Rookie season
Rangers’ Vallati ready for a sophomore surge
KITCHENER — Giovanni Vallati pauses for a moment when asked about his rookie season with the Kitchener Rangers.
“Coming into the league I was … I guess the best word to describe it is nervous,” said the 17-year-old defenceman. “I was just kind of finding myself as a player and seeing what I could do in the OHL.”
It was a shaky start for the team’s 2016 first round draft pick.
Head coach Jay McKee tried to limit the rearguard’s minutes and match him against the third and fourth lines of other teams to ease him into action last fall.
“When Giovanni got here he struggled,” said the skipper. “He was trying to do too much. He was bobbling pucks and losing his man. He had a tough go.” But things gradually changed. Long term injuries to veteran defencemen forced the Rangers to give Vallati more ice time and put him in bigger roles. And the rookie responded to the challenge. The Ottawa native went from the team’s sixth blueliner to the top pairing in the playoffs where he was tasked with shutting down some of the best players in the league.
Looking back, McKee calls Vallati the team’s most improved player over the course of last season. “He came further than anyone from where he was at on day one of training camp to where he was at the end of the season,” the coach said. “With every step that we gave him he got more and more confident and better as it went on. His learning development curve was incredible.”
Now, the Rangers expect Vallati to be a go-to guy in the back end.
He’ll be among the team’s top four defencemen on a club that hopes to challenge the best teams after placing sixth in the Ontario Hockey League’s western conference last season.
“Coming into this year I want to be a more offensive two-way guy,” said Vallati, who had five goals and 16 assists and tied for the team lead at plus eight as a freshman.
The Rangers used four forwards — and sometimes five — on the power play last season but gave Vallati a few looks late in the campaign.
Manning the point is one new thing on the youngster’s radar.
“Growing up I always played the power play and it’s something I feel comfortable doing,” he said. “I enjoy it.”
There will be extra eyes on Vallati this season as he enters his National Hockey League draft year.
Some scouting services have him slated to go in the first two rounds. And he’s not alone. Other draft eligible players include forwards Riley Damiani, Adam Liska, Eric Guest, Liam Peyton, defenceman Jack York and goalie Lucas Pfeil.
“It’s a big year for me and all the other draft eligible players,” he said.
“You never want to think about it too much but obviously getting drafted would be a huge accomplishment. That’s something that I have been looking forward to my whole life.”
And a strong sophomore season would be a fine starting point in helping his draft stock and the Rangers.