Dominic Toninato

Dominic Toninato (born March 9, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fifth round, 126th overall, by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Dominic Toninato
Born (1994-03-09) March 9, 1994
Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Center
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Winnipeg Jets
Colorado Avalanche
Florida Panthers
NHL Draft 126th overall, 2012
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 2017–present

Playing career

Amateur

Toninato was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, and first played High School hockey with Duluth East High School. Toninato was selected as team captain for the Greyhounds in the 2011–12 season, and capped off a productive three-season career by helping the School to a fourth straight berth in the Minnesota State Class AA Tournament and delivered a 61 point season, amassing 27 goals and 34 assists in 25 outings to be selected as a Mr. Hockey Award finalist in addition to landing a spot on the All-State second team.[1] On January 24, 2012, Toninato followed his fathers footsteps in committing to a collegiate career with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.[2]

Having completed his senior year with Duluth East, Toninato closed out the season with the Fargo Force in the United States Hockey League, having been previously drafted by the club at the 2011 USHL Entry Draft.[3] In gaining attention from the professional ranks as a two-way player, Toninato in his first year of eligibility was the first Minnesota prep school player drafted in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, selected in the fifth round (126th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[4]

Toninato returned to continue his development with Fargo of the USHL for the 2012–13 season. He completed a highly-productive season, tying for eighth among league scoring with 70 points in 64 regular season outings. He added six points during a 13-game playoff run in which the Force advanced to the Clark Cup finals and was selected to the USHL's Second All-Star Team.[5]

Toninato joined the University of Minnesota-Duluth of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and began his collegiate career in contributing with 7 goals and 15 points as a freshman in the 2013–14 season. He almost doubled his offensive output with 16 goals and 10 assists as a sophomore in the following 2014–15 campaign.

In his junior season with the Bulldogs in 2015–16, Toninato saw a dip in his production, scoring 15 goals and 21 points in 40 games and suffered a second successive regional finals failure in a 3–2 defeat to Boston College. Despite a contract offer in the off-season by the Maple Leafs to turn professional, Toninato passed to return for his senior year as captain with UMD.[6]

In the 2016–17 season, Toninato registered a season best 29 points with 16 goals and 13 assists in 42 games and finished with a team-high +25 plus/minus rating. He led the Bulldogs to their first-ever NCHC title and advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four Championship game before suffering a defeat to the University of Denver.[7] He was selected to the NCHC All-Tournament Team and honored as the league's best Defensive Forward.[8]

Professional

Having completed his four-year collegiate career with the Bulldogs, Toninato was not offered an entry-level contract due to the Maple Leafs being up against the contract limit.[9] With little interest in signing an AHL contract within the organization, Toninato rights were relinquished by the Maple Leafs after the August 15, 2017, deadline.[10][11]

As a free agent, Toninato promptly signed to a two-year, entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche on August 17, 2017.[12] After participating in his first rookie and main roster training camp with the Avalanche, Toninato was re-assigned to begin the 2017–18 season with AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage on September 27, 2017.[13] He made his professional debut with the Rampage on opening night in a 2–1 victory over the Ontario Reign on October 7, 2017.[14] In his third game he scored his first two professional goals in a 6–2 loss to the Texas Stars on October 21, 2017.[15] Playing a two-way responsible game with the Rampage, Toninato received his first recall to the Avalanche on November 17, 2017.[16] Centering a line between Sven Andrighetto and Nail Yakupov, Toninato made his NHL debut with the Avalanche in a 5–2 defeat to the Nashville Predators on November 18, 2017. During the first period, Toninato was illegally boarded by the Predators' forward, Austin Watson, who was ejected from the game and later suspended. He missed the rest of the period with a head/neck injury before returning for the second period to play out the game.[17]

On June 29, 2019, Toninato was traded by the Avalanche to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Jacob MacDonald.[18] He agreed to his qualifying offer, accepting a one-year, two-way contract with the Panthers on July 15, 2019.[19] In the following 2019–20 season, Toninato began the campaign in the AHL with affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. He was soon recalled to the Panthers and cemented a role as a depth forward, recording a career high 4 goals and 11 points through 46 games. He returned after the COVID-19 pandemic pause, making his post-season debut in 3 games.

As an impending restricted free agent, Toninato was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Panther and was released as a free agent.[20] On October 10, 2020, Toninato was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets.[21]

Personal life

His father, Jim Toninato, was also a former collegiate player with the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He collected 54 points in 155 games throughout his four-year career with Bulldogs from 1982 to 1986.[22] During his tenure with UMD, Toninato majored in Human Resources Management.[23]

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2009–10 Duluth East High USHS 25 4 7 11 6 3 3 2 5 0
2010–11 Duluth East High USHS 23 24 27 51 12 3 3 3 6 0
2011–12 Duluth East High USHS 25 27 34 61 28 3 3 3 6 4
2011–12 Fargo Force USHL 4 1 0 1 2 — — — — —
2012–13 Fargo Force USHL 64 29 41 70 50 13 3 3 6 6
2013–14 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCHC 35 7 8 15 51 — — — — —
2014–15 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCHC 34 16 10 26 58 — — — — —
2015–16 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCHC 40 15 6 21 36 — — — — —
2016–17 U. of Minnesota-Duluth NCHC 42 16 13 29 30 — — — — —
2017–18 San Antonio Rampage AHL 31 7 5 12 24 — — — — —
2017–18 Colorado Avalanche NHL 37 0 2 2 12 — — — — —
2018–19 Colorado Eagles AHL 57 14 15 29 43 4 0 2 2 2
2018–19 Colorado Avalanche NHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2019–20 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 15 5 3 8 18 — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 46 4 7 11 37 3 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 85 5 9 14 49 3 0 0 0 0

Awards and honors
Award Year
USHL
Second All-Star Team 2013 [5]
College
NCHC Honorable Mention All-Star Team 2015
NCHC All-Tournament Team 2016 [24]
NCHC All-Tournament Team 2017 [7]
NCHC Best Defensive Forward 2017 [8]

References
  1. "Mr. Hockey finalists named". mnhockeyhub.com. February 9, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  2. "Duluth Easts' Dom Toninato commits to play for UMD". Duluth News Tribune. January 24, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  3. "USHL 2012 Entry Draft results". eliteprospects.com. May 27, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  4. "Maple Leafs 2012 NHL draft: Dominic Toninato 126th overall". pensionplanpuppets.com. June 25, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  5. "Fourteen players named to All-Star Teams". oursportscentral.com. May 22, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  6. "Toninato passed pros to captain UMD men's hockey this season". Duluth News Tribune. September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  7. "Bulldogs capture 2017 Frozen Faceoff for first NCHC title". National Collegiate Hockey Conference. March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  8. "Toninato selected NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year". UMD Bulldogs. March 16, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  9. "Leafs pick weighs prospects five years after draft". The Star. May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  10. "With no deal with Toronto, Ex-Bulldog captain to become free agent". wdio.com. July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  11. "Bulldogs Toninato plays waiting game with the Toronto Maple Leafs". Duluth News Tribune. June 1, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  12. "Avalanche signs Dominic Toninato". Colorado Avalanche. August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  13. "Avalanche re-assigns three players". Colorado Avalanche. September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  14. "Rampage defeat Reign to open season". American Hockey League. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  15. "Avalanche prospect Toninato scores 2 beautiful goals". milehighsticking.com. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  16. "Avalanche recall Dominic Toninato from San Antonio". San Antonio Rampage. November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  17. Chambers, Mike (November 18, 2017). "Avalanche rookie makes NHL debut in Nashville". Denver Post. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  18. "Panthers acquire Dominic Toninato from Avalanche for Jacob MacDonald". sportsnet.ca. June 29, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  19. "Panthers agree to terms with Anthony Greco and Dominic Toninato". Florida Panthers. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  20. "Dominic Toninato left go by Panthers". CBS Sports. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  21. "Jets sign Dominic Toninato". Winnipeg Jets. October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  22. "Jim Toninato player profile". eliteprospects.com. November 19, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  23. "UMD Dominic Toninato player profile". UMD Bulldogs. November 18, 2017. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  24. "St. Cloud State Captures 2016 Frozen Faceoff Title". NCHC Hockey. March 19, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sean Kuraly		 NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year
2016–17		 Succeeded by
Rhett Gardner
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