Vancouver Canucks‘ 4th round pick in the 2011 draft (#101 overall) big 6’4″ 205 lbs. sophomore center Joseph Labate(62) scores himself an early recall from affiliate Utica Comets, where he looks to be setting up a breakout campaign already scoring 2 goals and 4 assists in 12 AHL games.
He had a very decent 10 goals and 10 assists in 66 contests as a rookie but was also a healthy scratch on occasion.
In his first three NHL games, he’s been put to limited use skating roughly 5 minutes of total ice each appearance, but is a +1 rating and has a fight to his credit, as the team posted a 2-1 record.
He dropped the gloves 9 times as a rookie and once with the parent club in preseason, so easily doesn’t shy away from battles.
The extra large-sized forward had a formidable run through four years at University Of Wisconsin averaging 20 points a season and won the NCAA/WCHA Championship as a second year player.
At still only 23-years old, he is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of 2016/2017 but looks to be setting himself up for at least a one year extension.