PITTSBURGH REASSIGNS CAPUTI TO WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-assigned forward Luca Caputi to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL), it was announced Friday by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.

Caputi played in five games with Pittsburgh , including his NHL debut Feb. 3 at Montreal .  He notched his first career goal in the NHL 2:30 into the first period of his first NHL game, recording the second-fastest goal by a Penguins’ player making his debut.  Rick Kessell holds the record scoring 2:19 into his NHL debut March 21, 1970 versus Chicago .

Caputi appeared in 46 contests with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, ranking fourth with 35 points (13 goals and 22 assists) along with 35 penalty minutes at the time of his recall.  The 20-year old joined Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season just prior to the start of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs.  He contributed eight points (four goals, four assists) in 19 post-season contests with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Prior to joining the Penguins last season, the 6-3, 185-pound forward recorded 111 points (51 goals, 60 assists) in 66 games with the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).  Caputi ranked third overall in the OHL with 51 goals and fourth in scoring with 111 points.  He also played 10 playoff games scoring 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) before his club was eliminated in the second round of the OHL playoffs.

The native of Toronto , Ontario played four seasons in the OHL, spending three seasons with the Mississauga IceDogs and last season with the Niagara IceDogs.  Caputi appeared in 214 games in the OHL, registering 185 points (86 goals, 99 assists).  He was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.