Music: {allcanada} Leafs prospect Caputi knows his role models

Luca Caputi knew that his talents alone wouldn't be enough to get him to the NHL. He needed something extra.

In order to make an impression, he decided to emulate the character traits he saw in certain veteran players.

The 22-year-old Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has decided to model his game after one Hogtown legend affectionately known as "Killer."

Caputi, a native of Maple — a suburb of Toronto — began following hockey during the 1992-93 Leafs' run to the Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Kings, where he embraced the passion of Doug Gilmour.

"I admired the way he played every night, he just left it all on the ice," Caputi said in an interview with CBCsports.ca. "He was a really unselfish player, and he always thought pass first.

"Growing up I always thought an assist was better than a goal."

That year, Gilmour demonstrated his passing prowess by dishing out 95 assists to go along with 32 goals in 83 games.

While Caputi was trying his best to emulate his idol — even tucking his jersey to the side like Gilmour — his knack for scoring goals was quickly becoming evident.

Rising through the ranks of the OHL with the Niagara IceDogs, the youngster produced 51 goals and 60 assists in 2007-08, good enough for fourth in league scoring that year.

This offensive output caught the attention of the Pittsburgh Penguins , who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Then came the call every young hockey player dreams of. On Feb. 3, 2009, Caputi was told he would be suiting up for the Penguins against the Montreal Canadiens for his first NHL game.

As he entered the dressing room for the first time, the youngster put his bag down and found himself standing face-to-face with Sidney Crosby.

Sticking out like a sore thumb, Caputi worried about making a good impression.

The Pittsburgh captain quickly made it comfortable for him, though, and after a brief introduction they carried on with their business.

All it took for the Toronto native to understand what made Crosby a formidable leader was that momentary introduction, but the impression it left was lasting.

"[Crosby] is the ultimate professional," said Caputi. "He's probably the best player in the world and he's still the hardest-working guy in practice.

"Something I learned right away is that he's always got time for everybody. He's always in control of his emotions, and that's something I always admired of him for the short time that I knew him. He handled everything the way he should."

Caputi played in five games that season, registering one goal.

Another new dressing room

On March 2 of the following year, after being recalled by the Penguins for four games, he was traded to the Leafs, along with defenceman Martin Skoula in exchange for forward Alexei Ponikarovsky.

Caputi was faced with another new dressing room and the unenviable challenge of fitting in with a different core group of players.

One of those players was current Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, who took Caputi under his wing and helped make the transition as smooth as possible, both on and off the ice.

"Dion Phaneuf is a very vocal leader," he said. "For me, Dion was really instrumental in my transition because he always had time for me.

"The first night I got traded, [Phaneuf] asked me if I wanted to go out to dinner with him and I was sitting there with Tomas Kaberle, guys who I watched growing up. It definitely helped ease my way into it."

Caputi now had the fortune of being exposed to two very different types of leaders.

The character traits he learned from Crosby and the leadership he grew accustomed to from Phaneuf both combined to provide the 22-year-old with a good basis to work with.

"Sid really isn't an extremely vocal leader," said the six-foot-three forward, "whereas Dion is the guy that gets the team going."

Drawing from the experience of interacting with these NHL mainstays, Caputi played in 19 games for the Leafs in 2009-10, scoring one goal and five assists.

Wanting to soak up as much knowledge as possible, he was fortunate enough to room with defenceman Francois Beauchemin, a veteran blue-liner who has Stanley Cup experience.

"[Rooming with Beauchemin] was intimidating for me but he was helpful for me," said Caputi. "He always asked me questions and I really believe he wanted me to feel as comfortable as possible.

"He was helpful, and more of a friend. We sat there, watched TV, watched movies, just did little things like that."

Caputi is currently out of action after having surgery for a sports hernia. He hasn't played since Dec. 8 with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

He'll have to wait at least another four-to-five weeks for another shot with the big club, where his newly-acquired leadership skills would be put to the test.