Kyle Capobianco (born August 13, 1997) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars. They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center. History In ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was the 63rd overall selection of the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

at the 2015 NHL entry draft. Capobianco's grandfather,

Clare Exelby Clare Exelby (born November 5, 1938) is a former Canadian football player who played for the Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes. Exelby's son, Randy Exelby, is a former NHL player and grandson, Kyle Capobianco, currently ...

, is a former CFL player and uncle, Randy Exelby, is a former NHL player.

Playing career

Junior

Capobianco played four seasons of

junior hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from t ...

with the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

. The Coyotes selected him after his 2014–15 season, wherein he scored 10 goals and 30 assists in 68 games, for a total of 40 points.

Professional

The Coyotes returned Capobianco to junior hockey for both seasons after drafting him, but upon the completion of the

2016–17 OHL season The 2016–17 OHL season was the 37th season of the Ontario Hockey League, in which twenty teams played 68 games each according to the regular season schedule, from September 21, 2016, to March 21, 2017. The playoffs began on March 23, 2017, and e ...

, Capobianco was called up to the AHL in order to play for the

Tucson Roadrunners The Tucson Roadrunners are a professional ice hockey team based in Tucson, Arizona. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Utah Mammoth. They play their home games at the Tucson Convention Cente ...

. Capobianco ended up playing four games for the Roadrunners, scoring zero points. The Arizona Coyotes signed Capobianco to a three-year entry-level contract on June 30, 2017. At the beginning of the 2017–18 season, Capobianco was assigned to the Tucson Roadrunners. On December 4, 2017, Capobianco was recalled to the Arizona Coyotes. On December 7, 2017, he made his NHL debut for the Arizona Coyotes against the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, earning no points and a –1

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in 13:33 of ice time. He was assigned to the Coyotes AHL affiliate shortly after. His demotion was short lived as Capobianco was recalled back to the NHL on January 1, 2018. Capobianco was selected for the 2018 AHL All-Star Game as a replacement for

San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was so ...

defencemen Jordan Schmaltz. As a restricted free agent, Capobianco remained with the Coyotes by agreeing to a two-year, $1.55 million contract extension on October 5, 2020. As a free agent from the Coyotes, Capobianco was signed to a two-year, $1.525 million contract with the

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

on July 14, 2022. During his second year within the organization while playing for the Jets AHL affiliate, the

Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre. The fran ...

in the 2023–24 season, Capobianco won the

Eddie Shore Award The Eddie Shore Award is presented annually to the best defenceman on the American Hockey League (AHL) as chosen by AHL media and players. The award is named after Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Eddie Shore. Winners NHL-level Eddie Shore Award O ...

as the AHL's top defenseman. He was also selected as a First Team AHL All-Star, and played in the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, his fourth appearance at that event. At the conclusion of his contract with the Jets, Capobianco left as a free agent and was signed to a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2024.

International play

Capobianco represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the 2015 U18 World Championships, where he scored 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capobianco, Kyle 1997 births Living people Arizona Coyotes draft picks Arizona Coyotes players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian sportspeople of Italian descent Dallas Stars players Ice hockey people from Mississauga Manitoba Moose players Sudbury Wolves players Texas Stars players Tucson Roadrunners players 21st-century Canadian sportsmen