Dante Salituro

June 2019 – Salituro did not get a qualifying offer from the Wild which means he becomes an unrestricted free agent.  Jokke Nevalainen

April 2018 – The undersized winger had a solid offensive year in Rapid City this year, scoring 48 points in 53 games, but finishing minus-15 is less than ideal. He earned a call-up to Iowa, but couldn’t take the same level of production with him. The offense has always been there, but it doesn’t appear his game as a whole has evolved. He’s still under contract until 2019, but he’ll be looking to carve out a full-time role in Iowa next season. He’s speedy, skilled and plays with intensity, but he’ll need to improve his ability to produce in both ends in order to move up the depth chart. Will Scouch

July 2017 – A free agent signing out of the Ottawa 67’s, Salituro was sent to Minnesota for NHL/AHL tweener Jordan Schroeder. Schroeder was a pending RFA, and would have required waivers if he didn’t make the big club, while Salituro can develop further in the AHL this season. After moving to London, he saw his ice time limited a bit, and his production was a bit below what you would expect from an overage forward on an NHL contract, but his underlying metrics driving play at even strength are promising. At 5-8, Salituro has an uphill climb coming, but he is a smart, two-way forward who may be able to carve out a role for himself as an auxiliary forward in Minnesota. He is under contract until 2019, so Minnesota should have plenty of time to keep an eye on his development. Will Scouch

June 2017 – In a draft-day deal, the Jackets dealt Salituro to Minnesota for Jordan Schroeder.

June 2017 – Salituro had what would be considered, at best, an up-and-down season. Constantly on the move between the OHL, the ECHL and the AHL it’s little wonder that he did not have a great statistical season anywhere he played. To be fair, though, anyone on the move that often is not likely to put any sort of serious offensive numbers. Don’t get too down on him yet. After going undrafted two straight years, he did manage to sign with Columbus in July of 2016. It’s clear that someone sees something in Salituro’s small physical size. Whatever it may be, it needs to continue to manifest itself if he is to have a chance to stick at any significant level. For a player of Salituro’s 5-9 size, he needs to add some serious grit to his game. Can it happen? Sure, anything is possible. Will it happen? This writer doesn’t have enough of a sample to form an opinion yet. Time will tell, but Salituro needs to find that edge in his game sooner than later, otherwise he may be on the outside looking in. Mark Hinrich

July 2016 – Salituro has signed as a free agent after passing through the 2016 Entry draft again. Salituro was invited to the Columbus Development camp and training camp last summer and was the last player cut after almost signing a contract. After returning to the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL determined to make the NHL, Salituro produced career highs in goals, assists, points and plus/minus in 65 games. The contract is a three-year, two-way entry level contract. After four seasons in the OHL, Salituro could make the jump to pro as he will be 20 in November and start his pro career.

Salituro is a high energy player. He lacks high end speed but is a quick skater, a waterbug on the ice. His greatest asset is his hard shot and its quick release. His compete level can sometimes be in question which is a greater concern than his size, but if he ever figures that out (and he may have) he will go from being a good junior player to a good pro player. Peter Harling

June 2015 – The young undersized scorer was left disappointed at the 2015 NHL Entry Draft as Dante Salituro never heard his name called. He will return to the Ottawa 67’s and ramp up his production, possibly flirting with 100 points, and re-enter the draft in 2016. Brendan Ross

June 2015 – Exclusively because of his size, Salituro went undrafted. He stats were good, and his physical game was better than his size might suggest, but that wasn’t enough for NHL teams. If he dominates next year, that might change at the 2016 draft. Austin Wallace

June 2015 – Looking at Salituro on paper the first two things you notice are that he’s 5-foot-8 and, secondly, he has incredible stats so it’d wouldn’t be unheard of to assume Salituro is a small offensive dynamo. That’s just not true however as Salituro plays the game much bigger than his size might suggest. He possesses good foot speed and gets to top speed very quickly, making him very hard to keep up with, He gets his shots off quickly to create offensive chances for his team sliding into scoring areas uncontested. When he carries the puck, Salituro drives the net and isn’t afraid to get knocked around to generate offense, He’s a solid passer but is a better shooter shown by his 2014-15 regular season stats where he put up 37 goals and 41 assists. Benjamin Gallant