Frank Vatrano

Frank Vatrano
Vatrano with the Anaheim Ducks in 2023
Born	(1994-03-14) March 14, 1994 (age 30) 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] In his first season with Anaheim, Vatrano scored 22 goals, the second highest total of his career to that point and led the team in shots on goal. He scored 16 of those goals in the second half of the season. ^[30]

Vatrano started the 2023–24 season with a bang, scoring a hat trick in the second game of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 15, 2023. It was the fourth hat trick of his career. Only 13 days later, Vatrano would score his fifth career hat trick in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. ^[31] In the midst of his career year, Vatrano was named an NHL All-Star on January 4, 2024. ^[32] He was drafted by Team Hughes for the game, and would score two goals and an assist in the 6-5 shootout loss to Team Matthews in the semi-final.

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		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		82	37	23	60	85		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				564	160	111	271	329		34	7	9	16	23

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	United States	U17			5	2	2	4	4
2012	United States	U18			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
AHL
AHL Player of the Week	October 11, 2015; March 6, 2016
AHL Rookie of the Month	October 2015; March 2016
AHL All-Rookie Team	2016
AHL First All-Star Team	2016
Willie Marshall Award	2016
Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award	2016
NHL
NHL All-Star Game	2024
International
World U-17 Hockey Challenge silver medal	2011
IIHF World U18 Championship gold medal	2012

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. Archived from the original on July 12, 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.
30. Stephens, Eric (September 14, 2023). "Ducks wing analysis: Troy Terry leads the way, and what will Alex Killorn bring?". The Athletic. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
31. "Recap: Vatrano Gets Another Hat Trick as Ducks Win Third Straight | Anaheim Ducks". www.nhl.com. 2023-10-28. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
32. Hiller, Charlie (2024-01-05). "Ducks' Frank Vatrano Named 2024 NHL All-Star". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2024-03-06.

External links

• Media related to Frank Vatrano at Wikimedia Commons
• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Matt Murray	AHL Rookie of the Year 2015–16 (with Mikko Rantanen)	Succeeded by Danny O'Regan