Saponari was drafted 94th overall by the
Atlanta Thrashers in the
2008 NHL Entry Draft from the
USA Hockey National Team Development Program. After his draft selection, Saponari began playing for
Boston University but was dismissed in 2010 along with his brother Victor. Following this, he spent a season in the
United States Hockey League for the
Dubuque Fighting Saints before returning to college hockey with two seasons at
Northeastern University. Saponari signed with the
St. John's IceCaps of the
American Hockey League at the tail-end of the
2012–13 season, playing in seven regular season games and scoring a goal and an assist. He signed with the
Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL for the
2013–14 season in what would be his only consistent season in the league, playing fifty-eight games and scoring thirty-three points. Afterwards, he played predominantly in the
ECHL over the next two seasons and only made brief appearances in the AHL for the
Hartford Wolf Pack,
Portland Pirates and the
Lake Erie Monsters before returning to the Admirals for a brief spell there as well. On September 10, 2016, Saponari left North America and signed for
Frisk Asker of
Norway's
GET-ligaen. On May 15, 2017, he moved to the
Czech Republic and signed for
HC Sparta Praha of the
Czech Extraliga, but only played fifteen games for the team before returning to Frisk Asker on December 3, 2017, for the remainder of the season. On July 22, 2018, Saponari signed with the
Krefeld Pinguine of the
Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In the midst of his third season with Krefeld Pinguine in
2020–21, Saponari registered just 2 assists through 8 regular season contests before opting to mutually terminate his contract on February 1, 2021. On June 1, 2021, Saponari returned to the DEL, signing an initial one-year deal with
Augsburger Panther. In his second year with Augsburg in the
2022–23 season, Saponari posted 3 goals and 15 points through 39 regular season games, however was unable to help prevent the Panthers finish in a relegation position. He left the club at the conclusion of his contract on March 17, 2023. On June 13, 2023, Saponari opted to continue his career in Germany, joining second tier club, ETC Crimmitschau of the DEL2. == Career statistics ==