Prospect Profile: Mike Vecchione
Upon being reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms just before their preseason schedule was set to begin in late September, many weren't sure what to expect from rookie forward Mike Vecchione - a Union college standout the Philadelphia Flyers signed as a free agent last spring.
He had barely seen the ice in the Flyers' NHL exhibition schedule - appearing in just two games before being cut from the NHL roster and assigned to the minors with the Phantoms.
Fast forward to November 1st, and Vecchione has a point-per-game average with the Phantoms through ten games and took home CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month honors Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm just out there having fun, playing my game and it just seems to happen," Vecchione said after a Phantoms win over Springfield last Wednesday. "I'm just trying to do the little things right, and win some hockey games."
The Phantoms' 7-2-1 start to the 2017-18 season is due, in large part, to the success Vecchione has had with his linemates Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Danick Martel - the latter of which leads the entire AHL with 10 goals in 10 games so far this season.
"Yeah, we just go out there every practice and try to score goals," Vecchione said of his line, which is the only trio to stick together through the team's first ten games. "We talk about our speed and how we can use that. You can just see us trying to beat defenders, and create havoc. We haven't really changed our game at all. It's all about consistency. Hopefully we can score some more goals and help the team."
But what has allowed Vecchione and his linemates to have such success like they have had through the first month of the year? Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon had a simple answer. Face-offs.
"First year players, there are always some concerns. You don't want to give the opposition an easy game by losing face-offs in the defensive zone, and I haven't thought twice about putting him in the defensive zone," Gordon said of Vecchione, attributing not only his defensive abilities but his acumen on the draw.
"When you look at the success that [Aube-Kubel] and [Martel] have had, a part of it stems from the fact that they start with the puck a lot because he wins face-offs."
Why has a rookie forward come in and been so successful right off the bat? Another simple answer, this time from Vecchione himself.
"I think it just started over the summer. I got a taste of the NHL and how fast that was, so that kind of set the standard for me going into camp," Vecchione said, explaining he trained over the summer with both AHL'ers and NHL'ers to get a head start on adapting to their speed. "Watch how they train, train with them, skate with them. When I got to camp, I felt comfortable."
"It started way back in April when I got a taste of the NHL. I just had that mindset that I need to get up to that level, that speed. I'm still learning. It's always going to be a learning curve for me right now. It's a month in, but I'm still trying to be a sponge and learn as much as I can. The veteran guys have been great, keeping me focused on how to be a pro and the system part - just giving me that confidence and I think that has gone a long way so far."
