Daniel Delpaggio is off to represent the Superior International Junior Hockey League at the Canadian Junior Hockey League prospects game in Yarmouth N.S. this weekend.
But the Thunder Bay North Stars forward had some unfinished business to take care of first.
The 17-year-old forward scored his eighth and ninth goals of the season Tuesday night, helping the Stars to a 5-3 Fort William Gardens win over the Dryden Ice Dogs, his final game before heading to the East Coast.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I wasn’t really thinking about it too much because I just wanted to think about this game. Now I’m going to focus up on that. I can’t think of a better way,” said Delpaggio, who leads the North Stars (10-1-2) with 17 points.
Undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League, he knows this is the opportunity of a lifetime to continue his hockey career and possibly take it to the next level – or higher.
“Hopefully I get seen by NCAA scouts or maybe major junior. But I’m just going to try my best and whatever happens, happens,” he said.
Not a bad way to go out, Delpaggio added.
“Obviously it’s nice to contribute and build up a little bit of my confidence for the weekend. But the main thing is that we won and I can help the boys win the game. That’s all that matters, really,” said DelPaggio, who has six goals in his past three games and points in six straight.
Former pro player Jeremy Adduono, a rookie behind the North Stars bench this season, says there’s plenty to like about the youngster. He’s produced on the ice, he’s a great kid off of it and always gives it his all, Adduono said.
“With his talent and his skill, and now he’s gaining more experience and more confidence. He’s got the opportunity to play in some good situations with some good players and he’s taking advantage,” Adduono said.
“Being at the Team Canada West camp and now being named to the prospects game only adds to his confidence. We’re pushing him and hopefully he’ll continue to get better as the season goes on.”
Adduono has seen a lot of players in his time, but said at 17 it’s hard to predict how a player might develop once he hits his 20s.
“I’ve been around this game long enough that I know that timing is everything. I talk to him often, like I do a lot of my guys, and I just tell him to try to find something he can do each day to make himself better, whether it’s on the ice or off the ice,” Adduono said.
“We’re going to guide him as much as possible, but right now I think the possibilities are endless for him.”
Delpaggio scored the lone goal of the first, a rocket wrist shot from the right circle that caught Dryden goalie Shayne Dietl looking.
Mattias Gardiman doubled the lead 1:23 into the second. The Ice Dogs got one back five minutes later and had a chance to tie the score shortly afterward when Tyson Holder hit the post. But it was the Stars who capitalized, racing down the ice with a goal of their own off Cary Brown’s stick.
Delpaggio stretched the lead to 4-1 at 13:30, but the Holder responded on the power play at 16:33.
The teams traded goals in the third, Brandon Wolframe netting his fourth of the season at 15:41.
Exactly a minute later Dane Feeney, the Ice Dogs on a five-minute power play after Tim Cavar was ejected for a knee-on-knee collision with Dryden’s Ryan Salazar, beat North Star Nathanial Dupuis to pull within a pair.
Dupuis, returning after a lengthy injury, stopped 34 shots to earn the win. Dietl made 35 saves in the loss for Dryden, who slipped below .500 at 9-10-0.
