Hershey, Vecchione Agree To Contract Extension

HERSHEY, Pa. - Mike Vecchione has played hockey in many places and each stop has added something to his game, but after several years and several teams, Vecchione has finally found his home - Hershey.

On Tuesday, the Bears announced that Vecchione has signed a two-year AHL contract extension - a deal that will keep the Bears' assistant captain in Chocolate Town through the 2024-25 season.

"As the season progressed, I was just talking to my agent, and I was like, I don't want to go anywhere else," Vecchione told InsideAHLHockey.com in an exclusive interview. "You know, like I've been in the West, I've been in the Midwest, I played in Lehigh for two years, and now this is my favorite place to play. And, man, I just didn't want to go anywhere, and I just feel like this is home to me. And I felt the most comfortable here."

Vecchione, who admitted he turns 30 this year, said that each step in his journey has provided opportunities to learn and grow his game.

"Coming out of college, obviously, I signed with Philly (and) had a great time there. I learned a lot from those guys, you know, really became pro with some of the veteran guys like Colin McDonald, Chris Conner. I lived with TJ Brennan; like those guys who have been in the league for a while. So it was good to get my feet wet in that system."

Unfortunately for Vecchione, or fortunately for Hershey fans, things did not work out as Vecchione appeared in just two games for the Flyers after his time at Union College; however, the following two seasons with the Phantoms proved quite successful as Vecchione headed to the St Louis Blues organization.

Vecchione recalled, "I went to St. Louis, and ended up in San Antonio, which is a great place to play. (It was) one of the better places I've ever been around, just warm every day, an awesome atmosphere and I became quite a goalscorer over there and then COVID hit."

COVID ended Vecchione’s season at 21 goals and 15 assists through 61 games. The early end to the season was heartbreaking for many as well due to the franchise being sold to the Vegas Golden Knights, and rebranded the Henderson Silver Knights.

Vecchione decided to then sign with Colorado, a move he described as another awesome experience.

"Greg Cronin, who is the coach there (is a) Boston guy, and knew a little bit about me and really pushed me to be a better player. (He was a) pretty tough coach, and was very meticulous about the details, and I love that about him because every day was a battle," Vecchione said. "We had these days where they're just strictly skill days where you work on certain things throughout practice, and it was just like station to station. And I really felt like I developed my game there."

With the shortened season after hockey returned from the COVID pause, Vecchione scored seven goals and three assists in 18 games during the season and recorded an assist in one of the two post-season games he played for the Eagles. But, it was soon decision time again, and two former Hershey players had a big part in Vecchione’s journey continuing to Hershey.

"When I got the chance to come to Hershey, I talked to guys like Chris Bourque, and he was like, 'If you get the chance to sign there, go.' I know, it's a tremendous organization," Vecchione said.

"Obviously, I played a lot here when I was in Lehigh, and it was always a great atmosphere. I've heard nothing but great things about this place," he added. "I was obviously friends with Brian Pinho when he was here, and when I was working out with him, Washington offered me a deal. He was like, 'Well, Are you coming?' And I was like, ‘Yeah, I'll be there with you.’ So we were really excited."

So for the guy who used to be the enemy, walking into Giant Center again might have been a little daunting, but for Vecchione, it finally felt like home.

"You come through the hallway here, you see all the Hall of Famers, and all the banners, and there's all a rich history and tradition. And I was just like, falling in love because growing up in Boston, it's kind of the same way with all the sports teams, everyone's so passionate. And that's just how I felt as soon as I walked into the building," Vecchione said.

Vecchione appeared in 59 games for Hershey last season, thanks to some injuries that he referred to as hiccups. He recorded 16 goals and 28 assists in 59 regular-season games before adding an assist in one of three postseason games before yet another promising season in Hershey abruptly ended.

In October of this season, after starting the year in Washington like all two-way players, Vecchione was placed on waivers to return to Hershey. Vecchione, who had developed great relationships with Scott Allen and last year's staff, admitted to being a bit nervous heading into a season with yet another new coach, but just like his interactions with Peter Laviolette, who took the time to speak to Vecchione individually about his game and growing up in Massachusetts, Vecchione had once again found himself comfortable with the new staff.

"I got to meet Nelly (Todd Nelson), and obviously Booter (Nick Bootland), and obviously, from day one, everything just clicked, you know, we had a great team, while everyone just like bought into the system. And you can see like, we're at the top of the league right now,' adding that at All-Stars, everyone noted Hershey is the team to beat.

As for that All-Star experience, Vecchione was honored to represent Hershey along with Nelson and linemate Ethan Frank.

However, he noted that the third member of the line should have been invited as well. Mike Sgarbossa, who Vecchione called "the engine that drives our line" also held Vecchione accountable for their post-game lifting session prior to the interview.

But without Sgarbossa in Laval, it was Vecchione who had to be Frank’s hype man before the Fastest Skater Competition.

"He was kind of nervous," Vecchione said of Frank. "I don't know why. Obviously, you have factors like a blown tire or something like that, but you know, he was dialed in."

Since the glass was removed for the skills competition, Vecchione also engaged the spectators. "I was like, hey, this guy, he's different. I was telling everybody to watch out for #28 -he’s going to do something special. And as soon as that whistle went he's off and everyone's like, looking at the the timer there and he's going we want to round you can see like the timer, as he's coming around the last band or like, Oh my God, he's gonna do something special break record, and then they put up on the screen. And it was just like, half a second faster than anyone in the AHL." He added tongue-in-cheek, "Like trying to keep up with that guy out there is tough enough, like me and Sgarbs are pretty equal speed wise, but then he's just like a rocket, you know?"

But off the ice, guys have difficulty keeping up with Vecchione in two places - MarioKart and Dollar General.

This past weekend, a broken down bus had the team stranded in Tremont, PA, but just like last year's travel debacle in Charlotte, the guys made the best of it ordering lunch at a pizza place and then doing a bit of shopping.

"We're at the dollar store, and I found a MarioKart champion t-shirt for $1. And it's like the coolest thing I've ever gotten. Like, I still play Nintendo, and I still play Mario Kart with the buddies back home and just a plain white t-shirt. It says MarioKart champion 150 cc and it's Mario. So I'm just like, I would find a $1 shirt, like a relic like this in this town, and everyone was pretty jealous."

All joking aside, Vecchione, who said he has four controllers and issued a standing challenge for anyone to "come get smoked" in MarioKart, is chasing that elusive AHL championship.

"So going all the way back to high school, I won a state championship. Going back to college, I won a national championship. And like, this is the next step for me, personally, and this is the organization that can do it."

In order to turn that dream into a reality, Vecchione knows his team needs to get back to what has worked well so far this year - good, strong forechecking and discipline, but the focus is still just one game at a time, even as a milestone birthday looms and the professional hockey career was delayed to earn a Business degree from Union College.

"I'm turning 30 in a couple of weeks," Vecchione said. "You know, it's funny, [Zack] Fisch was talking to me early in the year, and he's like, 'You're getting better like a fine wine.' And he was asking me all about that."

And fortunately for Hershey fans, Vecchione has chosen to make that run with the Bears not only this year, but possibly the next two as well as Hershey is hoping to field strong, competitive teams while developing players for the Capitals.

"It's the culture. It's the atmosphere. It's all these different variables that come into play, and I just didn't want to like, lose that. I didn't want to go chase somewhere else or chase the money here or chase a dream over there," Vecchione said. "This is where I'm meant to be, and I really want to win a championship here and we have the coaches and we have the players to do that."