Francesco Arcuri

July 2026 – Arcuri put together his best professional season and left the organization anyway. Spending the year in Idaho, he produced 22 goals and 43 points in 60 ECHL games and shared the Steelheads lead in game-winning goals at midseason, scoring the kind of net-front, crease-crashing goals that defined Idaho’s first-place Mountain Division run. Dallas declined to qualify him on June 29, and he became an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The math is straightforward: he could not crack a crowded Texas forward group, spending the season a level below the AHL at 22, and the organization’s forward depth got even more crowded this spring with the Hryckowian and Fitzgerald signings. The 2022 seventh-rounder leaves as a useful pro with a defined identity, a big-bodied center who wins positioning battles around the net and produces on volume in the hard areas. For another organization with a thinner AHL depth chart, he is a sensible two-way contract. Fantasy relevance was never part of this profile, and it stays that way. The item to track is simply where he signs and whether it comes with a real AHL opportunity. Andrew Epps

July 2025 – Another season in the ECHL, another season of offensive progression for Arcuri. 2024-25 saw Arcuri put up a point per game for the Idaho Steelheads, and zero points in four games for the Texas Stars. Look for the Texas Stars to give him a longer look during the regular season and for Arcuri to take advantage of the opportunity to stick around for the full season. He’s on track to being a fourth line center one day in the NHL, though that’s like a few years away at best in the Stars organization due to their prospect depth. Ioan Gheordanescu

January 2024 – Arcuci is a pass-first center that has excellent hockey vision, allowing him to see the whole rink before making a play. He has spent most of this season in the ECHL with the Idaho Steelheads, because of the deep pipeline in the Dallas Stars system. Although, he has been called up to play in the AHL when there are injuries. This season in the ECHL, Arcuci is learning how to use his size to his advantage. Taylor Newby

August 2022 – One year removed from being selected 175th overall by Dallas, Arcuri has signed his entry-level contract. As an important piece of Kingston’s first line, driving play alongside Shane Wright (2022 – 4th Overall – Seattle), Arcuri, now 6-1 and over 200lbs, is among Dallas’ most intriguing U20 prospects. Set to slide a year of his contract staying in Kingston, it is not impossible that Arcuri exceeds expectations at camp and finds a spot in Dallas’ weak bottom-six. If the NHL doesn’t work out this season however, he will be a catalyst on a Kingston team that will likely be without Shane Wright. Aaron Itovitch

June 2022 – Slipping significantly in the draft, all the way to the sixth round, Arcuri looks like another slam dunk by the Dallas Stars. During the pandemic, he showed that his skill set could transition into a men’s league, leading the AlpsHL’s Steel Wings Linz in points (15) over an 18-game span. In the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs this season, he excelled far beyond expectations, coming 5th in scoring with 74 points, only slightly behind players such as 2022 top prospect Shane Wright. However, in the ongoing OHL playoffs, Arcuri leads his team in points (19) by a big margin, proving his efficacy in important moments. His plus-11 rating, tied for first on his team with 2022-eligible Paul Ludwinski, equally shows how much his game has elevated in these playoffs, being a driving force whenever he is on the ice. Playing on an incredibly effective line right now with Wright and Ludwinski, Arcuri is equally showing he can produce well on the wing, especially with an elite player like Wright as support.

For such a recent late-round pick, Arcuri has a very complete game. Despite being described generally as a playmaker, his goal-scoring has seen massive growth over this past season with Kingston, with his 34 being tied for third on his team. For such a built player (6-1, 201 lbs), his physicality is disappointing, although still being 18, and still growing into his frame, that aspect of his game should surely improve.

Arcuri won’t be in the NHL anytime soon and will probably remain unsigned by Dallas for one more season, but if he continues his fantastic progress, don’t be surprised if he’s challenging for a roster spot in 2023-24. Aaron Itovitch