No place like home
If not for a chance meeting with Patrick McCabe, David D’Agostino may be playing elsewhere this season.
D’Agostino ran into McCabe, a pesky winger with the Niagara Falls Canucks, during the summer and the two began discussing the upcoming season.
D’Agostino played the past two years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and decided to come home for his final season of junior hockey. McCabe suggested giving Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo a call and the wheels for a deal were set in motion.
“We talked and he came down here and I met with him and that was it, he said he wanted to play,” Pietrangelo said. “For me, it was a no-brainer. I remember him as a rookie with Thorold and knew he was a really good player.”
D’Agostino, a 20-year-old native of Niagara-on-the-Lake, admitted it was a tough decision to leave the Brooks Bandits, a perennial contender and host of the nationals this season.
“It’s a good organization and a good program,” D’Agostino said. “I went through some injuries (knee surgery) that set me back.
“It wasn’t really an organization I wanted to leave at a time like that, but I didn’t have a year to prove myself and solidify a spot for myself. The safest bet was to try and look for something new. I knew they would be doing things to try and win.”
Just over a month into the season with the Canucks and D’Agostino seems satisfied he made the right decision.
“This was what I was trying to foresee in my decision making and I think I predicted everything exactly how I wanted it to end up,” he said. “It could be like this if I went back out west but I’m happy I made this decision. It was a little bit safer.”
D’Agostino is a mobile rearguard who has produced four goals and 16 points in 13 games for the Canucks.
“He does everything for us,” Pietrangelo said. “He’s on our power play and penalty kill and plays big minutes for us. He’s just so smart and sees the ice so well.
“I’ve always said playing with so many elite defenceman over the years, they can kind of bring the game to their level. They can slow the game down to their level. He’s got that ability. He’s so poised with the puck.”
Pietrangelo feels D’Agostino’s smarts are what set him apart.
“He’s not the fastest skater or the biggest guy or have the hardest shot, but he has those intangibles and is able to get the job done,” he said. “He has hockey sense and a high hockey IQ.”
D’Agostino has also evolved into a leader in his short time in Niagara Falls.
“He’s a quiet guy who goes about his business everyday,” Pietrangelo said. “He’s a great leader and he’s taken some of the younger guys under his wing and he’s been really good on and off the ice.
“He’s been a really good find for us.”
D’Agostino, a psychology major at Brock, is enjoying the Canucks early-season success.
“We have a great squad so I can’t say it’s all just me. There are a lot of guys in there who are doing a lot.
“I’m happy to be able to get a little bit of my game back. I’m still developing coming off my injury.”
The Canucks won their first 12 games of the season before finally losing 4-1 at home to Hamilton Friday.
“You never like to lose. It’s never easy to accept losing,” Pietrangelo said. “We didn’t have our best night, for sure, but Hamilton is a good hockey club. If you’re not prepared to play, you’re going to lose. The next night, they lost in Fort Erie.
“We’ve been very good early in the getting ready and preparing for the next game. We just have to reset and get ready for Friday.”
The Canucks host the Meteors Friday.
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