COVENTRY Blaze have announced the signing of Canadian forward Alessio Luciani ahead of the 2023/24 Elite League season.
The upcoming campaign will be Luciani’s first as a professional after spending four impressive seasons playing for the Adrian College Bulldogs in the NCAA’s Division 3.
During his time at the Michigan-based school, Luciani enjoyed plenty of success, winning three NCHA division titles and the overall division three Championship in the 2021/22 season.
Blaze head coach, Danny Stewart, said: “Luciani is coming into his first-year pro after a great college career at Adrian. He’s been a prolific scorer there and a go to guy in all situations.
“He has great pace up the middle and is very skilled. What we also liked was his compete level. He’s not a big guy but plays in those hard areas and wins a lot of puck battles.
“We got some good first-hand information on him from the likes of Mat Thompson and Mark Bernard and they were glowing references. He’s a winner and will do well here.”
Luciani led the NCAA Division 3 in points in 2020/21 and won the league’s Player of the Year award.
Throughout his time in college, the Toronto native made the NCHA All Conference Team twice, was a First Team All American and last year was the NCHA Tournament MVP.
He appeared in a total of 107 games at Adrian College registering 153 points (54 goals 99 assists).
Prior to his college career, the 5ft 9in speedy winger enjoyed two successful seasons in the OJHL with the Markham Royals and led the league in points during the 2018/2019 season.
In what was his final year of junior hockey, Luciani won the league’s most improved player award and was a First Team All Star.
Overall, Luciani played 84 regular season games in Markham registering 108 points (44 goals and 64 assists).
