East Longmeadow, Mass. native and college free agent Frank Vatrano took the Boston Bruins World by surprise this season. He may have even taken the state by surprise, too. Did you know there’s a town named East Longmeadow? Is there a regular Longmeadow? Is anybody listening?
In his first professional season of hockey, the 5-foot-10 winger came through a combined 44 goals and 66 points in 75 games between Providence and Boston. (Vatrano scored 36 goals and 55 points in 36 games with the P-Bruins, and eight goals and 11 points in 39 games with the Big B’s.)
Those gaudy AHL numbers led to Vatrano finishing the year with the big club in desperation mode, and being named the AHL’s Co-Rookie of the Year along with Colorado Avalanche prospect Mikko Rantanen. Vatrano was also named to the AHL’s All Rookie Team along with teammate Austin Czarnik.
(Sidenote: This might be the first Hockey Goal Compilation video ever set to the theme song from the Sopranos, so that's definitely a thing worth noting.)
Vatrano’s contributions even earned him an invite to skate for Team USA at the World Championships in St. Petersburg, Russia. And through three games, Vatrano has been, well, Vatrano. He’s put 10 shots on goal, and come through with one goal and two assists. Only Auston Matthews (four points) has more points, while only Dylan Larkin (11 shots) has put more pucks on net than Vatrano.
Under contract through 2018 at just under $800,000, the Bruins may have found a diamond in the UMass-Amherst rough with the crafty left-winger, and could help lessen the blow of a potential (and perhaps likely) Loui Eriksson departure or swing-and-miss on Jimmy Vesey this summer.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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