Riley Damiani

Riley Damiani (born March 20, 2000) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Texas Stars in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Riley Damiani
Born (2000-03-20) March 20, 2000
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Right
NHL team (P)
Cur. team		 Dallas Stars
Texas Stars (AHL)
NHL Draft 137th overall, 2018
Dallas Stars
Playing career 2019–present

Early life

Damiani was born on March 20, 2000, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada[1] to parents Rino and Jennifer. He is the middle of three brothers.[2] As his father Rino grew up alongside Raami Durzi, Damiani was childhood friend with defenceman Sean Durzi. They played together with the Mississauga Rebels before joining the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).[3]

Playing career

Growing up in Mississauga, Damiani played minor midget hockey with the Mississauga Rebels of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) before joining the OHL. While with the Rebels during the 2015–16 regular season, Damiani registered 34 goals and 41 assists for 75 points through 71 games.[4] He also tallied two assists to help the GTHL Blue team win the 2016 OHL Gold Cup.[5] As a result, Damiani was drafted 29th overall by the Kitchener Rangers in the 2016 OHL Priority Selection.[4]

Major junior

Upon joining the Rangers for the 2016–17 season, Damiani was chosen to represent Team Canada Red at the 2016 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.[6] He then tallied his first major junior goal in a 9–3 win over the Sudbury Wolves on October 2, 2016.[7] Following the 2016–17 season, Damiani was awarded the Jim McGeachie Memorial Award for Outstanding Team Effort and the Les Bradley Award for Most Improved Player.[8]

Damiani returned to the Rangers for the 2017–18 season where he set new career highs in goals, assists, points, power-play goals, shorthanded goals, and game-winning goals.[1] By December 2017, Damiani surpassed his goal total from his rookie season and nearly beat his previous season's point total.[9] As a result of his offensive abilities, Damiani was listed by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on their Midterm Rankings among North American Skaters.[10] He helped push the Rangers to a playoff berth although they were eliminated in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.[11] Following their elimination, Damiani was selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth-round, 137th overall, of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[8]

Damiani began the 2018–19 OHL season strong by centring the Rangers' top line and playing on their power play and penalty kills. [12] On December 11, 2018, Damiani was suspended for five games after he flipped a puck into the crowd following the Kingston Frontenacs empty-net goal.[13] Following the suspension, Damiani registered his second straight four-point game, including scoring the opening goal within 33 seconds.[14] Later that season, he tallied a hat-trick in a 6–3 win over the Erie Otters on March 14, 2019.[15] Damiani subsequently finished the season with a career-best 85 points while scoring on 29% of the Rangers' power plays.[12] His play earned him numerous team awards including being named the co-winner of the teams' Most Valuable Player Award and their Three-Star Award.[16]

Prior to the start of the 2019–20 season, Damiani participated in his second Dallas Stars Development Camp[17] and was invited to Hockey Canada's World Junior Summer Development Camp.[18] While attending the Stars' Development Camp, player development coordinator Rich Peverley praised his passing ability and shot blockings.[12] Upon returning to the OHL, Damiani was named co-captain of the Rangers alongside Greg Meireles.[19] Damiani began the season strong and tallied a hat-trick on October 4, 2019, against the Owen Sound Attack.[20] He continued to produce offensively and was selected to partake in Game 3 of the CHL Canada/Russia Series as a member of Team OHL.[21]

Professional

On April 1, 2019, Damiani signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Stars and an amateur tryout agreement with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars, for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.[22] He then began his first full professional season in 2021 with the Texas Stars. As a rookie, he registered a team leading 25 assists and 36 points through 36 regular season games and was selected to the AHL's All-Rookie Team. He was awarded the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's Rookie of the Year.[23]

Damiani remained with the Texas Stars in the following 2021–22 season, posting 18 points through 21 games before receiving his first recall to Dallas on December 14, 2021.[24] He made his NHL debut that night, scoring his first NHL goal, in a 4–1 defeat to the St. Louis Blues.[25]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2015–16 Georgetown Raiders OJHL 4 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0
2016–17 Kitchener Rangers OHL 62 9 13 22 29 5 1 1 2 6
2017–18 Kitchener Rangers OHL 64 19 18 37 38 19 5 7 12 10
2018–19 Kitchener Rangers OHL 58 30 55 85 27 4 0 1 1 4
2018–19 Texas Stars AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Kitchener Rangers OHL 61 28 50 78 32 — — — — —
2020–21 Texas Stars AHL 36 11 25 36 18 — — — — —
2021–22 Texas Stars AHL 55 13 23 36 42 2 0 0 0 0
2021–22 Dallas Stars NHL 7 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2022–23 Texas Stars AHL 59 13 18 31 28 6 2 1 3 2
NHL totals 7 1 1 2 2 — — — — —

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2016 Canada Red U17 6th 5 1 2 3 14
Junior totals 5 1 2 3 14

Awards and honours
Award Year
AHL
Central Division All-Star Team 2021 [26]
All-Rookie Team 2021
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award 2021 [23]

References
  1. "Riley Damiani". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. Brown, Josh (June 2, 2016). "Rangers rookie Damiani adds skill and heart". The Record. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  3. Brown, Josh (March 21, 2019). "Best friends Riley Damiani and Sean Durzi face off in Kitchener Rangers- Guelph Storm series". mississauga.com. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  4. "Riley Damiani Commits to Rangers". Ontario Hockey League. June 2, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  5. "Damiani and GTHL Blue claim 2016 OHL Gold Cup". Kitchener Rangers. May 5, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  6. "Damiani, Guest and Vallati to represent Canada". Kitchener Rangers. October 12, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  7. "Rangers score three shorthanded, two on the power play in rout of Wolves". Kitchener Rangers. October 2, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  8. "Riley Damiani drafted to the Dallas Stars". Kitchener Rangers. June 23, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  9. "SPOTLIGHT: Riley Damiani blazing his path to the pros". Kitchener Rangers. December 12, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  10. "Four Rangers listed on NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings". Kitchener Rangers. January 22, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  11. "Rangers season ends in Game 7, double OT heartbreak". Kitchener Rangers. May 1, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  12. DeFranks, Matthew (June 27, 2019). "Just how valuable is Stars prospect Riley Damiani? Look no further than his 'dead on' passing skills". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  13. Pare, Mark (December 11, 2018). "Damiani suspended five games for flipping puck into crowd". CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  14. Pare, Mark (February 1, 2019). "Hugg's hat trick leads Kitchener to win over Owen Sound". CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  15. Nielsen, Kevin (March 14, 2019). "Kitchener Rangers double up Erie Otters". Global News. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  16. Brown, Josh (March 17, 2019). "Meireles, Damiani big winners in Rangers team awards". parrysound.com. Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  17. "2019 Development Camp Roster" (PDF). National Hockey League. 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  18. "Damiani named to Canada's National Junior Team Sport Chek Summer Development Camp". Kitchener Rangers. June 19, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  19. "Damiani and Meireles named Rangers co-captains". Ontario Hockey League. September 20, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  20. Pare, Mark (October 4, 2019). "Damiani draws the hats in Rangers rally". CityNews. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  21. Brown, Josh (November 7, 2019). "Riley Damiani does his best to stick out in Canada-Russia Series". The Record. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  22. "Stars sign center Riley Damiani to three-year, entry-level contract". National Hockey League. April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  23. "Riley Damiani wins AHL Rookie of the Year". Texas Stars. June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  24. "Stars recall forwards Damiani and Dellandrea". Dallas Stars. December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  25. "Blues win 4-1 to snap Stars streak". ESPN. December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  26. "2020-21 AHL All-Star Teams". American Hockey League. May 26, 2021. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
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