BURNABY, BC — SFU Hockey is proud to announce Notre Dame Hounds defenceman Joseph Santalucia as the newest member of the club’s recruiting class.

After two seasons with the Hounds of the SJHL, and previous stops in Ontario and Alberta, Santalucia is returning to his hometown of Burnaby to begin his collegiate career.

“I am excited to join this incredible program and school,” he said. “I am beyond grateful to finally be home and play the game I love.”

He describes himself as “a two way defender, good skater, good first pass, and aggressive.”

Santalucia began his junior career by playing two seasons with the Grandview Steelers of the PJHL.

For the 2017/18 season, after a brief stint with the Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL, he joined the Dryden Ice Dogs of the SIJHL. With the Ice Dogs as an 18 year old, he was a key piece on the SIJHL championship winning team that went on to the Ontario provincials.

Over the past two seasons, he has established himself as a presence with the Notre Dame Hounds of the SJHL, putting up 24 points in 88 games.

“He became the heart and soul of our back end,” said Hounds head coach and GM Phil Roy. “He’s a rugged defenceman with good mobility — jack of all trades. He competes hard. Teammates love playing with him, and opponents hate playing against him.”

“His skating is first class, he can get up and down the ice like anybody,” said SFU head coach Mark Coletta. “Santalucia is a good kid, a hard working kid, definitely has the skating ability to play both sides of the puck — I know he’s played defence for a bunch of years, but he’s one of those guys who could probably play both ends, forward or defence.”

In his final season with the Hounds, Santalucia was named assistant captain, demonstrating maturity and leadership.

“We’re bringing in good leaders to our team,” explained Coletta. “Those are the kind of guys we want to bring in.”

Additional recruit announcements are to follow in the coming weeks.