To understand how Connor Caponi has impacted the DU Pioneers amid their pursuit of a third national title in four seasons, rewind the tape to his senior year at Culver Military Academy in Indiana.
As a senior star on one of the country’s top prep hockey teams back in 2018, Caponi was all intensity and aggression. One time, that meant laying the hammer down with a series of checks that reversed the course of a game in which Culver was getting dominated by a bigger opponent.
“He kept looking back at me like, ‘Can I go?’” recalled Steve Palmer, Caponi’s coach at Culver. “I finally just (unleashed him) — and he went out there and hit about four kids in a row and totally changed the complexion of the game with his intensity.
“They were looking over their shoulder from that point on because of how he played. We ended up winning that game, and I don’t think we do so without him setting that tone.”
Caponi brought that same style to DU, where the graduate student forward couldn’t care less about credit as the Pios prepare for their 20th Frozen Four and a showdown with Western Michigan next Thursday at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.
The gritty details and leadership Caponi provides are key for the University of Denver. Coach David Carle explained that the Pios’ all-time leader in games played “does a lot of the little things that are required to win.”
“He’ll finish checks, he’ll get above people, and that (fourth) line has found a way to chip in a little bit offensively over the last month, which has been really helpful,” Carle said.
“He’s playing with two freshmen (Jake Fisher and Hagen Burrows) on that line, which is not easy to do, and you see the growth in those two freshmen. A lot of that is from his leadership and his ability to communicate to them as far as what’s needed and required to play this time of year.”
Caponi, who is also the NCAA’s active leader in games played at 184, broke DU’s mark in the category when he played his 169th contest on Feb. 8 at Arizona State. He’s only missed seven games over five seasons with the Pioneers, including playing in 62 straight — a streak that ended on Dec. 6 because of a lower-body injury.
He doesn’t light up the stat sheet (18 career goals and 19 assists) but has two goals across DU’s last four games. That includes what Caponi calls “the luckiest goal I’ve ever scored” in the regional semifinal win over Providence, when Friars goalie Philip Svedback misplayed a puck behind his net directly to Caponi for an easy open-net tally just 2:25 into the game.
But it’s Caponi’s dirty work that’s stood out the most throughout his career. Case-in-point: The veteran tied a career-high with four blocked shots in last year’s 2-0 win over Boston College in the national championship.
Goalie Matt Davis describes him as the team’s “spark plug.”
“He brings a lot of energy night in and night out,” Davis said. “Every time we need (an energy boost), he goes out there and makes a big hit, big block. He’s really good on faceoffs (with a team-best 54.5 win percentage), he’s great on the penalty kill. He does a lot of things that don’t pop up on the stat sheet but are huge for us.”
From a young age, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Caponi has understood and embraced his role as a team’s rabble-rouser. Unsurprisingly, the second-year alternate captain leads the Pioneers in penalty minutes this season with 65.
“By the time I was 16 years old, I knew that my physicality was the No. 1 thing that was going to get me far in the game,” Caponi said. “I learned how to get under people’s skin at that age as well. It works for me.
“Throwing top guys off their game is something that somebody needs to do, and I’m more than happy to do it. … I definitely try to hit people and make them uncomfortable when they have the puck. Maybe say some (trash-talk) here and there, too.”
Caponi’s seeking his third ring with the Pioneers, as are Davis and forwards Jack Devine and Carter King. Those latter three players are part of a record-setting senior class that’s won 124 games.
For Caponi, next week marks his second Frozen Four appearance. He was injured for the Pioneers’ NCAA Tournament run in 2022.
“It was hard to sit and watch that, but being able to come back the next year and give everything I had to the program (was a momentum boost),” Caponi said. “It was tough, but I’m glad we won that year, had a great season in 2023, and then won again in 2024. Hoping to do it again in 2025.”
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