Toporowski Getting Back Into Form For Providence's Postseason Run

Coming out of the Western Hockey League (WHL) undrafted and unsigned, forward Luke Toporowski signed an American Hockey League (AHL) contract with the Providence Bruins and turned pro this fall - starting his pro career off with a bang.

After being held off the scoresheet in his pro debut, the goals - and points - began to come with regularity. Toporowski not only scored his first career pro goal in his second career AHL game, he proceeded to tally points in nine straight games to begin his pro career on quite the offensive tear.

"He's a young player, and he provided some offense for us early on," Providence Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel told InsideAHLHockey.com of Toporowski's start to his pro career. "I think it's really important for a young player, you know, there's some things in his game he's got to get better at. And he's working on that. That's what it's about."

The confidence gained early on in the season was incredibly important for Toporowski. The way he explained it, that early-season success paved the way for his approach when things weren't going in for him around Christmas in late December.

"Yeah, confidence is the biggest thing. I was playing my game, and I wasn't worrying about anything else," Toporowski told InsideAHLHockey.com back on December 28, adding that his linemates were a key to his success as well as the coaching staff helping him transition to the pro game. "I think everything was going smoothly. And I mean, there's gonna be ups and downs and right now [the production] might not be there like I wanted it to, or like I thought it would be for the whole year after after a good start. So just kind of stick with it and get back to doing what I know it can do."

Upon asking Mougenel what sort of things Toporowski needs to work on as he makes the transition to the pro game, it was a lot of the main points you'd expect for young players coming in to the AHL from Canadian junior hockey.

"Yeah, I think all those things, especially coming from junior, where you, play a lot of heavy minutes, a lot of important minutes. And here, it's really important that you have quality minutes," Mougenel began, adding, "And I think that's one thing that Topper has got to work on is away from the puck. Like [a lot of] young players, he's got an offensive mind. And [he thinks] it's really important, you know, to score and that's a real important part of it, he's got attributes in his game that I haven't seen in a lot of players, he's competitive, and he can score. So you know, we embrace what he does really well. Those things he's got to work on are all teachable moments, and he's learns, he's going to get coached. And we're trying to make him a complete player. And that's what he's doing. He's done a real good job."

Despite being a first-year pro, Toporowski's mindset and approach to the game is like that of a seasoned veteran. His understanding of the big picture and overall process he is in as an AHL-contracted player trying to take that next step will only benefit him as he continues to develop and hone his skills.

That mental fortitude was definitely tested in late January and the following weeks after a questionable hit left Toporowski injured and out of action for eight weeks during the middle part of the season.

"It wasn't even a hockey play," Mougenel recalled of the hit Toporowski took January 28 in a game against Utica. "It was a, you know, it was a pretty malicious knee that that took him out. So that was tough to swallow because I thought his game was in a real good place."

"It definitely sucked being out eight weeks, but rehab guys and trainers did an awesome job with me," Toporowski explained of the rehab process.

One minor detail of that rehab, according to Mougenel, was that he wasn't working his way back into shape alone. Veteran forward Vinni Lettieri was also coming off a long injury absence of his own, and so the veteran took the rookie under his wing as Mougenel described it - pushing him through the rigorous skating and training to get back onto the ice in a game.

"Vinni did an amazing job for those, I think it was he was out for eight-nine weeks. And you can see it in practice," Mougenel said of Toporowski's skating ability. "He looks like he's actually gained a step. So [I'm] just real proud of how hard he's worked to get back - let alone having success early on. But it's not a real surprise, because he's looked really good coming back."

As for what Toporowski needs to do in the short-term, it's all about trying to get back into that groove like he was in the fall in the Bruins' last few games of the regular season.

"These last few games that I've been in, I've got to get back up to speed - maybe not in the game shape I want to be in -  but I've got a few games to get ready before the playoffs so hopefully just sharpen up and get back to up to speed by the time playoffs come," Toporowski said, adding, "I think just build off of every game. Don't look to far ahead to playoffs and just focus on the task in front of us."

So far, Toporowski is saying and doing all the right things in his first season as a pro. While the ultimate goal for all hockey players is to play in the NHL, for "Topper", as his teammates call him, the next step is securing an NHL contract - whether that be with the Bruins organization or elsewhere across the league.

All he can control is putting his best foot forward, and so far - by all accounts - Toporowski is putting in the work.

"Yeah, I mean, I think we got off to such a great start, and myself, personally, got off to a good start. So I think you got to kind of get caught up in that. And you just think it's gonna keep on happening every single game, and that's not the case. So just kind of stay patient and maybe be grateful that I got off to that great start because it gave me the confidence to continue to do that. And maybe when it's not happening, I just got to go back to the basics and really focus on what I can do when it's not producing, and not putting the puck in the back of the net. So just focusing on that focusing on the pro details and things that will get me to the next level."