By Nick Nollenberger (@NickNollen)
Luca Cagnoni has been proving he belongs his entire life, even if others don’t see it right away.
Through the first five months of his professional career, all spent with the Barracuda in the AHL, the 20-year-old is putting together one of the best offensive seasons for a Sharks blueline prospect—maybe ever.
He leads the league in power-play points (31), six ahead of the next closest player, ranks second in power-play assists (22), and is tied for fourth in power-play goals (9). Among defensemen, he is second in points (47) and tied for second in goals (13).
It wasn’t clear in the fall if he’d begin his pro career this season, as there was an option for him to return to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks. But as Sharks camp unfolded, he kept sticking around and was one of the final cuts before the season began.
“We kept an open mind with Luca, knowing it’s really hard to play in this league (AHL) as a 19-year-old,” said Barracuda General Manager Joe Will during a January conference call with the media. “He was playing like he belonged, and that was the turning point for me.”
For a player with such offensive gifts, it’s hard to imagine he wasn’t always this way. But the Burnaby, B.C., native can pinpoint the exact time, team, and coach that gave him the green light to make offensive plays, unlocking one of the best parts of his game.
“I was 13… the coach was named Leland Mack. He was a big skills guy. It was my first year where, as a defenseman, I was doing skills every day, fine-tuning my game,” said Cagnoni. “I just worked on it a lot, and he started to give me the green light. I started playing power play that year, and the goals and assists started coming. I kind of just found my game there.”
“I think he’s probably giving me too much credit,” said Leland Mack, Cagnoni’s former coach at the Burnaby Winter Club. “Kids these days don’t want to hear what they can’t do; they want to hear what they can do. With Luca and all the defensemen, I told them, ‘You have to play defense, but you’ve also got to play offense.’ So I always pushed for that complete player.”
Although hockey has become faster and more skilled, size is still a commodity coveted by NHL organizations—and in Luca’s case, even among junior teams.
Because of his size, or lack thereof—five-foot-nine, 180 pounds—some evaluators and coaches, right or wrong, have put a glass ceiling on his career. But what the measurables don’t reveal is his NHL-caliber hockey sense and elite skating ability.
Growing up 20 minutes outside Vancouver, Cagnoni dreamed of playing in the Western Hockey League (WHL). Despite being a standout at the Burnaby Winter Club—a program that has produced countless NHL stars, including Islanders forward Mat Barzal and Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, along with legends like Paul Kariya and six-time Stanley Cup champion Glenn Anderson—he was not drafted into the WHL.
Teams liked his game, but at five-foot-two and maybe 145 pounds, they hesitated.
“After I didn’t get drafted, I got invited to two camps—Winnipeg, when they were still Winnipeg, and Spokane,” said Cagnoni. “I went to their camps, and they basically said, ‘We’ll keep watching you.’ My first game of the season during my U15 year, I guess Portland was there, and they called me that night and listed me. A couple of months into my season, they signed me.”
Due to COVID, WHL teams expanded their rosters, opening the door for Cagnoni, who had already begun considering NCAA programs. With his sights still set on the WHL, all he needed was a chance.
“The way Portland plays allows a defenseman like that to flourish,” said Mack. “It was a perfect fit, and he was so good there. Even though I scout for a different team, I think I might have told him, ‘That is going to be the perfect place for you.’”
The rest, as they say, is history. He made Portland’s roster and quickly became a budding star in the league. In his draft year, 2023, he scored 17 goals and added 47 assists in 67 games.
Throughout Mike Grier’s tenure as Sharks general manager, the organization has emphasized drafting big players. But there have been exceptions.
“He thinks the game at an incredible level,” said Sharks director of player development Todd Marchant during development camp this past summer. “He's not the biggest player, but he's strong in his lower half and solid on his feet.”
Last season, Cagnoni led all WHL defensemen with 90 points and 72 assists, finishing tied for third among the group with 18 goals in 65 games with the Portland Winterhawks. He earned U.S. Division First All-Star Team recognition and became the first WHL blueliner since 1993-94 to reach the 90-point threshold, finishing nine points clear of the next-closest defenseman.
One might assume a smaller, offensively gifted junior player would need to improve defensively to succeed as a pro.
Of course, every player must refine their game, but Cagnoni has been incredibly effective defensively this season. His skating and hockey IQ allow him to use angles and strong stick positioning to break up plays. His elusiveness helps him avoid taking big hits.
While some might be surprised by his defensive ability at the pro level, his former coach is not.
“That U15 prep division is the best of the best. That year, we had to play against Connor Bedard six or seven times,” said Mack. “I don’t ever remember thinking or saying, ‘You’ve got to defend better, Luca.’ Our team wasn’t bruising or hard to play against, but if your angles and stick positioning are good and you can separate the player from the puck, that’s the ultimate goal.”
Vancouver is a hotbed for talent, so if you stand out, you’ve probably got a bright future. Cagnoni was one of three defensemen from his Burnaby Winter Club U15 team to be drafted into the NHL, alongside Mats Lindgren (Buffalo) and Aiden Celebrini (Vancouver), the older brother of Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini.
It wasn’t uncommon for NHL players—or even hockey royalty—to be around the program in the spring and summer. Mack even recalled seeing Scotty Bowman watching one of their practices from the stands.
Back in February, The Athletic ranked the Sharks’ prospect pool No. 1 in the NHL. Cagnoni was listed as their No. 5 prospect—the only player in the top 11 not selected in the first two rounds of the NHL Draft.
The secret might be out: the Sharks may have found something special in their 2023 fourth-round pick. With San Jose selling at the trade deadline, Mike Grier didn’t rule out the possibility of Cagnoni making his NHL debut before the season’s end.
The Barracuda lead the league in power-play percentage (24.31%), with 56 power-play goals—six more than the next-closest team. Cagnoni has been at the heart of that success, already setting a single-season franchise record for power-play goals, assists, and points by a defenseman.
“Deceptive—that’s the first word that comes to mind with him,” said Barracuda head coach John McCarthy. “He’s able to shake defenders on the breakout or in transition, and at the offensive blue line, both five-on-five and on the power play, he’s able to create time and space with his vision and skating.”
Despite the doubters, Cagnoni has proved he can play at every level of his career. Now, the next box to check is the NHL.