Di Pauli was born April 29, 1994, to Christina DiPauli and Alexander Di Pauli von Treuheim, in Caldaro, a small town in northern Italy where he lived until he was 12 years old.
Di Pauli moved to the United States in 2007 after his brother was scouted by the Chicago Mission AAA Youth Hockey Club. Thomas accompanied his brother to try and make a younger team with the organization; while his brother, Theo, was playing for the Chicago Mission Bantam Major AAA team, Thomas successfully tried out for the Chicago Mission Bantam Minor AAA team.[1] Di Pauli graduated to the Bantam Major AAA team, and then the Under-16 team in the subsequent two years.
Di Pauli was drafted in the 4th round, 100th overall, in 2012 by the Washington Capitals, only the second Italian-born player to ever be drafted to the National Hockey League, after Luca Sbisa was drafted the 19th overall in 2008. After four seasons at Notre Dame, Di Pauli elected to become a free agent instead of signing with Washington, and on August 19, 2016, Di Pauli signed an entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins as an unrestricted free agent.[3]
In the final year of his entry-level contract in the 2018–19 season, Di Pauli was on track to improve his offensive contribution, posting 15 points in just 29 games before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury. As an impending restricted free agent, Di Pauli agreed to a one-year, two-way extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 1, 2019.[4]
Personal life
Di Pauli has one brother, Theo Di Pauli von Treuheim, and one sister, Sandra Di Pauli.[2] Theo played for Chicago Steel of the USHL and Union College where he studied bioengineering and pre-medicine.[5] Thomas moved with his brother, sister and mother to the United States, while their father Alexander remained in Italy and traveled back and forth to see them when he could.[1]
Knowing Italian, Di Pauli is trilingual, as the main language in the town he grew up in was German and his mother, Christina, was from the US, and he would speak English with her.[1]
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