Pucci not yet at full strength
Having injured his knee earlier this summer, Sault Ste. Marie product Frankie Pucci will not be ready to participate in all drills when training camp opens for the Soo Greyhounds next week.
A 1997 birth-year left winger who joined the Greyhounds for last spring’s Ontario Hockey League playoffs, Pucci did not require surgery to his injured knee. But Greyhounds head coach Drew Bannister said Pucci is not yet 100 per cent healthy.
“Frankie’s good to to be on the ice but he will not take part in any contact drills,” Bannister told HockeyNewsNorth.com.
Pucci is expected to be a full strength before the start of the 2016-2017 OHL regular season.
Originally a 12th-round pick by the Erie Otters in 2013, Pucci finally got the chance to show he can play in the OHL when the Greyhounds inserted him into the lineup during the 2016 playoffs. Pucci dressed for 10 of the Hounds 12 playoff games and scored a goal while playing on the fourth line.
Pucci had played in only two OHL games — both with Erie — prior to being activated by the Greyhounds for the playoffs after being summoned from the Niagara Falls Canucks of the Greater Ontario Jr. Hockey League. The Greyhounds acquired Pucci from Erie at the January trade deadline but Niagara Falls did not release him to the Soo until the start of the OHL playoffs.
In two seasons in Niagara Falls, Pucci scored 44 goals, 80 assists, 124 points in 98 games as one of the top players in the GOJHL.
PHOTO: Frankie Pucci, in action for the Soo Greyhounds during last spring’s OHL playoffs. (Photo by Ali Pearson.)
Good luck and speedy recovery to Frankie! Could be a great factor for this team this season! Hope it all works out for him and the Hounds!
Nice Article Randy. As you have stated in other articles’ Frankie has showed that he can definately play in the O.
Can’t keep a great player down and Frankie will as always persevere!