From NEHJ: BC-bound Vatrano on verge
By Bill Keefe
Everybody has to start somewhere.
For Frankie Vatrano, that meant strapping on the street hockey goalie pads as a 5-year-old and letting his brothers — 12 and 8 years older — “ripping them at me with no mercy.”
Vatrano has come a long way from providing entertainment for his brothers in their East Longmeadow, Mass., driveway. A center on the U.S. Under-18 National Team with a scholarship waiting next year at Boston College, Vatrano’s ability also has him in the mix at the highest level of the game. Last month, he was ranked 118th among North American skaters for June’s draft by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.
“It’s always in the back of your head,” Vatrano said of the draft. “I try not to think about it and play the best I can. Before a game, you look up and there are tons of scouts there. No one on the team gets too worried about it. You try to take it one game at a time.”
Vatrano did admit that it’s “very exciting knowing everything you worked for is right around the corner.”
Being around his older brothers immersed Vatrano in the game. Sammy, the oldest of the three, played at Babson and Greg played at AIC, graduating last spring. Vatrano would go to their games and, when Greg was playing for the New England Junior Falcons, there was an extra draw because his cousin, current Boston College senior Barry Almeida (Springfield, Mass.), also was on the team.
From an early age, Frankie Vatrano and his parents put their time in on the road driving the hour-and-a-half to Marlboro, Mass., to play for the Minuteman Flames and then for the Boston Junior Bruins Empire League team. As one of the youngest Empire League players at age 14, Vatrano posted 38-38-76 numbers to help the Bruins to a playoff crown.
Last year, he made the jump to the U.S. National Team Development Program and did not miss a beat. His 19 goals and 30 points both ranked second on the team. He led the club in game-winning goals with seven and tied for the lead with four power-play goals.
Through 37 games this season, Vatrano was tied for second on the team with 10 goals and tied for fourth with 20 points.
“He has an NHL-level shot,” said Danton Cole, who has coached Vatrano for both seasons with the NTDP. “He can really hum a puck.”
But Vatrano is more than a one-dimensional player and works on his overall game.
“This year, I’m getting more physical, getting into the corners and it helps my play a lot,” Vatrano said. “Sometimes you’re not on your best game and you have to find other ways to contribute. There are always things you can get better at, the defensive game, moving laterally.”
Vatrano is thick at 5-foot-10 and 215 pounds. Just don’t take ‘thick’ to be a code word for slow or out of shape. On his Twitter account, Vatrano lays claim to being the “fastest 5-10 215 human.” He adds, “I’m comfortable where I am. If I lost five pounds, I would not be the same player.”
Said Cole, “He works his tail off in the weight room and on the ice. He is one of our strongest players. He is very efficient in his skating. He tracks the puck offensively and defensively as well as anyone here. If there’s a race for the puck, he usually wins it.”
Vatrano recently got the chance to showcase his skills for family, friends and probably a BC representative when the Under-18s came to Boston for a pair of games Jan. 7 and 8. Vatrano had a goal in a 7-4 win at Northeastern followed by an assist in a 3-3 tie with Boston University.
Next year, the games with BU will take on added significance, not only because of the BC-BU history, but also because his roommate of the past two years, Matt Grzelcyk (Charlestown, Mass.), will be wearing scarlet and white.
“We joke around a little bit,” Vatrano said of the future rivalry. “It will be a lot of fun playing against him after living with him for two years, but it will be weird at the same time.”
It is those friendships as well as the experience of representing your country in international tournaments that Vatrano said he will relish the most from his time with the NTDP. So far, he has won three international competitions with two more opportunities: the Five Nations Tournament in Finland Feb. 7-13 and the World Under-18 Championships in the Czech Republic in April.
From doing anything just to play in the driveway to a Division 1 scholarship, a world championship opportunity and the subject of NHL scouts. Tag-along brothers everywhere, take notice.
http://www.hockeyjournal.com/news/juniors/2011-12/From_NEHJ-_BC-bound_Vatrano_on_verge