Luca Cunti (born July 4, 1989) is a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
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* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
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 ...
forward
Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward.
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*Forward (surname)
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who is currently playing for
EHC Biel
EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the te ...
in the
National League
National League often refers to:
*National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada
*National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
(NL). He previously played for the
SCL Tigers
The SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the sm ...
, the
ZSC Lions
The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the ...
,
EHC Kloten
EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...
and
HC Lugano
Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships.
History
The founding of HC Lugano took ...
. He was selected by the
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...
in the 3rd round (75th overall) of the
2007 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Cunti played two North American junior seasons in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
and the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...
before returning to his native Switzerland, unsigned from the Lightning, to continue his career with the
SCL Tigers
The SC Langnau Tigers are a professional ice hockey team from Langnau im Emmental, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL). The team plays its home games in the 6,050-seat Emmental Versicherung Arena, which is currently one of the sm ...
. He later moved to rivals the ZSC Lions and signed a two-year contract extension on October 19, 2011.
On April 22, 2014, Cunti was signed to a three-year contract extension by the Lions. In his final year of his contract with Zurich, Cunti agreed to a two-year contract with
HC Lugano
Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships.
History
The founding of HC Lugano took ...
for the start of the
2017–18 season, with a reported worth of CHF2.4 million.
On January 11, 2017, Cunti was shipped to ZSC's longtime rival,
EHC Kloten
EHC Kloten is an ice hockey team based in the city of Kloten in Switzerland. The team plays in the National League (NL). It has one of the best youth systems in Swiss ice hockey as its youth teams have won 19 championships during the last 50 year ...
for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. Cunti didn't join Lugano before the end of the 2016–17 season as the Lions insisted on a clause which would have prevented Cunti from playing any game against Zurich. This clause was not accepted by Lugano and therefore, Cunti joined Kloten.
Cunti made his debut with Kloten against
Lausanne HC
Lausanne Hockey Club is an ice hockey team based in the city of Lausanne, Switzerland, which competes in the National League (NL). During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, the HC Lausanne signed National Hockey League players Martin St. Louis and Andy Ro ...
on January 13, 2017, scoring one goal and tallying one assist. Cunti's short stint with Kloten ended on March 14, 2017, once Kloten saved itself from relegation and despite 2 games remaining in the playout round. He went on to play 16 games for Kloten, tallying 4 goals and 9 assists, before joining Lugano in the summer of 2017.
After only 11 games into the
2018–19 season, Cunti badly hurt his left shoulder, which would eventually end his season. On December 24, 2018, Cunti agreed to a two-year contract worth CHF 1.2 million with
EHC Biel
EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the te ...
, starting for the 2019–20 season and through the 2020–21 season. Cunti played 54 regular season games with Lugano (25 points) over two seasons as well as 16 playoff games in 2018 (10 points), helping the team reach the final.
On February 4, 2021, Cunti agreed to a four-year contract extension with EHC Biel.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
References
External links
*
1989 births
Living people
EHC Biel players
Chicago Steel players
GCK Lions players
EHC Kloten players
HC Lugano players
Olympic ice hockey players for Switzerland
Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics
Rimouski Océanic players
SCL Tigers players
Swiss ice hockey left wingers
Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks
ZSC Lions players
Ice hockey people from Zurich
{{Switzerland-icehockey-bio-stub