HARTFORD WOLF PACK COME TO TERMS ON ONE-YEAR AHL CONTRACTS WITH FORWARDS MIKE O’LEARY AND CRISTIANO DIGIACINTO
Sep 23, 2021HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack announced today that the club has signed forwards Mike O’Leary and Cristiano DiGiacinto to one-year American Hockey League (AHL) contracts through the 2021-22 AHL season.
O’Leary, 23 (1/1/98), is entering his third season in the Wolf Pack organization. The 6’1” forward appeared in 16 games with the Wolf Pack during the 2020-21 AHL season, scoring three points (1 g, 2 a). He also appeared in one game with the club at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Prior to joining the Wolf Pack, O’Leary played four seasons of NCAA hockey at the University of Notre Dame. Over the course of four seasons, O’Leary appeared in 151 games for the Fighting Irish, scoring 57 points (20 g, 37 a). During his time at Notre Dame, O’Leary, a native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, helped lead the program to two Big Ten Championships (2018, 2019) and one Big Ten Regular Season Championship (2018).
DiGiacinto, 25 (1/10/96), is entering his first season with the Wolf Pack organization, and his second season of professional hockey. A native of Hamilton, Ontario, DiGiacinto joins the Wolf Pack after four seasons (2017-18 – 2020-21) with Acadia University at the USports level in Canada. In 67 games with the Axemen, DiGiacinto scored 53 points (27 g, 26 a).
Prior to joining the Axemen, DiGiacinto appeared in 12 games at the ECHL level with the Jacksonville IceMen. In those 12 games, all during the 2017-18 season, DiGiacinto scored six points (1 g, 5 a) and collected 30 penalty minutes.
The 5’11” forward was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth-round (170th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. He played his junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he spent parts of four seasons with the Windsor Spitfires. While with the Spitfires, DiGiacinto wore the “A” for three seasons and scored 149 points (67 g, 82 a). He also helped lead the Spitfires to a CHL Memorial Cup Championship at the conclusion of the 2016-17 season.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.