On July 8th, Calgary-born forward David Civitarese was in Washington attending his second Capitals Development Camp. The confidence of a return trip is something he has in common with fellow Hershey teammate T.J. Syner, and it was visible in the play of both over the course of the camp.
“I think [that] was the best part about it, just being able to have the confidence of knowing what was going to happen, how tough everyone was going to be,” he said.
Last week also marked the 100th Calgary Stampede, and for the fifth year in a row, the Albertan Civitarese has been out of town. For several years, it was academic obligations that kept him away – extra classes to ensure a timely graduation from Colorado College. The sacrifice paid off, and his B.S. in Physics was conferred on May 21.
Summer of 2011 saw him miss the Stampede due to an invitation to D-Camp. It was a trip he made on his own dime, in order to retain his NCAA-eligibility. The investment paid dividends when the trip earned him enough attention that he landed a place with the Hershey Bears this spring and tallied ten games to close out the AHL’s regular season. This year’s visit was a follow-up, with four players who signed Amateur Try-Out agreements in spring making an appearance at D-Camp to show off for the brass (Barry Almeida, Cameron Schilling, and the above-mentioned Syner rounded out the set).
“I was kind of off the map when I came [in 2011], and my advisor was able to kind of help me into a spot here, and kind of said ‘All right, it’s your turn, you got to win your opportunities here.’ I was lucky enough to be invited back, and obviously sign a contract, so I got more than I could ask for.”
Civitarese has demonstrated consistent improvement over the course of his collegiate career, and brings a moderate upside to the Bears’ roster. While he’s never going to be a 30-goal scorer, his traditionally strong performance as a defensively-minded centre should serve the Bears well in the coming season.
