| Joe Vitale | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 20, 1985 St. Louis, MO, USA |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Center |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team (P) Cur. team |
Pittsburgh Penguins Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL) |
| NHL Draft | 195th overall, 2005 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
Joe Vitale (born August 20, 1985) is an American ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins organization of the National Hockey League. Vitale began his professional career in 2009 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.
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Joe Vitale graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was part of three state championships, two undefeated seasons and one national title. He also played for the St. Louis Jr. Blues of the Central States Hockey League for two seasons, including a national championship in 2003-04. In 2004-05, he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede of the United States Hockey League.[1]
On July 30, 2005, Vitale was drafted by the Penguins with the 195th selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.[2] He enrolled in Northeastern University and began his college career as a freshman in 2005-06. He was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week in February and received Northeastern's Ed Arrington Memorial Rookie of the Year Award. In 2006-07, he was named alternate captain of the squad as a sophomore and was named to Hockey East's All-Academic Team. As a junior in 2007-08, he was named All-New England and New England's Most Improved Player, was named to the All-Hockey East Second Team, and was Northeastern's Most Valuable Player.[1] Vitale's college career concluded when Northeastern lost to Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Northeastern's first trip to the NCAA tournament in 15 years. He finished his career at Northeastern with 34 goals and 60 assists for 94 points and 268 penalty minutes in 143 games.[3]
On April 3, 2009, Vitale signed a one-year, entry level NHL contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 2009-10 season. He also signed an Amateur Try-Out contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the remainder of the 2008-09 season.[4] He recorded his first professional goal and assist on April 4, 2009 against the Albany River Rats. He finished the season with 4 points in 5 regular season games. Vitale also played in all 12 of the Penguins playoff games.[5] During the 2009–10 season, Vitale played in 74 games in the AHL, scoring six goals and recording 26 assists for a total of 32 points. In January 2010, the Penguins and Vitale agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2011–12 season.[6]
Vitale made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 10, 2011 against the Los Angeles Kings. On February 16, 2011, Vitale scored his first NHL goal against Peter Budaj of the Colorado Avalanche.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | Sioux Falls Stampede | USHL | 53 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Northeastern University | HE | 31 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Northeastern University | HE | 35 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Northeastern University | HE | 37 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Northeastern University | HE | 40 | 7 | 20 | 27 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2009–10 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 74 | 6 | 26 | 32 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 60 | 9 | 21 | 30 | 64 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||