Frank Vatrano

Frank Vatrano (born March 14, 1994) is an American professional ice hockey player for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Amateur
Vatrano was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. As a youth, he played in the 2006 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Minuteman Flames minor ice hockey team. He attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, Massachusetts, and later transferred to Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan to play in the U.S. National Team Development Program. He played for the Boston Jr. Bruins in 2009–10 scoring 8 goals before playing within the U.S. National Development Team Program. After originally committing to Boston College, Vatrano opted to return to the Boston Jr. Bruins before starting his collegiate career the following season with the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He forwent his senior year in 2014 to pursue professional career, signing a three-year entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins on March 12, 2015. He signed an amateur try-out contract with AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins making his professional debut to finish out the 2014–15 season.

Boston Bruins
After attending his first Bruins training camp, Vatrano was reassigned to the Providence Bruins to begin his rookie season. Vatrano opened the 2015–16 season, leading the AHL in goal scoring with 10 goals in as many games, earning rookie of the month honors. His quick ascension was realised when he subsequently received his first NHL recall with the Bruins on November 6, 2015. On November 7, 2015, Vatrano made his NHL debut, and scored his first regular season NHL goal for the Bruins against their long-time rivals, the Montreal Canadiens in a 4–2 road game defeat. Vatrano would later go on to score 2 goals against the Detroit Red Wings including an overtime game winner. On December 18, 2015, Vatrano scored his first NHL hat trick with the Bruins against the Pittsburgh Penguins, with the first, fifth, and sixth Bruins goals for a 6–2 road victory.

At the end of the 2015–16 AHL season, he finished with 36 goals and 19 assists for a total of 55 points in 36 games. He also had three hat tricks. On April 14, 2016, the AHL announced San Antonio Rampage rookie Mikko Rantanen and him, shared the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding rookie for the 2015–16 season.

For the start of the 2016–17 Boston Bruins season, Vatrano had suffered an unexpected injury to his left foot due to torn ligaments. As a result, Vatrano missed the Bruins' training camp and pre-season games for his recovery. His first game for the Bruins in the 2016–17 season was on December 22, 2016 on the road against the Florida Panthers, and with 2:09 elapsed in the second period, Vatrano scored the first Bruins goal en route to a 3–1 road victory against the Panthers.

Florida Panthers
On February 22, 2018, the Bruins traded Vatrano to the Florida Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. On February 24, 2019, the Panthers signed Vatrano to a three-year, $7.59 million contract extension.