Joe Vitale (ice hockey)
| Joe Vitale | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 20, 1985 St. Louis, MO, USA |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) |
| Position | Center |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Arizona Coyotes Pittsburgh Penguins |
| NHL Draft | 195th overall, 2005 Pittsburgh Penguins[1] |
| Playing career | 2009–present |
Joe Vitale (born August 20, 1985) is an American ice hockey player who plays for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League. Vitale began his professional career in 2009 with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.
Playing career
Amateur
Joe Vitale graduated from Christian Brothers College High School in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was part of three state championships and two undefeated seasons. 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.[2]
On July 30, 2005, Vitale was drafted by the Penguins with the 195th selection in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.[3] He enrolled in Northeastern University and began his college career as a freshman for the Huskies 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.[2] 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.[4]
Professional
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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
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.
On February 3, 2012, Vitale was re-signed by the Pittsburgh Penguins with a two-years contract extension, worth $1.1 million.[8]
As a free agent, Vitale joined his second NHL team in signing a three-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2014.[9]
Personal life
Vitale is married and has two children, a daughter and a son.
Career statistics
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 68 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 56 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 2012–13 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 33 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2013–14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 53 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 29 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | Arizona Coyotes | NHL | 70 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 233 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 151 | 23 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | ||||
Awards and honors
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| All-Hockey East Second Team | 2007–08 | |
References
- ↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Northeastern Men's Hockey 2008-09 - #26 Joe Vitale". Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ "Pittsburgh Penguins — Team: Joe Vitale Official Player Page — Bio/News". Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ "Joe Vitale's statistics profile at hockeydb.com". Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ Bombulie, Jonathan. "Goalie of the Future — Penguins Insider — Community Server". Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ "theahl.com : Stats". Retrieved 9 July 2009.
- ↑ "Vitale re-signs to two-year contract". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-01-15.
- ↑ "Penguins Re-Sign Forward Joe Vitale to a Two-Year Contract Extension". Pittsburgh Penguins. 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
- ↑ "Arizona Coyotes sign Joe Vitale, Devan Dubnyk". National Hockey League. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
External links
- Joe Vitale's player profile at NHL.com
- Joe Vitale's career statistics at EliteProspects.com
- Joe Vitale's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Matt Greene |
Hockey East Best Defensive Forward 2008–09 |
Succeeded by Ben Holmstrom |