Joe Cannata

Joe Cannata (born January 2, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing with the Norfolk Admirals in the ECHL. Cannata was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round, 173rd overall, of the 2009 NHL entry draft after his freshman season at Merrimack where he played in 23 games. Internationally, Cannata has represented the United States at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Kazan, Russia.

Playing career Amateur Joe Cannata played high school hockey at Boston College High School. In his junior year he helped lead the team to its second consecutive Super Eight Championship. Shortly after the victory he was invited to attend a try out for the U-18 US NTDP. This was followed by an invitation to play for Merrimack College in the Hockey East Conference.

Cannata made his collegiate debut with the Merrimack Warriors on October 18, 2008 against Army. He stopped all 44 shots to become the first goaltender in school history to register a shutout in his first career game. In his junior and senior years he was regularly regarded as one of the top goalies in the Hockey East Association conference. He would help lead the warriors to the NCAA tournament in 2011 winning 25 games that year. Finishing his time with an overall record of 59-46-16 setting the program record for most wins at the D1 level.

Professional On March 21, 2012, Cannata signed an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks. On April 2, 2012 he signed an amateur try-out contract with Vancouver's AHL affiliate Chicago Wolves. He made his professional hockey debut on April 15 for the final regular season game for Chicago. Cannata made 38 saves and earned the 4–2 win over the Peoria Rivermen. He was subsequently released from his tryout contract on April 16 as he was ineligible to play for the team in the playoffs. Later that year, Cannata returned to Merrimack where he completed his business degree. On April 25, 2013 Cannata was called up to parent club, the Vancouver Canucks.

On July 1, 2016, Cannata left the Canucks as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals. In the 2016–17 season, Cannata was assigned to AHL affiliate the Hershey Bears. In 22 games with the Bears, Cannata was victorious in 11 games however was relegated to third-string status and assigned to ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays on February 14, 2017. At the NHL trade deadline, he was dealt by the Capitals to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Cody Corbett on March 1, 2017. He was directly assigned to add a veteran presence to AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage.

On July 1, 2017, Cannata as a free agent opted to remain with the Avalanche, agreeing to a one-year, two way contract. Signed to add an organizational depth to the goaltending position, Cannata was recalled early in the 2017–18 season, to accompany the team to Sweden for two regular season games against the Ottawa Senators. Upon the club's return to Denver, Cannata was re-assigned to secondary affiliate, the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL. Cannata posted a league best .931 save percentage, collecting 21 wins through 28 games on route to helping the Eagles capture their second successive Kelly Cup. In the 2018–19 season, Cannata played primarily at the ECHL level with the Utah Grizzlies, posting 17 wins in 40 games.

On May 17, 2019, Cannata opted to pursue a European career, and signed a one-year contract with IF Björklöven of the Swedish HockeyAllsvenskan.

As a free agent on August 6, 2020, Cannata signed an initial two-year contract with IK Oskarshamn of the top tiered Swedish Hockey League. Cannata remained with Oskarshamn for three seasons, making 94 regular season appearances and collecting 42 wins.

At the conclusion of his contract with IK Oskarshamn, Cannata left Sweden to sign a one-year contract with German club, Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), on June 9, 2023.

After a lone season in the DEL, Cannata extended his professional career in returning to North American following 5 seasons abroad. He was signed to a contract for the 2024–25 season with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL on November 1, 2024.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2007–08 U.S. National Team Development Program U-18 29 16 14 1 1781 76 1 2.56 .899 — — — — — — — — 2007–08 U.S. National Team Development Program NAHL 5 3 1 1 307 12 0 2.35 .914 — — — — — — — — 2008–09 Merrimack College HE 23 7 10 4 1353 53 2 2.35 .918 — — — — — — — — 2009–10 Merrimack College HE 24 10 13 1 1362 69 1 3.04 .902 — — — — — — — — 2010–11 Merrimack College HE 39 25 10 4 2251 93 1 2.48 .911 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Merrimack College HE 36 17 12 7 2182 79 2 2.17 .925 — — — — — — — — 2011–12 Chicago Wolves AHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .950 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 7 3 4 0 419 23 0 3.29 .905 — — — — — — — — 2012–13 Chicago Wolves AHL 14 6 6 0 747 33 0 2.65 .912 — — — — — — — — 2013–14 Utica Comets AHL 28 11 12 1 1484 70 0 2.83 .907 — — — — — — — — 2014–15 Ontario Reign ECHL 21 12 6 2 1249 42 1 2.02 .927 9 4 4 515 20 2 2.33 .904 2014–15 Utica Comets AHL 5 3 2 0 302 10 0 1.99 .932 — — — — — — — — 2015–16 Utica Comets AHL 40 20 13 6 2381 100 2 2.52 .909 3 1 1 141 7 0 2.98 .897 2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 22 11 5 4 1265 68 0 3.22 .876 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 3 3 0 0 180 7 0 2.33 .916 — — — — — — — — 2016–17 San Antonio Rampage AHL 6 2 3 0 316 19 0 3.60 .872 — — — — — — — — 2017–18 Colorado Eagles ECHL 28 21 5 2 1679 62 2 2.22 .931 24 16 7 1434 61 2 2.55 .913 2017–18 San Antonio Rampage AHL 5 3 0 1 261 8 1 1.84 .920 — — — — — — — — 2018–19 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 40 17 16 6 2355 113 4 2.88 .904 — — — — — — — — 2019–20 IF Björklöven Allsv 41 33 8 0 2479 71 6 1.72 .938 2 1 1 119 3 0 1.55 .944 2020–21 IK Oskarshamn SHL 44 18 24 0 2563 119 1 2.79 .911 — — — — — — — — 2021–22 IK Oskarshamn SHL 28 13 15 0 1663 89 0 3.21 .892 1 1 0 60 1 0 1.00 .971 2022–23 IK Oskarshamn SHL 22 10 11 0 1226 63 0 3.08 .901 — — — — — — — — 2023–24 Löwen Frankfurt DEL 27 11 15 0 1587 78 1 2.95 .898 — — — — — — — — AHL totals 121 57 41 12 6816 310 3 2.73 .903 3 1 1 141 7 0 2.98 .897

International Year Team Event Result GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% 2008 United States WJC18 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50 .851 Junior totals 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50 .851

Awards and honors Award Year USHS Boston College High School MVP 2006–2007 College HE Defensive Player of the Month November 2010 HE Defensive Player of the Week November 7, 2011 HE Defensive Player of the Week November 14, 2011 All-HE First Team 2011–12 Merrimack team MVP2011–12 AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2011–12 ECHL Best SVS% (.931) 2018 Kelly Cup (Colorado Eagles) 2018

Records

Merrimack College Career wins (Hockey East era): 59 (2008–2012)