led the conference and was tied for third nationally. At the conclusion of his junior year, Caggiula was named to the NCHC Second All-Star Team. 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. He was also named to the Second-Team All-American West and to the NCHC First All-Star Team. Following the end of the season, Caggiula gained attention from numerous NHL teams as the top available collegiate free agent. On May 7, 2016, Caggiula agreed to a two-year entry-level deal with the

Professional

Although Caggiula was expected to make his debut on October 12, it was delayed due to an injury. His debut eventually came on November 19 in a 5–2 win over the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and were founde ...

. Caggiula scored his first NHL goal on December 3, 2016 in an Oilers overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. On June 14, 2018, Caggiula re-signed with the Oilers on a two-year contract. During the 2018–19 season, Caggiula suffered a hand injury during a game against the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

and was placed on injured reserve. At the time of the injury, Caggiula had recorded 10 points in 23 games. On December 30, 2018, Caggiula was traded by the Oilers along with

Jason Garrison Jason John Maxwell Garrison (born November 13, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenseman currently an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League (AHL). Garrison played two y ...

to the

in exchange for

Brandon Manning Brandon Manning (born June 4, 1990) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Straubing Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Manning previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chica ...

and

Robin Norell Robin Norell (born February 18, 1995) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing with the IK Oskarshamn of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Norell was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fourth round (111th ov ...

. On February 1, 2019, Caggiula scored his first goal as a Blackhawk in a 7–3 win against the

. 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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. 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. On December 21, 2020, Caggiula was signed to a one-year, $700,000 contract with the

. In the pandemic delayed

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, Caggiula appeared in 27 regular season contests, posting 1 goal and 7 points, before he was placed on waivers by Arizona on April 8, 2021, and was subsequently claimed by the

the following day. On July 27, 2021, Caggiula signed a one-year, $750,000 extension with the Sabres. As a free agent from the Sabres, on July 13, 2022, Caggiula signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Personal life

His older brother Brody previously played hockey and is a Level 4R Ontario Minor Hockey Association official.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caggiula, Drake 1994 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans Arizona Coyotes players Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Chicago Blackhawks players Des Moines Buccaneers players Edmonton Oilers players Ice hockey people from Ontario North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey players People from Pickering, Ontario Pittsburgh Penguins players Undrafted National Hockey League players University of North Dakota alumni Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins players