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JOSEPH CECCONI SEASON IN REVIEW

JOSEPH CECCONI: SEASON IN REVIEW

Jun 16, 2023

The Rochester Americans acquired Joseph Cecconi on December 15, 2022 from the Dallas Stars. The defenseman suited up in 41 games for the Amerks, becoming a steady staple on the blue line. 

Cecconi spent his first four professional seasons with the Texas Stars, and viewed his trade as a fresh start for his career. Cecconi is originally from Youngstown, New York, so he once again got to play in front of friends and family.

"That was the biggest thing," he said in his end-of-season interview. "My grandfather is getting a little older, but he was able to come to all the playoff games, so it was really special.

Cecconi tallied 8 points during the regular season, but added five points — including two goals — in 14 games of the Calder Cup Playoffs. He tallied a goal and an assist in Game 2 against the Toronto Marlies. His second postseason goal came just 14 seconds into the Eastern Conference Finals.

"I'd say I'm pretty proud of how I played this year," he explained. "Obviously it was a big transition from Texas. I played with a lot more confidence, aggression, things like that.

"The staff really helped me come out of my shell and give me the confidence to play my style of game."

Cecconi was getting big minutes on the blue line, as he was paired with Jeremy Davies for almost the entirety of the second half of the season and the entire playoff push. The duo was match-up against the other team's best players more often than not, and became a trustworthy tandem.

"I really didn't know anything about him," Davies said of Cecconi. "Well, I knew who he was," he admitted. "He beat me in college, kicked me out of the tournament."

The two proved to complement each other well. 

REUNITED WITH ANOTHER WOLVERINE

Another teammate who knew Joseph Cecconi from college was, well, his college roommate Brendan Warren. The two attended the University of Michigan, along with former-Amerk Nick Boka, and Cecconi served as captain.

When asked what it was like to reunite with Warren, Cecconi laughed. "It was great," he said with a grin. "Honestly, I think he kind of knew before... He told me that people were asking around. I thought maybe he should've told me considering my life was going to change a little bit."

Warren admitted that he knew about the trade before Cecconi, and that he was so excited to be reunited with his best buddy. "The first day he got here, it was great to see his big smile and give him a big hug," he said.

"And then we were roommates on the road for the rest of the season, which was awesome. He's one of my closest friends, and he always will be."

Though the two were friends before, Cecconi still got to experience the culture that has been raved about in Rochester. Warren had told him about it before, in his prior two seasons with the Amerks, but Cecconi found that everything he said was true.

"Once I got traded, I got to see it firsthand. It's something special," he said of the culture. "I'm extremely proud of what we did here in Rochester."

It wasn't the first Calder Cup Playoffs appearance for Cecconi, but it was certainly the most successful. He played in two games last season for the Texas Stars, but this season, he was a key piece to the playoff run.

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