Chris DiDomenico tallied two points in his Team Canada debut at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship.

With friends and family cheering him on inside Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, he scored Canada’s sixth goal early in the third period, burying a feed from Tyler Ennis, and he helped set up Alex Pietrangelo later in the final frame as the Canadians opened with an 8-1 win over Czechia.

This week marks 15 years since he first stepped onto the international stage, so it’s fitting DiDomenico is donning the Maple Leaf once again, this time at his seventh Spengler Cup, serving as an alternate captain with Canada’s National Men’s Team in Davos.

“Whenever Team Canada comes together, it’s like a family,” DiDomenico says. “I want to lead by example on and off the ice because we’re all role models for young athletes and players, so its always special for myself and my family.”

After capturing the gold medal with Canada at the 2009 World Juniors, the former sixth-round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs (164th overall in 2007) has made stops across North America and Europe, and at every stop, success followed.

A QMJHL champion with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2009, DiDomenico moved to Italy, after a pair of seasons in the American Hockey League and ECHL, playing an instrumental role in helping Asiago win the Serie A championship in 2013.

During the 2014-15 season, the Woodbridge, Ontario, native led the National League B (the second-highest league in Switzerland) with 25 goals, leading the SCL Tigers to promotion to the National League A.

He spent an additional two seasons with the Tigers before coming back to North America late in the 2016-17 campaign to finally make his NHL debut with the Ottawa Senators; he went scoreless in three games before getting into 24 contests the following year, scoring his first NHL goal – the game-tying marker – with 37 seconds left in the third period of an eventual 5-4 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 27, 2017.  

After that season, DiDomenico returned to Switzerland, bouncing from the SCL Tigers (2018-20) to HC Fribourg-Gottéron (2020-22) to SC Bern (2022-23) and back to Fribourg this season.

He has been a constant in the Canadian lineup at the Spengler Cup since his first stint in Europe, appearing in the tournament on six occasions before this season (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022).

When he got his first call to represent Canada in Davos, he brought his winning pedigree to the tournament, capturing the title in 2015, 2016 and 2019. It’s a result he hopes to recreate again in 2023.

“The number-one goal is trying to win again,” DiDomenico says. “It’s the best feeling when you win, especially after last year, where we were left without a win, so hopefully we do better on the winning side this time around.”

Having been able to play all over the world, DiDomenico continues to appreciate the opportunities hockey has given him, He hopes to continue making the most of his chance as a Spengler Cup veteran.

“I always say to myself and my teammates, ‘Just give it your all,’” DiDomenico says. “You never know when your final game might be, so don’t give yourself any regrets. I just know that I’m fortunate to play the game and I’m going to work hard to honour what we do.”