Undersized 2023 NHL Draft prospect Luca Cagnoni lets his high-end skill do the talking

Credit: Matthew Wolfe Photography

NASHVILLE – Luca Cagnoni was asked at the NHL Draft combine what the best chirp he has ever heard was.

“It’s always something about my height,” the 5-foot-9 defenseman said. “Some people will be like, “I can’t see you down there,” or “What’s the weather like there?”

Cagnoni isn’t bothered about the discussion about his smaller frame. He laughs about it himself. He knows it’s never easy for a smaller defenseman to make it to the NHL, but it’s out of his control. Cagnoni takes it all in stride because he believes in every other aspect of his game.

And he should, for good reason.

Cagnoni is one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL Draft, putting up 17 goals and 64 points with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks this year. He finished 10th in scoring among draft eligibles this year, and second among defensemen behind Tri-City’s Lukas Dragicevic (75 points). Etienne Morin of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats is the only other first-year eligible defenseman with more points than Cagnoni this year. Not to mention, he was five points behind 19-year-old Gabriel Klassen for the team lead in Portland.

So it’s unfair to write off Cagnoni just due to size, because the skill is there. We ranked him 41st in our final rankings, higher than most others. From a pure skill perspective, Cagnoni is one of the best defensemen in the class. But we also can’t ignore reality: there are very few undersized defensemen in the NHL for a reason. It’s difficult to be 5-foot-9 and shut down players without other high-end talents to counteract. Jared Spurgeon, who Cagnoni loves to watch, is 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds. He’s one heck of a defender. But after that, only one other 5-foot-9-or-smaller defenseman played 60+ games (Torey Krug), and only seven played a game at all this year.

The odds are not in Cagnoni’s favor. But don’t count him out just yet.

From a style perspective, there’s a lot of Samuel Girard in Cagnoni’s game. He plays a smart, calculated game that doesn’t try to force plays to generate something. Cagnoni is evasive with the puck, using his quick footwork to get himself out of trouble. Scouts describe his skating as dynamic, with good edge work, start-stop control, and his ability to rush down at high speed as a puck-receiver or a playmaker.

Where Cagnoni falls is his own-zone play, although that’s an area he saw significant improvement in this year. Early on, it seemed like he wasn’t using his speed to his advantage, losing puck races to play a more conservative game. Many scouts wished to see him want the puck more because they knew what he was capable of when he had it. Cagnoni could also benefit from being more manipulative under pressure, too.

“His skill deficits are things he’ll improve with time and coaching,” a scout said. “I wouldn’t be too concerned there. But he’s still trending towards being more of an offensive defenseman at the NHL level, and he’ll likely still need to strengthen his puck control and offensive zone decision-making if he’s going to succeed.”

“He’s so good on the transition, and is dominant as an offensive defender,” another scout added. “We just need to see more of it.”

Cagnoni says he likes to use leverage to his advantage to overcome his lack of size. He knows he can’t overpower stronger competition, but his lower center of gravity can be an asset.

“I feel like I’m pretty heavy, especially in the lower half of my body,” the 182-pound defender said. “I don’t think I’m going to out-muscle guys over 6-foot-2. So it’s all lower strength for me and cutting people’s hands off.”

(Hopefully, he doesn’t mean literally).

Cagnoni will likely go in the second round of the NHL Draft – public rankings have him going anywhere as high as 25th and as low as 110th. It really depends on how you view his size as a factor. While the NHL has become more forgiving for smaller forwards, the trend among defensemen has been the complete opposite. Most smaller defensemen become depth pieces bouncing between the NHL and AHL. Will that be Cagnoni’s fate? Perhaps, but you don’t find blueliners putting up points like Cagnoni all too often.

Next year will be about refining his defensive game while figuring out how to add a bit more physicality to his game. And smaller defensemen could be more in demand by the time he’s ready for the NHL. The high-end potential here is tremendous, and we know teams covet puck-moving, high-offense defenders right now. So Cagnoni could be coming up at the exact right time, and a team willing to take a chance on him early in Day 2 could be coming out like kings when we’re all said and done.

Not bad for an undrafted WHL free agent signing, huh?

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Undersized 2023 NHL Draft prospect Luca Cagnoni lets his high-end skill do the talking

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