This story is from the December issue of the New England Hockey Journal. Subscribe here.
New Englanders just looking for an escape from our harsh, cold winters aren’t the only snowbirds in Florida these days.
After signing forwards Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) in July and Brian Boyle (Hingham, Mass.) on Oct. 20, both as unrestricted free agents, the Florida Panthers now have four New England natives all playing regular roles in their lineup.
The locker room at BB&T Center in Sunrise is feeling an awful lot like a regional reunion as a result of two of the team’s newest additions, with the aforementioned duo joining forward Frank Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and defenseman Keith Yandle (Milton, Mass.). Former Boston College standout Michael Matheson adds yet another local connection to the blue line.
“It’s always nice having that connection and being able to connect the dots between people that you know,” said Vatrano, who is in his second full season with the Panthers after the Boston Bruins traded him in February 2018. “The hockey world is pretty small, so it’s really cool to be together with these guys in the NHL.
“You know how much all those guys put into the game, especially when you’re from the same area. They tell you how hard it is to win in this league. You can always learn from those types of guys that have been around that long and had success.”
Acciari and Boyle both have been key additions to the Panthers lineup, with the former — who concluded his collegiate career as a captain and national champion at Providence in 2015 — sticking in the fourth-line center position that he held down during his parts of four seasons with the Bruins.
Acciari scored four goals, including two game winners, in his first 11 games for a Florida team that boasts some impressive young talent in the likes of top-line center and captain Aleksander Barkov, who is just 24 years old as a seventh-year NHLer, and defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
After opening his NHL career alongside the likes of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and the rest of Boston’s veteran core, Acciari easily took away lessons that have applied in a Florida room that is still growing early in the season.
“Probably the best leaders in the league are across the hall,” Acciari said before opposing the Bruins for the first time in his NHL career on Nov. 12 at TD Garden. “Those guys have all been there and had great careers so far, so you take what you’ve learned and bring it over to a franchise like this. It’s a young, up-and-coming team. You do what you can to help out. You’re not the oldest guy but you’re not the youngest guy. But I think we’ve really meshed well.”
Though Boyle joined the fold nine games into the season, he glowingly agreed with Acciari’s assessment of his new team.
Another one of the new Hockey Hall of Fame coach Jerry York’s former BC captains, Boyle saw everything that a team needs to be successful in first-year head coach Joel Quenneville’s Panthers. His transition to Florida was quick, as he skated in a game just a day after his first practice.
“The ability is incredible,” Boyle said of the Panthers, who had scored 10 goals more than the NHL average (67) through their first 19 contests. “We’re coming together and getting better. It’s like every other team, though, where you start from scratch, identify your strengths and weaknesses, then you have injuries and adapt as different guys come in. I think the attitude and everything you need in the room is there. I think we have it.”
After playing postseason hockey for his fifth different NHL club (Nashville) in the last nine seasons last spring, Boyle had to simulate training camp practices and usual day-of-game routines on his own as he was without a home until Florida acquired him. Acciari, meanwhile, joined his new team just weeks after playing in all seven games of Boston’s emotional Stanley Cup Final loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Boyle’s lead-in to this season was much different than usual, but he certainly knows what Acciari went through in changing hockey homes just as the sting from a postseason run was wearing off. He went through the same experience back in 2014, transitioning from the New York Rangers organization to Tampa Bay.
“(Noel) has seen all the best kinds of scenarios and what some of the most successful guys in the league do on a daily basis,” said Boyle, who scored twice in his first four games as a Panther. “He is just an unbelievably hard-working guy and humble guy as it is, and then he got to see that. (The Bruins) are super-successful for a reason. It’s obviously tough coming off that loss and ramping up again, but it’s a new environment, so you get that jolt of energy along with all of those past experiences.”
Quenneville brought three Cup championships from Chicago over to a franchise that is searching for its first postseason berth since 2015 and has made the playoffs just four times since playing for the Stanley Cup in 1995-96, just its third season of existence.
The coach has been impressed with both of his club’s new New Englanders and knows that their experiences playing at the sport’s highest level will go a long way in the young locker room going forward.
“He’s a real good pro and does everything you’d expect,” Quenneville said of Acciari, offering an overview of a game that New England fans have seen for years from Bishop Hendricken and Kent School to the Friars and Bruins. “He came from a real good organization as far as doing things the right way. He’s technically sound and takes pride in being a defensive type of guy, (taking) D-zone faceoffs, killing penalties and blocking shots. He has scored key goals, but I think the priority for him and for us is for him to get those assignments playing against top guys and shutting them down.”
As for Boyle, “You can see his leadership qualities and sense his importance being a big presence in the middle of the ice, taking draws and being responsible on both sides of the puck. He’s scored some key goals for us. His experience playing meaningful games down the stretch and in the playoffs is going to be important for us. … He’s been a great addition.”
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