Frank Vatrano's entire tenure with the Florida Panthers has been defined by opportunity.
Opportunities never really emerged for the wing while he bounced between the NHL and the American Hockey League while he was with the Boston Bruins.
Opportunities, then, immediately presented themselves with the Bruins traded him to the Panthers just before the trade deadline in 2018. Vatrano was more than happy to play wherever, as long as it meant he was a full-time player at the highest level of hockey.
Back in March, Vatrano stared down his greatest opportunity yet. Florida was struggling and threatening to drop out of playoff contention.
Joel Quenneville had an off-the-wall idea: He would split up the dynamic forward tandem of Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau. Vatrano would be Huberdeau's replacement on the Panthers' top line.
"There was balance in our lines," the coach said. "All of a sudden more lines we feel could score, more lines were comfortable defensively and all four lines gave us that balance."
Florida, which had lost four games in a row, went with the new alignment for their last two games before the COVID-19 shutdown in March. The Panthers won first with offense, scoring four goals _ with one assisted by Vatrano _ to beat the Montreal Canadiens, then winning the regular-season finale with defense 2-1 against the St. Louis Blues.
Quenneville has repeatedly suggested the two-game stretch was perhaps Florida's best this season, so the Panthers are sticking with the same lines as they prepare for the qualifying round against the New York Islanders next month in Toronto. All throughout postseason training camp at the Florida Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, Quenneville has kept the lines unchanged.
Vatrano's development from undrafted afterthought into a legitimate first-line forward unlocks Florida's ability to play this way.
"The biggest thing when I was in Boston coming to here is I didn't really have the confidence. I think in hockey, the thing that you need the most _ no matter how skilled you are, if you don't have confidence, you're game's going to go right down," Vatrano said. "Dale (Tallon) and the coaching staff that was here at the time gave me a great opportunity to hop right into a top-six spot, and compete for it. And I took the opportunity I had and just went with it."
In nearly three seasons with the Bruins, Vatrano never played more than 44 games in a single season. The Massachusetts native had two good seasons for the UMass Minutemen before Boston took a flier on him as an undrafted free agent in 2015.
His strong slap shot and speed quickly impressed the organization as he scored 10 goals in his first 10 games for AHL Providence. Less than eight months after he joined Boston as an undrafted free agent, Vatrano got his first crack at the NHL.
He never found a way to stick, though. Instead, he frequently was a healthy scratch by the Bruins and even was occasionally sent back to the minors for stints with the Providence Bruins. Tallon plucked him away from Boston for just a third-round pick. The general manager immediately locked him into a roster spot.
"He took me out of a tough situation in Boston and brought me here to an even better one," Vatrano said. "I kind of took that opportunity and went with it."
This season was the best of his career and the Panthers were at their best _ at least in Quenneville's mind _ when Vatrano was playing with Florida's top unit.
Vatrano and Barkov already had a sort of chemistry from playing together on the Panthers' penalty-kill unit, and Vatrano is trying to emulate some of what made the tandem work so well in shorthanded situations. Both can be defensive-minded and both like to use their speed to create on the counterattack with more open ice. Vatrano, who leads Florida with two shorthanded goals, has some first-line offensive tools and a role player's mentality.
Playing with Barkov and fellow wing Evgenii Dadonov, "just keeps my job simple," Vatrano said.
"Get to the puck as best as possible and just drive to the net, be hard on the forecheck, be hard to play against," said Vatrano, whose 34 points were on pace for a career high. "That's kind of my job on that line: Create space for them."
His slap shot makes defenses pay attention, his speed lets him win loose pucks and his attitude is tailored to fit in as the No. 3 option.
"You notice him for how hard of a shot he has _ stuff like that _ but he plays the game hard," defenseman Keith Yandle said. "He's one better skaters on our team. He flies up and down the wing. He can create space for himself and his linemates. He's definitely not afraid to get his nose in there and he's going to be a vital part to our team."
