Francis J. Caprice (born April 2, 1962) 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 ...

former 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 ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who spents parts of six seasons with the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

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 ...

in the 1980s. After his time with the Canucks Caprice played mainly in Italy and the United Kingdom, retiring in 1999.

Playing career

Caprice was Vancouver's ninth round selection (178th overall) in the

1981 NHL Entry Draft Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Fr ...

. In the year following his selection, he improved his stock greatly, winning 24 games for the

London Knights The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...

and representing Canada at the 1982 World Junior Championships. He won all three of his starts at the World Juniors, helping Canada to the gold medal. Following the season, he signed with the Canucks and turned pro. Caprice spent most of his first pro season in the AHL, although he did make his NHL debut, playing the 3rd period in a blowout to the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

. Caprice's big opportunity came in the 1983–84, when the Canucks' starting goalie Richard Brodeur was injured. In his starting debut against 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 ...

on ''

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'', Caprice earned first-star honours in a 3-2 Canucks victory. He posted a solid 8-8-1 mark with a 3.34 GAA, the best performance of any of the three Canuck goalies that year. Based on his fine performance in 1983–84, Caprice was given a chance to usurp Brodeur as the Canucks' starter in 1984–85, although he struggled and then tore his hamstring, causing him to miss three months of action. He finished the season with an 8-14-3 mark and 4.81 GAA in 28 appearances, and never seriously challenged for the #1 spot again. In 1985–86, Caprice again struggled, posting an 0-3-2 record and terrible 5.45 GAA in 7 appearances, and was demoted to the AHL in favour of

Wendell Young Wendell Edward Young (born August 1, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently the general manager of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Wendell's moniker is "Ringmaster" as he is currently t ...

. However, he reclaimed the backup job in 1986–87, and posted a 3.84 GAA in 25 appearances, his best since his rookie year. In 1987–88, he appeared in 22 games backing up 21-year-old

Kirk McLean Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Ran ...

as the aging Brodeur was relegated to 11 appearances. In 1988–89, Caprice was relegated to the IHL as the Canucks decided to go with a goaltending tandem of McLean and Steve Weeks. For the 1989–90 season, Caprice was dealt to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

for a ninth round pick. However, he spent the entire season in the minors and was released at the end of the year. Following his release from the Bruins, Caprice spent most of the 1990s playing in Italy and later in Britain with the Cardiff Devils, before retiring in 1999 and returning to his hometown of Hamilton. He came out of retirement in 2001 to represent the

Dundas, Ontario : ''For the county in eastern Ontario see Dundas County, Ontario. For the upper tier county, see United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.'' Dundas is a community and town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the ''Valley Town' ...

team at the 2001

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

. In 1993, Caprice played for the

Vancouver VooDoo The Vancouver VooDoo were an inline hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, which played in Roller Hockey International (RHI). The VooDoo were one of the original 12 teams to join the league in 1993. Founded and owned by Tiger Wil ...

Roller Hockey International Roller Hockey International was a professional inline hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major professional league for inline hockey. History League president Dennis Murphy had been involved in the ...

. Caprice appeared in 102 NHL games over 6 NHL seasons, posting a 31-46-11 record with a 4.19 GAA and one shutout.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caprice, Frank 1962 births Living people Ayr Scottish Eagles players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Cardiff Devils players Dallas Black Hawks players Fredericton Express players Ice hockey people from Ontario Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario London Knights players Maine Mariners players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Val Gardena HC players Vancouver Canucks draft picks Vancouver Canucks players Vancouver VooDoo players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in England Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Scotland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Wales Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Italy