Mark Cundari
Played forCalgary Flames
Augsburger Panther
Eisbären Berlin
Krefeld Pinguine
EC VSV
PositionDefence
Birth dateApril 23, 1990 (age 36)
Birth placeWoodbridge, Ontario, Canada
Height5 ft
Height in9
Weight lb203
ShootsLeft
DraftUndrafted
Career start2010
Career end2020

Mark Anthony Cundari (born April 23, 1990) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. As a junior, Cundari was a member of two Memorial Cup championship teams with the Windsor Spitfires before turning professional in 2010. An undrafted player, he spent the majority of three seasons in the St. Louis Blues organization before being traded to the Calgary Flames in 2013.

Playing career

Cundari played four seasons of major junior hockey with the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) between 2006 and 2010. He appeared in 248 games in that time and scored 30 goals, 133 points, and had 553 penalty minutes.[1] A defenceman, Cundari was eligible for the 2008 NHL entry draft but went unselected due to his small stature.[2] The St. Louis Blues invited him to their development camp over the summer and after he participated in their training camp prior to the 2008–09 season, signed Cundari to a contract before returning him to the Spitfires.[3] Cundari and the Spitfires won consecutive OHL championships in 2008–09 and 2009–10 and in both years won the Memorial Cup as Canadian Hockey League champions.[4]

Following his graduation from junior hockey, Cundari turned professional within the Blues organization as he joined the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.[5] He scored 30 points in 69 games in the 2010–11 AHL season, then 15 in 49 games in 2011–12.[1] In his third season with Peoria, Cundari was named to play in the AHL All-Star game, where he recorded an assist and, with a tripping call, became the first player in eight years to be penalized during the contest.[6] Cundari was traded to the Calgary Flames in an April 1, 2013, deal by the Blues, along with goaltender Reto Berra and a first round draft pick (which the Flames later used to draft Emile Poirier of the Gatineau Olympiques) in exchange for defenceman Jay Bouwmeester.[7] Cundari, who was recovering from a wrist injury at the time, was assigned to the Abbotsford Heat, Calgary's AHL affiliate.[8]

The Flames recalled Cundari late in the 2012–13 season.[9] He made his NHL debut on April 21, 2013, and scored his first goal against Minnesota Wild goaltender Niklas Bäckström.[10] He appeared in four games with Calgary and added two assists to go along with 28 points in the AHL combined between Peoria and Abbotsford.[1] Cundari failed to impress the Flames coaching staff during training camp before the 2013–14 season and was demoted to Abbotsford to begin the season. He fell further out of favour by midseason and was subsequently loaned to the Chicago Wolves, AHL affiliate of the Blues.[11] However, after recording 13 points in his first 22 games with the Wolves while playing in all defensive situations, Cundari was recalled by Calgary for the final games of the NHL season.[11]

On July 2, 2015, Cundari left the Flames organization as a free agent to sign a one-year, two-way contract with the San Jose Sharks.[12] In the 2015–16 season, Cundari was unable to build upon his previous season in his first season within the Sharks organization. He contributed with 8 points in 34 games with the San Jose Barracuda before he was loaned by the Sharks to the Lake Erie Monsters, an affiliate to the Columbus Blue Jackets, for the remainder of the year on March 7, 2016.[13] Cundari appeared in 7 regular season games with the Monsters, before suffering an injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

As an impending free agent, Cundari left the NHL to sign his first contract abroad in agreeing to a one-year deal with the German DEL club, Augsburger Panther on June 9, 2016.[14] After two seasons with the Panthers, Cundari left after his contract opting to continue with the DEL on a one-year pact with Eisbären Berlin on June 13, 2018.[15]

Cundari's single season in Berlin during the 2018–19 campaign was cut short through injury, limited to just 14 games for 7 points. As a free agent in the off-season, Cundari continued his tenure in the DEL, securing a one-year contract with Krefeld Pinguine on May 21, 2019.[16]

Career statistics

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2005–06Vaughan VipersOPJHL20000—————
2006–07Windsor SpitfiresOHL6261622130—————
2007–08Windsor SpitfiresOHL6361723141300010
2008–09Windsor SpitfiresOHL601022321432018938
2009–10Windsor SpitfiresOHL6384654139193151842
2010–11Peoria RivermenAHL6910203010630114
2011–12Peoria RivermenAHL483121562—————
2012–13Peoria RivermenAHL567182580—————
2012–13Abbotsford HeatAHL203313—————
2012–13Calgary FlamesNHL41232—————
2013–14Abbotsford HeatAHL32461045—————
2013–14Chicago WolvesAHL24581328912310
2013–14Calgary FlamesNHL40000—————
2014–15Adirondack FlamesAHL507222964—————
2015–16San Jose BarracudaAHL3435829—————
2015–16Lake Erie MonstersAHL73368—————
2016–17Augsburger PantherDEL481021316050224
2017–18Augsburger PantherDEL5010223258—————
2018–19Eisbären BerlinDEL1434710—————
2019–20Krefeld PinguineDEL2317845—————
2019–20EC VSVEBEL1533611300031
NHL totals81232—————

Awards and honours

AwardsYear
CHL
Memorial Cup Champion2009, 2010[17][18]

References

  1. ^ "Mark Cundari player card". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  2. ^ "Blues invite Cundari to development camp". CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. 2008-06-24. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  3. ^ "Blues sign Cundari". CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. 2008-09-24. Archived from the original on 2013-06-28. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  4. ^ "Flames recall Mark Cundari from Abbotsford". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. 2013-04-19. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  5. ^ Eminan, Dave (2010-10-27). "Rivermen defenseman Oystrick called to Blues". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  6. ^ "Rivermen's Cundari makes his mark as West wins AHL All-Star Game, 7-6". Peoria Journal Star. 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  7. ^ "Flames trade Jay Bouwmeester to Blues". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2013-04-01. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  8. ^ Hall, Vicki (2013-04-19). "Young Cundari vows to bring edge to the blueline in the big league". Calgary Herald. p. E4.
  9. ^ "Flames recall seven players from Abbotsford". Calgary Flames Hockey Club. 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  10. ^ "MacDonald saves 34 as Flames play spoiler against Wild". The Sports Network. 2013-04-21. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  11. ^ Cruickshank, Scott (2014-04-05). "Cundari grateful for his chances". Calgary Herald. p. D4.
  12. ^ "Sharks sign defenseman Mark Cundari". San Jose Sharks. 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  13. ^ "Cundari loaned to Lake Erie". American Hockey League. 2016-03-07. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  14. ^ "Panthers undertake Mark Cundari" (in German). Augsburger Panther. 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-06-09.
  15. ^ "Polar Bears sign Mark Cundari" (in German). Eisbären Berlin. 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  16. ^ "Mark Cundari moves from Berlin to Krefeld" (in German). Krefeld Pinguine. 2019-05-21. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
  17. ^ Ontario Hockey League (2009-05-29). "Spitfires capture Memorial Cup". oursportscentral.com. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  18. ^ "Segue to the NHL". Boston.com. 2010-06-23. Archived from the original on 2012-07-14. Retrieved 2013-04-21.