With enough ice time and a chance to help contribute to the power-play, 22-year-old center Anthony Cirelli may one day become a point-per-game NHL player. The Woodbridge, Ontario native was halfway there when the 2019/20 season faced off with 50 points in his first 100 NHL career games on 24 goals and 26 assists but there’s still a lot of hard work ahead of him.
No matter where Cirelli’s played, he’s never really been a huge offensive threat but has contributed to the cause consistently. He notched 19 goals and 29 assists last season while playing all 82 games and averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time per game in his official rookie campaign. The young man has shown head coach Jon cooper that he’s capable of playing an effective 200-foot game in the NHL and started the season with a plus-36 rating.
He’s an excellent penalty-killer and managed to score five times while shorthanded last year. Cirelli’s defensive prowess is so good he could enjoy a fine career in the league based on that aspect of the game alone, but he also has the potential to help out offensively as well. He has chipped in with six points in the first 12 contests this season which is on pace for his career average of 0.5 points per game. However, he’s managed just one goal to go along with his five helpers.
Cirelli’s a fine two-way forward who’s averaging just under 18 minutes of ice time this year, which is a three-minute increase from last season. Cirelli earned a spot in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2014/15 when he made the Oshawa Generals as a walk-on player. He scored 13 goals and 36 points in his rookie season in 68 games and added two goals and eight assists in 21 postseason playoff outings. The Generals won the Memorial Cup with Cirelli tallying the tournament’s game-winning goal.
Cirelli obviously impressed somebody in the Tampa Bay organization as the club then drafted him in the third round in 2015 with 72nd overall selection. He returned to Oshawa for the 2015/16 season and notched 59 points in his 62 appearances with five points in five postseason games. He also made his pro debut by playing three games in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch, but didn’t get on the scoresheet.
In 2016/17 Cirelli played 26 games with Oshawa and scored 34 points before being sent to the Erie Otters in a mid-season. The then posted 30 points in his 25 outings in Erie for 30 goals and 34 assists on the season in 51 games. However, he still wasn’t seen as a major offensive player. That changed somewhat in the playoffs as Erie won the OHL championship and reached the Memorial Cup as Cirelli scored 15 goals and 16 assists in 22 playoff contests.
Cirelli started 2017/18 with Syracuse in the AHL and posted 14 goals 23 assists in 51 games and was then called up by the Lightning. He registered five goals and six helpers for Tampa in 18 games and added two goals and an assists in 17 postseason games. He followed up with 39 points as a rookie last year with a goal and assist in his four playoff games and was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team. It’s fair to say he’s off to an average start this season but the odds are Cirelli will eventually pick up the pace and could one day become a point-per-game player.