Frank Caprice

Canadian ice hockey player

Francis J. Caprice (born April 2, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who spents parts of six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League in the 1980s. After his time with the Canucks Caprice played mainly in Italy and the United Kingdom, retiring in 1999.

Caprice was Vancouver's ninth round selection (178th overall) in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. In the year following his selection, he improved his stock greatly, winning 24 games for the London Knights and representing Canada at the 1982 World Junior Championships. He won all three of his starts at the World Juniors, helping Canada to the gold medal. Following the season, he signed with the Canucks and turned pro. Caprice spent most of his first pro season in the AHL, although he did make his NHL debut, playing the 3rd period in a blowout to the Los Angeles Kings. Caprice's big opportunity came in the 1983–84, when the Canucks' starting goalie Richard Brodeur was injured. In his starting debut against the Edmonton Oilers on Hockey Night in Canada, Caprice earned first star honours in a 3 2 Canucks victory. He posted a solid 8 8 1 mark with a 3.34 GAA, the best performance of any of the three Canuck goalies that year. Based on his fine performance in 1983–84, Caprice was given a chance to usurp Brodeur as the Canucks' starter in 1984–85, although he struggled and then tore his hamstring, causing him to miss three months of action. He finished the season with an 8 14 3 mark and 4.81 GAA in 28 appearances, and never seriously challenged for the #1 spot again. In 1985–86, Caprice again struggled, posting an 0 3 2 record and terrible 5.45 GAA in 7 appearances, and was demoted to the AHL in favour of Wendell Young. However, he reclaimed the backup job in 1986–87, and posted a 3.84 GAA in 25 appearances, his best since his rookie year. In 1987–88, he appeared in 22 games backing up 21 year old Kirk McLean as the aging Brodeur was relegated to 11 appearances. In 1988–89, Caprice was relegated to the IHL as the Canucks decided to go with a goaltending tandem of McLean and Steve Weeks. For the 1989–90 season, Caprice was dealt to the Boston Bruins for a ninth round pick. However, he spent the entire season in the minors and was released at the end of the year. Following his release from the Bruins, Caprice spent most of the 1990s playing in Italy and later in Britain with the Cardiff Devils, before retiring in 1999 and returning to his hometown of Hamilton. He came out of retirement in 2001 to represent the Dundas, Ontario team at the 2001 Allan Cup. In 1993, Caprice played for the Vancouver VooDoo of Roller Hockey International. Caprice appeared in 102 NHL games over 6 NHL seasons, posting a 31 46 11 record with a 4.19 GAA and one shutout.

Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1979–80 London Knights OMJHL 18 3 7 3 919 74 1 4.84 — 3 1 1 94 10 0 4.50 — 1980–81 London Knights OHL 42 11 26 0 2171 190 0 5.25 — — — — — — — — — 1981–82 London Knights OHL 45 24 17 2 2614 196 0 4.50 — 4 1 3 240 18 0 4.50 — 1981–82 Dallas Black Hawks CHL 3 0 3 0 178 19 0 6.40 — — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1 0 0 0 19 3 0 9.52 .625 — — — — — — — — 1982–83 Fredericton Express AHL 14 5 8 1 819 50 0 3.67 — — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Vancouver Canucks NHL 19 8 8 2 1094 62 1 3.40 .882 — — — — — — — — 1983–84 Fredericton Express AHL 18 11 5 2 1089 49 2 2.70 — — — — — — — — — 1984–85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 28 8 14 3 1513 122 0 4.84 .850 — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 7 0 3 2 308 28 0 5.46 .819 — — — — — — — — 1985–86 Fredericton Express AHL 26 12 11 2 1526 109 0 4.29 — 6 2 4 333 22 0 3.96 — 1986–87 Vancouver Canucks NHL 25 8 11 2 1386 88 0 3.81 .863 — — — — — — — — 1986–87 Fredericton Express AHL 12 5 5 0 686 47 0 4.11 — — — — — — — — — 1987–88 Vancouver Canucks NHL 22 7 10 2 1246 87 0 4.19 .861 — — — — — — — — 1988–89 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 39 24 12 0 2204 143 2 3.89 — 2 0 1 91 5 0 3.30 — 1989–90 Maine Mariners AHL 10 2 6 1 550 46 0 5.02 — — — — — — — — — 1989–90 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 20 8 6 3 1098 78 0 4.26 — 3 0 2 142 10 0 4.23 — 1992–93 HC Gardena ITA 19 — — — 1140 93 — 4.89 — — — — — — — — — 1993–94 HC Gardena ITA 22 — — — 1204 100 — 4.98 — — — — — — — — — 1994–95 HC Gardena ITA 10 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1995–96 HC Gardena ITA 36 — — — 1678 100 — 3.58 — — — — — — — — — 1996–97 Cardiff Devils BISL 7 7 0 0 430 14 1 1.95 — 1 — — 60 3 0 3.00 — 1997–98 Cardiff Devils BISL 8 — — — 480 16 1 2.00 — 2 — — 120 4 — 2.00 — 1994–95 HC Gardena ITA 10 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Corpus Christi IceRays WPHL 15 9 5 1 847 48 0 3.40 .883 — — — — — — — — 1998–99 Ayr Scottish Eagles BISL 7 2 5 0 391 24 0 3.49 — 4 0 3 210 11 0 3.14 — NHL totals 102 31 46 11 5567 390 1 4.20 .859 — — — — — — — —