Frank Vatrano
Frank Vatrano and Martin Jones.jpg
Vatrano with the Anaheim Ducks in 2023.
Born (1994-03-14) March 14, 1994
East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
Florida Panthers
New York Rangers
National team  United States
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2014–present

Frank Vatrano (born March 14, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Anaheim Ducks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers.

Playing career

Amateur

Vatrano grew up in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As a youth, he played in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Minuteman Flames minor ice hockey team.[1] He attended Cathedral High School, and later transferred to Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan to play in the U.S. National Team Development Program.[2][3][4] He played for the Boston Jr. Bruins in 2009–10 scoring eight goals before playing within the U.S. National Development Team Program. After originally committing to Boston College, Vatrano opted to return to the Boston Jr. Bruins before starting his collegiate career the following season with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He forwent his senior year in 2014 to pursue professional career, signing a three-year entry level contract with the Boston Bruins on March 12, 2015.[5] He signed an amateur tryout contract with AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins making his professional debut to finish out the 2014–15 season.

Professional

Boston Bruins

Vatrano with the Boston Bruins in 2016.

After attending his first Bruins training camp, Vatrano was reassigned to the Providence Bruins to begin his rookie season. Vatrano opened the 2015–16 season, leading the AHL in goal scoring with 10 goals in as many games, earning rookie of the month honors. His quick ascension was realised when he subsequently received his first NHL recall with the Bruins on November 6, 2015.[6] On November 7, 2015, Vatrano made his NHL debut, and scored his first regular season NHL goal for the Bruins against their long-time rivals, the Montreal Canadiens in a 4–2 road game defeat. Vatrano would later go on to score 2 goals against the Detroit Red Wings including an overtime game winner.[7] On December 18, 2015, Vatrano scored his first NHL hat trick with the Bruins against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the first, fifth, and sixth Bruins goals for a 6–2 road victory.[8]

At the end of the 2015–16 AHL season, he finished with 36 goals and 19 assists for a total of 55 points in 36 games. He also had three hat tricks. On April 14, 2016, the AHL announced San Antonio Rampage rookie Mikko Rantanen and him, shared the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2015–16 season.[9]

For the start of the 2016–17 Boston Bruins season, Vatrano had suffered an unexpected injury to his left foot due to torn ligaments.[10] As a result, Vatrano missed the Bruins' training camp and pre-season games for his recovery. His first game for the Bruins in the 2016–17 season was on December 22, 2016, on the road against the Florida Panthers and with 2:09 elapsed in the second period, Vatrano scored the first Bruins goal en route to a 3–1 road victory against the Panthers.[11]

Florida Panthers

On February 22, 2018, the Bruins traded Vatrano to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.[12] Immediately following the trade, it was revealed that Vatrano was expected to miss two weeks to recover from an ankle injury.[13] He scored in his debut with the Panthers on March 10, ending his 13-game goalless drought, to help the team record their eighth straight home win.[14] Vatrano's outstanding play earned him a temporary promotion from the third line to the second line to play with Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau.[15][16] Despite his efforts, the Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention with a 43–30–8 record on April 7.[17] Vatrano ended the regular season with seven goals and three assists through 41 games with the Panthers and Boston Bruins. Following the Panther's elimination, Vatrano signed a one-year contract to remain with the team on June 29, 2018.[18]

Vatrano returned to the Panthers for the 2018–19 season as their expected third line winger alongside center Jared McCann and winger Denis Malgin. The line had played together shortly during the previous season but never for long amounts of time.[19] Malgin was eventually replaced with Jonathan Huberdeau.[20] By January 15, Vatrano reached new career-highs in goals and points while averaging 14:11 of ice time per game. His 12 even-strength goals were also tied for the team lead. His play earned him a promotion to the Panther's top line as a winger to Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov.[21] Upon joining this line, he accumulated three goals and three assists in four games. He also set a new NHL career high with four points in one game as the Panthers beat the San Jose Sharks on January 21.[22] In his following 10 games on that line, Vatrano led the team in goals, points, and shots on goal while also pacing all team forwards with 44 blocked shots.[23] He continued to lead the team in scoring throughout February with an NHL career-high 20 goals and 33 points through 59 games. Vatrano's outstanding play earned him a three-year contract extension on February 25.[24] Once Malgin returned to the lineup on March 25, Vatrano reunited with the centre and Riley Sheahan on the third line.[25] The following game, Vatrano tallied his 23rd goal of the season, continue adding to his new-career high, in his 200th career NHL game.[26] Vatrano concluded his second season with the team with 24 goals and 15 assists for 39 points.[27]

New York Rangers

On March 16, 2022, Vatrano was traded by the Panthers to the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2022 fourth-round pick.[28] He immediately found chemistry with the Rangers, notching 8 goals and 13 points through 22 appearances to close out the regular season. In the playoffs, he helped the Rangers advance to the Conference Finals, contributing with 5 goals and 13 points through 20 post-season games.

Anaheim Ducks

As a free agent from the Rangers, Vatrano was signed to a three-year, $10.95 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks on July 13, 2022.[29]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2007–08 Boston Jr. Bruins EJHL 2 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2008–09 Boston Jr. Bruins EJHL 44 25 26 51 30 7 3 2 5 2
2009–10 Boston Jr. Bruins EJHL 8 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
2010–11 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 34 11 4 15 22 2 1 0 1 0
2010–11 U.S. NTDP U17 USDP 53 19 11 30 50 — — — — —
2011–12 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 24 7 11 18 8 — — — — —
2011–12 U.S. NTDP U18 USDP 60 16 19 35 24 — — — — —
2012–13 U.S. NTDP Juniors USHL 1 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
2012–13 U.S. NTDP U18 USDP 5 0 4 4 21 — — — — —
2012–13 Boston Jr. Bruins EJHL 19 13 9 22 20 — — — — —
2013–14 UMass Minutemen HE 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2014–15 UMass Minutemen HE 36 18 10 28 28 — — — — —
2014–15 Providence Bruins AHL 5 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
2015–16 Providence Bruins AHL 36 36 19 55 22 3 1 0 1 2
2015–16 Boston Bruins NHL 39 8 3 11 14 — — — — —
2016–17 Providence Bruins AHL 2 2 0 2 4 — — — — —
2016–17 Boston Bruins NHL 44 10 8 18 14 6 1 0 1 4
2017–18 Boston Bruins NHL 25 2 0 2 22 — — — — —
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 16 5 3 8 12 — — — — —
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 81 24 15 39 38 — — — — —
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 69 16 18 34 30 2 0 0 0 2
2020–21 Florida Panthers NHL 56 18 8 26 26 6 1 1 2 4
2021–22 Florida Panthers NHL 49 10 9 19 30 — — — — —
2021–22 New York Rangers NHL 22 8 5 13 6 20 5 8 13 13
2022–23 Anaheim Ducks NHL 81 22 19 41 66 — — — — —
NHL totals 482 123 88 211 244 34 7 9 16 23

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2011 United States U17 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5 2 2 4 4
2012 United States U18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 2 2 4 2
2016 United States WC 4th 10 3 5 8 12
2019 United States WC 7th 8 2 1 3 4
Junior totals 11 4 4 8 6
Senior totals 18 5 6 11 16

Awards and honors

Award Year Ref.
NHL
NHL All-Star Game 2024

References

  1. ↑ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Frank Vatrano". teamusa.usahockey.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ Brown, Garry (February 4, 2011). "East Longmeadow's Frankie Vatrano excels for national team". The Republican. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  4. ↑ "FRANK VATRANO". umassathletics.com. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Bruins sign Frank Vatrano to entry-level contract". Boston Bruins. 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Bruins assign Khokhlachev to Providence, recall Vatrano". Boston Bruins. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  7. ↑ "Frank Vatrano scores first NHL goal for Bruins with Family looking on". NESN. 2015-11-07. Retrieved 2015-11-07.
  8. ↑ Crosby, Wes (December 19, 2015). "Vatrano's hat trick leads Bruins past Penguins". nhl.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved December 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Rantanen, Vatrano share Garrett Award". theahl.com. American Hockey League. April 14, 2016. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  10. ↑ Ryan, Conor (September 24, 2016). "Boston Bruins F Frank Vatrano (foot surgery) expected to be sidelined for 3 months". www.masslive.com. MassLive.com. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ Switaj, Caryn (December 23, 2016). "Vatrano Doesn't Miss a Beat in 3–1 Win Over Panthers". www.nhl.com/bruins. National Hockey league. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Florida Panthers Acquire Forward Frank Vatrano from Boston Bruins". National Hockey League. February 22, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  13. ↑ Poupart, Alain (February 24, 2018). "Penguins at Panthers preview". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  14. ↑ Poupart, Alain (March 11, 2018). "Panthers defeat Rangers in shootout, close gap in wild card". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Olive, Jameson (March 12, 2018). "5 Takeaways: Panthers Home Win Streak Snapped in Loss to Sens". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  16. ↑ Olive, Jameson (March 24, 2018). "With Luongo Out, Panthers Roll with Reimer against Coyotes". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  17. ↑ Poupart, Alain (April 7, 2018). "Panthers defeat Sabres after being eliminated". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Vatrano agrees to terms on one-year contract with Panthers". National Hockey League. June 29, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  19. ↑ Olive, Jameson (October 4, 2018). "Young, Fast Third Line Has Panthers Excited". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ Olive, Jameson (November 28, 2018). "McCann Promoted As Panthers Prepare For Ducks". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  21. ↑ Olive, Jameson (January 15, 2019). "McCoshen in, Vatrano moved up as Panthers end trip in Montreal". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  22. ↑ Poupart, Alain (January 21, 2019). "Vatrano has four points for Panthers in win against Sharks". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  23. ↑ Olive, Jameson (February 5, 2019). "Panthers Rolling with Confident Reimer Against Blues". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Vatrano agrees to three-year contract with Panthers". National Hockey League. February 25, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  25. ↑ Olive, Jameson (March 25, 2019). "5 Takeaways: Huberdeau, Hawryluk Score Twice in Loss to Maple Leafs". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  26. ↑ Olive, Jameson (March 26, 2019). "5 Takeaways: Panthers Fall Behind Early, Can't Solve Price in Loss". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  27. ↑ Olive, Jameson (April 1, 2019). "5 Takeaways: Barkov Ties Bure's Points Record as Panthers Sweep Capitals". National Hockey League. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Rangers Acquire Frank Vatrano". New York Rangers. March 16, 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  29. ↑ "Ducks agree to terms with Vatrano on three-year contract". Anaheim Ducks. July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
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