Luca Cunti

Luca Cunti (born July 4, 1989) is a Swiss professional ice hockey forward who is currently playing for EHC Biel in the National League (NL). He previously played for the SCL Tigers, the ZSC Lions, EHC Kloten and HC Lugano. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 3rd round (75th overall) of the 2007 NHL entry draft.

Playing career Cunti played two North American junior seasons in the United States Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League before returning to his native Switzerland, unsigned from the Lightning, to continue his career with the SCL Tigers. He later moved to rivals the ZSC Lions and signed a two-year contract extension on October 19, 2011.

On April 22, 2014, Cunti was signed to a three-year contract extension by the Lions. In his final year of his contract with Zurich, Cunti agreed to a two-year contract with HC Lugano for the start of the 2017–18 season, with a reported worth of CHF2.4 million.

On January 11, 2017, Cunti was shipped to ZSC's longtime rival, EHC Kloten for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. Cunti didn't join Lugano before the end of the 2016–17 season as the Lions insisted on a clause which would have prevented Cunti from playing any game against Zurich. This clause was not accepted by Lugano and therefore, Cunti joined Kloten.

Cunti made his debut with Kloten against Lausanne HC on January 13, 2017, scoring one goal and tallying one assist. Cunti's short stint with Kloten ended on March 14, 2017, once Kloten saved itself from relegation and despite 2 games remaining in the playout round. He went on to play 16 games for Kloten, tallying 4 goals and 9 assists, before joining Lugano in the summer of 2017.

After only 11 games into the 2018–19 season, Cunti badly hurt his left shoulder, which would eventually end his season. On December 24, 2018, Cunti agreed to a two-year contract worth CHF 1.2 million with EHC Biel, starting for the 2019–20 season and through the 2020–21 season. Cunti played 54 regular-season games with Lugano (25 points) over two seasons as well as 16 playoff games in 2018 (10 points), helping the team reach the final.

On February 4, 2021, Cunti agreed to a four-year contract extension with EHC Biel.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2004–05 GCK Lions SUI U20 32 12 10 22 18 — — — — — 2004–05 EHC Dübendorf SUI.3 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2005–06 GCK Lions SUI U20 46 20 24 44 34 — — — — — 2005–06 GCK Lions SUI.2 7 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2005–06 EHC Dübendorf SUI.3 6 1 5 6 0 6 2 2 4 0 2006–07 GCK Lions SUI U20 13 9 7 16 22 — — — — — 2006–07 GCK Lions SUI.2 5 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 2006–07 HC Thurgau SUI.2 5 1 0 1 6 — — — — — 2006–07 SC Weinfelden SUI.3 1 2 0 2 0 — — — — — 2006–07 EHC Dübendorf SUI.3 11 8 8 16 18 10 4 7 11 10 2006–07 Switzerland U20 SUI.2 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2007–08 Chicago Steel USHL 34 11 21 32 37 6 2 3 5 2 2008–09 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 57 20 25 45 32 13 4 5 9 12 2009–10 SCL Tigers NLA 12 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 2010–11 GCK Lions SUI.2 42 9 23 32 80 — — — — — 2011–12 ZSC Lions NLA 35 11 13 24 18 15 1 7 8 6 2012–13 ZSC Lions NLA 44 10 20 30 18 12 2 3 5 6 2013–14 ZSC Lions NLA 46 18 26 44 60 18 5 5 10 10 2014–15 ZSC Lions NLA 34 9 14 23 14 17 3 4 7 2 2015–16 ZSC Lions NLA 32 9 9 18 14 2 0 0 0 0 2016–17 ZSC Lions NLA 24 4 4 8 6 — — — — — 2016–17 EHC Kloten NLA 12 2 9 11 8 — — — — — 2017–18 HC Lugano NL 48 8 13 21 18 16 3 7 10 18 2018–19 HC Lugano NL 11 1 3 4 4 — — — — — 2019–20 EHC Biel NL 44 8 22 30 40 — — — — — 2020–21 EHC Biel NL 44 13 21 34 34 2 0 0 0 4 2021–22 EHC Biel NL 42 7 18 25 28 4 1 1 2 4 NL totals 423 101 173 274 266 86 15 27 42 50

International Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM 2005 Switzerland WJC18 9th 6 1 1 2 0 2007 Switzerland WJC18 6th 6 3 1 4 6 2013 Switzerland WC 10 2 3 5 2 2014 Switzerland OG 9th 4 0 0 0 0 2014 Switzerland WC 10th 7 1 3 4 2 Junior totals 12 4 2 6 6 Senior totals 21 3 6 9 4