Peter Ciavaglia, born in Albany, New York on July 15^th, 1969, was drafted by the Calgary Flames before he embarked on a collegiate career with Harvard University in 1987.  By 1991, he had three team scoring titles, a rookie of the year, player of the year and an All-American title to go along with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance.  He eventually became a free agent and inked a deal with the Buffalo Sabres, where he played in 5 games for them during the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons.  The Sabres sent him to their farm club (Rochester Americans) where he compiled 98 points in 77 games and at seasons end was named the rookie of the year and team MVP.  Ciavaglia even played on USA's hockey team at the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway.  After that, he signed a deal with the Detroit Vipers for their inaugural season in the International Hockey League.  He led them in scoring that first year.  During the 1996-97 season, one of Ciavaglia’s teammates was young Russian sensation and soon-to-be NHL All-Star, Sergei Samsonov.  Ciavaglia spent 6 seasons (over 350 games) playing for the Vipers, while also serving as an Assistant Captain for many of those games.  He holds virtually every offensive record with the Vipers!  By the time he retired from hockey in 2000, he held the Vipers career records for goals, assists, and points in both the regular season and the playoffs.  He then became an Advance Scout/Coaching Consultant for the Vipers during their final season (2000-2001).  Upon his retirement, Ciavaglia went into the financial management industry, with a focus on sports.

On January 6^th, 2001, the Detroit Vipers honored the "Original Viper" himself, by retiring Ciavaglia's jersey during a first intermission ceremony.  His # 12 was the first jersey ever retired by the Vipers franchise!

Ciavaglia's stats!