One young player’s suffering is another’s opportunity. When the Colorado Avalanche lost Vladislav Kamenev to a broken arm yesterday in his first game for the team, a chance was made for another player to be called up to the team. That player is Dominic Toninato, who will be getting his first opportunity as well. Toninato is a rookie in professional hockey after signing out of UMD this summer, and has six points in his first 13 games for the San Antonio Rampage.
Toninato was originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, but after four years of university failed to sign with the team. Toronto had basically run out of roster spots for the young forward, and he became a free agent. He decided to sign with the Avalanche in one of the more overlooked moves of the summer, as Alex Kerfoot and Will Butcher were stealing the spotlight around NCAA free agency (especially in Colorado, where one was coming and the other was going). Tonintato didn’t deserve to be overlooked though, after being a consistent two-way forward for the Bulldogs for several seasons.
Named conference defensive forward of the year, and captaining UMD to the NCHC Championship were just the latest accomplishments in an amateur career that also included an impressive year in the USHL. Toninato isn’t likely to ever become a top line player, but has real potential to fill in the bottom half of a Colorado lineup that is looking more dangerous every day