by Christopher Hatzitolios, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

TORONTO, ON. — Twenty-one year old forward Angelo Miceli, a native of Montreal, Quebec realized a dream on September 27, 2015, when he signed his first professional contract. Not only was it his first professional contract, but it was with the Montreal Canadiens AHL affiliate, St.John’s IceCaps. Miceli is that much closer to realizing a childhood dream of playing in the NHL for his hometown Montreal Canadiens!

Junior Career

Miceli played a total of 255 games in the QMJHL for the Victoriaville Tigers over a total of five seasons. Miceli played five games for the Tigers during the 2010-11 season, he registered only one assist in that time. The following year Miceli was nearly 0.50 points per game as he scored 24 points in 50 games meanwhile spending only 24 minutes in the penalty box.

The 2012-13 season was Miceli’s breakout year in the QMJHL when he scored 81 points in 68 games. Miceli just barely missed matching that point total the following year with 77 points in 68 games. In Miceli’s last season in the QMJHL, the Tigers named him the assistant captain of the team. He managed to score 38 goals and 58 helpers for a total of 96 points, meanwhile amassing only 50 penalty minutes, something that attests to his discipline on the ice. His fantastic finish to his junior career earned him an invite to the Montreal Canadiens development camp in July.

Development Camp

Once Canadiens fans found out that Miceli had been invited to the camp, expectations rose and he did not disappoint. Miceli had a fantastic development camp among players in his age group. He was consistently one of the best players on the ice. As the camp moved along, his leadership on and off the ice, along with his strong play and heart earned him an invitation to the Montreal Canadiens rookie camp, a gigantic step forward for the invite.

Rookie Tournament

As the rookie camp came along, coach Sylvain Lefebvre included Miceli in the lineup, on the fourth line to start, for the first game versus the Pittsburgh Penguins, a game in which Miceli stood out as the best player on the ice for both teams. Miceli was a driving force in the Canadiens taking the game to overtime, where they lost 4-3 on a breakaway by Daniel Sprong. Miceli had three primary assists in the game.

In the second game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Miceli took a penalty, that was his only showing on the scoresheet. However as the game progressed, coach Lefebvre used Miceli on the penalty-kill, but overall, it was a quiet night for Miceli.

In the final game of the tournament versus the Ottawa Senators, Miceli had an assist on the Canadiens only goal. It was a beautiful feed from below the red line to Dryden Hunt for a very nicely executed one-timer goal bringing the Canadiens within one. Miceli was once again one of the best offensive performers in the game as his vision and playmaking ability was on display.

Miceli’s performance at development camp and the rookie tournament was not lost among the Canadiens management as he made the cut for the Canadiens main training camp.

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Angelo Miceli speaking to the media after the final game of the Rookie tournament.

A one-on-one interview with Angelo Miceli after his three assist game versus the Penguins.

Training Camp And a Dream Come True

Miceli attended the Canadiens training camp in September.  He was cut however he earned himself his first professional contract, a two-way AHL contract, where he can play with either the AHL IceCaps or the ECHL’s Brampton Beast. A dream was realized for the twenty-one year old forward from Montreal.  He is in the Canadiens organization and he is one step closer to potentially playing in the NHL with the team he idolized as a kid.

Angelo Miceli is attending the IceCaps training camp with his immediate future being decided shortly. Will the forward start his first professional season with the IceCaps or the Beast?

His hard work, dedication and love for the game came through over a crazy summer. Miceli said at the rookie tournament that he is proud of what he had accomplished so far. Little did he know that he would be getting a contract a few weeks later! The dynamic forward will be a big boost to either of the Beast or IceCaps as the season starts, just the beginning of his pro hockey career.