Competition gets in way
Vatrano must earn his place
Last season was supposed to be Frank Vatrano’s year. He was coming off a 36-goals-in-36-games season in Providence while also notching a hat trick in an NHL game in his first pro season. There were visions of him riding shotgun on the Patrice BergeronBrad Marchand line.
But on the eve of Bruins training camp, Vatrano suffered a foot injury that required surgery, keeping him out until Christmas. The sharpshooter scored 10 goals in 44 games, but never really found his niche in the lineup.
Leading up to this year’s camp, no one seemed to be talking about Vatrano. There is more opportunity this year, but even more high end prospects vying for them. Anders Bjork, Danton Heinen, Jake DeBrusk and a handful of other youngsters are this year’s models.
But just because the 23-year-old East Longmeadow native is no longer the flavor of the month doesn’t mean you should sleep on him. Vatrano knows what he’s up against.
“It’s really competitive,” he said after the first day of on-ice activity at Warrior Ice Arena. “Every practice is like a game and you’ve got to treat it like that. You have to bring your best effort forward. These young guys that are coming are competing for a spot and the guys that are here have to work even harder to keep that spot.”
In yesterday’s practice, Vatrano skated at left wing with rookie Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson at center and David Backes as right wing. While Vatrano has some of the marquee attributes of the game down, namely shooting and skating, he has to find his grind game.
“I think my overall game needs to get better. I need to be a complete, 200-foot player and bring consistency, night in and night out,” said Vatrano. “(Coach Bruce Cassidy) always talks about your A and your B game. Obviously you want to bring more A games, but if your A game isn’t there you have to bring your B game. For me it’s finding two games I can bring every night. Hopefully every time it’s my A game, but that’s not how it goes sometimes.”
While Cassidy views Vatrano as an NHL player, he stopped short of calling him an “automatic” for the roster. So what does Vatrano’s B game look like?
“For Frank, it would be energy,” said Cassidy. “He’s a straight line skater, so get on top of people, create some loose puck situations. Maybe you create some offense that way. The C games are what get you into trouble.”
Just how many C games Vatrano had last year, Cassidy didn’t say. But at least he was at the starting line with everybody else. Vatrano felt it took him a little while to get going.
“I thought I felt it coming on in February and into March. I thought that was the best part of my season,” said Vatrano. “I was playing really well and then I dropped off a little bit. Sometimes with young guys, that’s what happens. It’s kind of a mental game when you’re younger and when things don’t go your way, you have to keep a steady mindset, a positive mindset. The biggest thing for me is don’t get down on myself when I make mistakes or I’m not playing my best. Just know that I’m in the NHL and I’ve got to do what I do to stay up here.”
He’s aware that nothing will be handed to him. And Vatrano knows that the need for defensive responsibility did not leave town with Claude Julien. That is the mindset he’s working.
“Just making sure I don’t get lost in the (defensive) zone,” said Vatrano, who was burned for a big goal in last April’s playoff series against Ottawa when he lost coverage. “I know the defensive zone comes a little bit slower to me than some other guys. Everyone sees my shot, but I want to be that guy that can hold on to the puck and make plays. I don’t want to be a onetrick pony.”
With all the competition in camp this year, Vatrano can’t afford to be.