High school and college Cavallini attended Chaminade College School and then graduated from
Father Henry Carr Catholic Secondary School before enrolling at
Providence College for his
college ice hockey career. Prior to joining the
Providence Friars men's ice hockey team, Cavallini was drafted in the 10th round, 205th overall, by the
Washington Capitals in the
1984 NHL entry draft. Between graduating and joining the Friars, Cavallini lost 20 pounds and began his freshman season at 205. He was also named to the All-Freshman Team. Due to his impressive freshman season, Cavallini was recruited by
Dave King to join the
Canadian Olympic hockey program. Despite leaving college early, Cavallini took courses at the
University of Waterloo to finish his degree. He was subsequently assigned to their
American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the
Binghamton Whalers and made his debut on March 7, 1986. As his equipment had not arrived in time for the game, he used the stick of a teammates instead. After playing parts of two seasons with the Capitals, Cavallini was traded to the
St. Louis Blues where he would spend almost six seasons including his best campaign, the 1989–90 season. He played in the 1990 All-Star game and led the league in plus/minus rating that season. Cavallini missed 13 games during the 1990–91 season with a left index finger injury after blocking a slapshot from
Doug Wilson. The force of Wilson's shot severed the tip of Cavallini's finger, and doctors were unable to reattach the tip in surgery. Shortly thereafter, a local radio
disc jockey acquired the tip of his finger from a pathology
clerk and announced that he would be putting it up for a charity auction. However, due to the outrage this received, the clerk was fired, and the disc jockey apologised. Cavallini remained on the sidelines until January 25 against the
Detroit Red Wings. Cavallini returned to the Capitals for a second time during the
1992–93 NHL season in a trade that sent
Kevin Miller to the Blues. Cavallini would once again be traded by the Capitals, this time to the
Dallas Stars where he would play until his retirement a few weeks into the
1995–96 NHL season. ==Personal life==