F Tommaso De Luca - HC Ambrì-Piotta, NL (2023 undrafted)

[pgfan66]

He gets a chance to play pro hockey at the level that fits him and the team that has space for him. That comes with money, living at home, being in the locker room with pro players as opposed to a bunch of goofballs... Not many downsides.

He can do all those things in a year too.

 

[SoundAndFury]

He can do all those things in a year too.

Did you read the 2nd sentence of my post or is that beyond the attention span? He losses out on one year of salary, he still has to live in Spokane and CHL environment which he may or may not be comfortable with. You are literally saying "Why get a better job now when you can do it in a year?". What kind of logic is that?

Yes, he can do all that in a year but what is the downside for doing it NOW? Because I just listed a few quite significant upsides. He gets a salary, a car, is own flat most likely and he lives in his home country playing pro hockey. One would have to think that's appealing to most 18-year-olds and he was given this opportunity that most don't have.

 

[Hinterland]

I must say I strongly disagree. De Luca’s 0.75 points per game or whatever are nothing to scoff at but it’s not like he tore up the league. We debate so much about Swiss kids coming over too early who don’t succeed and the one time a guy is properly developing, he heads home immediately. There’s nothing wrong with having a breakout WHL season with a PPG+ and then going back to take on a big role in Switzerland. Why rush it?

I don't think he went overseas with the goal to tear up the league. He probably went over with the goal to prove he can play on North American ice and prove he's willing to go the extra mile in order to get drafted. Maybe Ambri also wasn't willing to give him enough opportunities just yet.

Now the NHL draft is upcoming. He can't do anything about it anymore, at least not in club hockey. He also got an offer from Ambri to play in their NL team which is at least two steps above the WHL. Also, it looks like the Rockets are most likely still gonna be around next season if the relocation to Bellinzona is successful. That gives DeLuca guaranteed heavy minutes in pro hockey and a league that's still better than the OHL. The one area I think the Canadian junior leagues are much better at than the Swiss pro leagues is coaching but Ambri does have one of the very few good Swiss born coaches with Luca Cereda.

Also, do you get that in Spokane?

 

[WeThreeKings]

Does that make him drafted out of Europe rather than the CHL?

 

[pgfan66]

Did you read the 2nd sentence of my post or is that beyond the attention span? He losses out on one year of salary, he still has to live in Spokane and CHL environment which he may or may not be comfortable with. You are literally saying "Why get a better job now when you can do it in a year?". What kind of logic is that?

Yes, he can do all that in a year but what is the downside for doing it NOW? Because I just listed a few quite significant upsides. He gets a salary, a car, is own flat most likely and he lives in his home country playing pro hockey. One would have to think that's appealing to most 18-year-olds and he was given this opportunity that most don't have.

It's fine to disagree – no reason to get personal.

I think I've had this argument with Europeans a million times on here already, so I usually just agree to disagree, but I'll make my point again here. There are tons of reasons to go pro as early as you can – like you said, players get a salary with basically no living expenses. With a very limited timeframe to earn money, this all makes sense. But from a purely developmental standpoint, I don't think it does.

For starters, staying in (North American major) junior has never hurt a player's development. Even Leon Draisaitl went back to the WHL after half a season with the Oilers. And Draisaitl was in the "way too good for junior" category at the time. De Luca is far from that. He had a decent-not-great year in Spokane. At the same time, there are endless examples of Swiss and German (mentioning them together because they're quite similar in terms of prospect talent level and CHL vs. pro success) prospects who turned pro as soon as they could and never quite panned out. More often than not, playing a top-of-the-lineup role in the CHL with 60+ games with 25 minutes of ice time is preferable to playing 0-10 minutes per game in a bottom-six role in a European pro league, whether it's the NL/DEL or SL/DEL2.

De Luca is one of the best prospects Switzerland has had in recent years. If he played another season in Spokane and returned afterwards, he'd easily step into an even bigger role with Ambrì than he will this year. He might miss out on what, CHF 50,000? But he might get more money more quickly after that, as he comes in with a bigger role as a better player.

I fully understand why many European players turn pro as soon as they can. But I strongly disagree with the notion that there are no downsides to signing with an NL club at 18 when you could play with Berkly Catton in Spokane.

Also, do you get that in Spokane?

Again, he could get that in Ambrì in a year. There is literally not a single reason to believe Ambrì would only take him now and if he stayed in Spokane he'd have to go somewhere else.

That said, Spokane has some of the most passionate fans in major junior and they frequently fill up their 11,000-seat arena – which is more than Ambrì's arena can fit, if I'm not mistaken. I know the fans don't compare to Europeans and I can only imagine how cool it must be to play in front of the fans in Ambrì. But attendance-wise, playing in Spokane is not the same as playing in Swiss junior. It's a pretty cool experience too.

Does that make him drafted out of Europe rather than the CHL?

I don't think so.

 

[Hinterland]

It's fine to disagree – no reason to get personal.

I think I've had this argument with Europeans a million times on here already, so I usually just agree to disagree, but I'll make my point again here. There are tons of reasons to go pro as early as you can – like you said, players get a salary with basically no living expenses. With a very limited timeframe to earn money, this all makes sense. But from a purely developmental standpoint, I don't think it does.

For starters, staying in (North American major) junior has never hurt a player's development. Even Leon Draisaitl went back to the WHL after half a season with the Oilers. And Draisaitl was in the "way too good for junior" category at the time. De Luca is far from that. He had a decent-not-great year in Spokane. At the same time, there are endless examples of Swiss and German (mentioning them together because they're quite similar in terms of prospect talent level and CHL vs. pro success) prospects who turned pro as soon as they could and never quite panned out. More often than not, playing a top-of-the-lineup role in the CHL with 60+ games with 25 minutes of ice time is preferable to playing 0-10 minutes per game in a bottom-six role in a European pro league, whether it's the NL/DEL or SL/DEL2.

De Luca is one of the best prospects Switzerland has had in recent years. If he played another season in Spokane and returned afterwards, he'd easily step into an even bigger role with Ambrì than he will this year. He might miss out on what, CHF 50,000? But he might get more money more quickly after that, as he comes in with a bigger role as a better player.

I fully understand why many European players turn pro as soon as they can. But I strongly disagree with the notion that there are no downsides to signing with an NL club at 18 when you could play with Berkly Catton in Spokane.



Again, he could get that in Ambrì in a year. There is literally not a single reason to believe Ambrì would only take him now and if he stayed in Spokane he'd have to go somewhere else.

That said, Spokane has some of the most passionate fans in major junior and they frequently fill up their 11,000-seat arena – which is more than Ambrì's arena can fit, if I'm not mistaken. I know the fans don't compare to Europeans and I can only imagine how cool it must be to play in front of the fans in Ambrì. But attendance-wise, playing in Spokane is not the same as playing in Swiss junior. It's a pretty cool experience too.


I don't think so.

Did you even read my post? Ambri has a farm team. Should he not get enough TOI with Ambri he can always play 20mins a night for the Ticino Rockets. He can also play for both teams at the same time. Also, Ambri is one of the few teams in Switzerland not afraid to play kids.

I agree that for Swiss kids there are lots of reasons to play CHL with our junior leagues being so weak but if you get an offer like DeLuca just did then you'd be dumb not to accept. This is nothing against the CHL. It's a well coached league with a focus on development. Which is very cool but still a far cry from pro hockey let alone a European top league like the NL.

 

[pgfan66]

Did you even read my post? Ambri has a farm team. Should he not get enough TOI with Ambri he can always play 20mins a night for the Ticino Rockets. He can also play for both teams at the same time. Also, Ambri is one of the few teams in Switzerland not afraid to play kids.

I agree that for Swiss kids there are lots of reasons to play CHL with our junior leagues being so weak but if you get an offer like DeLuca just did then you'd be dumb not to accept. This is nothing against the CHL. It's a well coached league with a focus on development. Which is very cool but still a far cry from pro hockey let alone a European top league like the NL.

Did you even read my post? There are so, so many examples of players who turned pro as soon as they could and struggled. Of course it could all work out. But all I’m saying is that staying in Spokane for another year would 100% not hurt his development while turning pro could. None of Ambrì’s U19 players played more than a couple games this season – there’s no guarantee that De Luca will. And I think playing against the best of the best in your age group is more beneficial than playing in the SL.

I agree that playing for Ambrì is excellent for De Luca long-term. But he easily could’ve come in as an NL regular after another year in Spokane.

 

[Hinterland]

Did you even read my post? There are so, so many examples of players who turned pro as soon as they could and struggled. Of course it could all work out. But all I’m saying is that staying in Spokane for another year would 100% not hurt his development while turning pro could. None of Ambrì’s U19 players played more than a couple games this season – there’s no guarantee that De Luca will. And I think playing against the best of the best in your age group is more beneficial than playing in the SL.

I agree that playing for Ambrì is excellent for De Luca long-term. But he easily could’ve come in as an NL regular after another year in Spokane.

I disagree. Playing SL having just turned 18 helped both Othmann and McTavish a lot and they completely dominated the league when they returned to the CHL. That extra CHL year proved to be a lost one for Othmann though and I actually predicted this. So playing CHL for too long can absolutely hurt your development. I agree that probably wouldn't be the case for DeLuca who didn't master the league like Othmann or McTavish did but playing SL would still be at least as helpful for him as playing CHL and should he get regular NL time then that would be absolutely huge for his development.

 

[GermanSpitfire]

Tommaso has a brother, Jacopo who could find himsef on NHL teams radars for the 2025 NHL draft.

​

 

[Hinterland]

Tommaso has a brother, Jacopo who could find himsef on NHL teams radars for the 2025 NHL draft.

​

Still a bit early but I doubt Jacopo is as talented as Tommaso. His brother playing in the same organization surely didn't make the decision for Tommaso any harder though.

 

[Gianpaolo]

I am little bit concerning about TOI he will get with Ambri. The team never made the playoffs in the past seasons, the coach Luca Cereda was pretty unsuccessful (except the Spengler Cup win) but has an unlimited contract with the team. Even if the CEO Filippo Lombardi stills supports Cereda in public, he will be a lot under pressure next year.

 

[Hinterland]

I am little bit concerning about TOI he will get with Ambri. The team never made the playoffs in the past seasons, the coach Luca Cereda was pretty unsuccessful (except the Spengler Cup win) but has an unlimited contract with the team. Even if the CEO Filippo Lombardi stills supports Cereda in public, he will be a lot under pressure next year.

Cereda is one of very few (you can count them on one hand) competent Swiss born coaches. Letting him go would be beyond dumb. Cereda and Duca, both former high IQ hockey players, are doing excellent work in Ambri with next to no money at hand.

If you say that Cereda has been unsuccessful...where do you think Ambri should rank? They have the smallest budget of all NL clubs and everybody except Langnau and Ajoie has much more money at hand. They're playing in a league where for at least half of the teams, money doesn't even matter. If they want a player, they pay pretty much whatever it takes to get him. That's how the NL works. Ambri is just a small village and unlike Davos they don't get to host a tournament to be able to throw with money. They also don't have a crazy rich owner like their local rivals. So what do you expect?

Also, as I said already...Ambri will likely be able to keep their farm team via relocation to Bellinzona. That's a very nice fallback option for prospects like De Luca. He can always go there and play 20mins SL vs men.

 

[Speyer]

I am little bit concerning about TOI he will get with Ambri. The team never made the playoffs in the past seasons, the coach Luca Cereda was pretty unsuccessful (except the Spengler Cup win) but has an unlimited contract with the team. Even if the CEO Filippo Lombardi stills supports Cereda in public, he will be a lot under pressure next year.

Ambri is pretty much at the bottom of the barrel in the NL budget wise, so its pretty hard for them to make the playoffs when most of the other teams in the league can pay their imports 500'000 bucks a year and buy the best players on the swiss players market in addition to that. Cereda is actually a good coach and one of the few that give younger players a significant role in the NL. If De Luca is not getting a big role on the first team right of the bat, a player who won't be much older will. So there won't be any age bias, if that is what you were alluding to.

 

[Gianpaolo]

What I mean with unsuccessful is that Cereda never made the playoffs and that is just a fact. After a lot of back and forth within the team and the club, the CEO decided to continue with him as a coach and with Duca as GM. I don't want to judge if that decision was a good or a bad one, but I think the pressure on the entire team in the next season will be bigger. In this difficult context it will be harder to develop prospect players.

 

[Hinterland]

What I mean with unsuccessful is that Cereda never made the playoffs and that is just a fact. After a lot of back and forth within the team and the club, the CEO decided to continue with him as a coach and with Duca as GM. I don't want to judge if that decision was a good or a bad one, but I think the pressure on the entire team in the next season will be bigger. In this difficult context it will be harder to develop prospect players.

Ambri has the smallest budget leaguewide yet they invest a big chunk of it into their youth program. They're also one of few NL teams to still invest in an SL farm team. Ambri just doesn't have the money to not play young kids.

 

[MatthewFlames]

I must say I strongly disagree. De Luca’s 0.75 points per game or whatever are nothing to scoff at but it’s not like he tore up the league. We debate so much about Swiss kids coming over too early who don’t succeed and the one time a guy is properly developing, he heads home immediately. There’s nothing wrong with having a breakout WHL season with a PPG+ and then going back to take on a big role in Switzerland. Why rush it?

Money <-- and that's not a bad thing. Lots of different paths to the NHL these days.

 

[Hinterland]

Money <-- and that's not a bad thing. Lots of different paths to the NHL these days.

I think this is about being around his family more than anything else. For example, his brother is in the same organization. If he's gonna give NA a serious go then this might be the last chance to be around his family for many years.

It's also a good chance to make the transition to pro hockey. He's gonna earn something which is nice but he's unlikely to get rich in Ambri. Ambri can't pay a lot and rookies like DeLuca usually play for peanuts.

 

[pgfan66]

Money <-- and that's not a bad thing. Lots of different paths to the NHL these days.

I think this is about being around his family more than anything else. For example, his brother is in the same organization. If he's gonna give NA a serious go then this might be the last chance to be around his family for many years.

It's also a good chance to make the transition to pro hockey. He's gonna earn something which is nice but he's unlikely to get rich in Ambri. Ambri can't pay a lot and rookies like DeLuca usually play for peanuts.

On the flip side, I heard there are teams that had some interest in De Luca but weren’t happy to hear he’s heading back. Everyone expected a big breakout year for him in Spokane, and it’s easier to keep an eye on him there. Development paths play a pretty big role for NHL teams, and unless the player is Leo Carlsson level, they tend to prefer guys developing in major junior.

And before this gets misunderstood: I’m not saying Ambri isn’t a good development path. I’m in no place to judge it at all. Just relaying what I’ve heard regarding NHL interest for De Luca.

 

[Petes2424]

Detroit should draft him off name alone. Him and Amadeus Lombardi and Little Caesars. Who couldn’t market that?

 

[SeaOfBlue]

On the flip side, I heard there are teams that had some interest in De Luca but weren’t happy to hear he’s heading back. Everyone expected a big breakout year for him in Spokane, and it’s easier to keep an eye on him there. Development paths play a pretty big role for NHL teams, and unless the player is Leo Carlsson level, they tend to prefer guys developing in major junior.

And before this gets misunderstood: I’m not saying Ambri isn’t a good development path. I’m in no place to judge it at all. Just relaying what I’ve heard regarding NHL interest for De Luca.

If he is playing consistently solid minutes for a pro team, I am sure NHL teams would not care that much. NL has former NHLers who are still very good players in it, and considering that Spokane is still at least another full year from being ready to be seriously competitive, he would have left Spokane by the time he would have had a real chance to shine anyways.

Spokane is just going to need to find another good 2C to play behind Catton.

 

[pgfan66]

If he is playing consistently solid minutes for a pro team, I am sure NHL teams would not care that much. NL has former NHLers who are still very good players in it, and considering that Spokane is still at least another full year from being ready to be seriously competitive, he would have left Spokane by the time he would have had a real chance to shine anyways.

Spokane is just going to need to find another good 2C to play behind Catton.

That’s a big if and teams need to make their decision now. Again, I don’t know how serious the concern is or what his draft chances really are. Just what I’ve heard.

 

[Hinterland]

That’s a big if and teams need to make their decision now. Again, I don’t know how serious the concern is or what his draft chances really are. Just what I’ve heard.

Doesn't matter. If anything, a pro gig is gonna help his chances. And even if you're right, it still doesn't matter. He's gonna get drafted anyway. Whether it's a round earlier or later...I don't think it's gonna matter all that much.

 

[MMC]

Not taken

 

[Speyer]

Not taken

He definitely has the skill set of a player that should be drafted and no glaring weakness. I find it a bit strange that he got left on the shelf but NHL teams have been really low on Swiss born players in the last few drafts, so I don't find it that surprising either.

 

[pgfan66]

He definitely has the skill set of a player that should be drafted and no glaring weakness. I find it a bit strange that he got left on the shelf but NHL teams have been really low on Swiss born players in the last few drafts, so I don't find it that surprising either.

De Luca isn’t Swiss-born, so that can’t be the probably. His toolkit is kind of just average overall, with no real standout attributes, which always hurts guys. But there’s no way there are 223 better players than him in this draft. Without a doubt someone should’ve picked him.