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University of Massachusets Athletics
The Shot Of A Lifetime - Frank Vatrano
March 26, 2015 | Hockey
As part of his internship with the UMass Media Relations department, former Minuteman Frank Vatrano will be blogging and sharing his experiences and first impressions of professional hockey as a member of the Boston Bruins organization.
Hi everyone...First off, I would just like to thank UMass for an amazing 2 1/2 years. Not only do I have some great memories from my time there, but I also created friendships with my teammates that will last a lifetime. At the end of this past season I was fortunate enough to have a three-year entry-level contract offered to me by my childhood team, the Boston Bruins. Making the decision to turn pro was a no-brainer with it being the Boston Bruins, which is an absolute dream come true for me. This is something that I have dreamed of ever since I first put on a pair of skates--to one day suit up for my favorite team.
I am currently in Providence, R.I., playing for the Boston Bruins' AHL team, the Providence Bruins. I have been here a little over a week and I am adjusting fairly quickly. Pro hockey so far has been much different than what I was used to with the college hockey routine. Every level you go up in hockey, everyone gets stronger, faster and more skilled. We play three games a week typically--mostly Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In college, we played Friday and Saturday each week for the most part. Here we get Mondays off and practice Tuesday thru Thursday. The practice schedule is much different and, because we play so many more games, we practice for 45 minutes tops.
Another thing that a big change from college life is how much down time you have as a player. Almost everyday since I have been here we have practiced at 10:30 a.m. and we are out of the rink by 1 p.m. every single day. The biggest adjustment I've had to make was finding things to do to stay occupied. At school I was used to practicing then going home to dive right into schoolwork, while my situation now is completely different.
This upcoming weekend we have two road games vs. the Hartford Wolfpack and the Portland Pirates. I am excited for the games this weekend especially with UMass alums on both of our opponents' rosters (Conor Allen with Hartford and Joel Hanley with Portland).
As my pro career continues, I am looking forward to sharing with all of you my experiences here down the road.
Go Bruins!