The Bruins have thrown another centerman into the mix for a training camp that should have plenty of competition for bottom six spots.
The B’s signed on Wednesday former Harvard center John Farinacci, who was near the top of the class of college free agents whose rights with their original drafting teams ran out on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Farinacci, originally drafted in the third round (76th overall) by the Arizona Coyotes, inked a two-year deal that carries an annual NHL cap hit of $910,000.
Whether or not he can make the jump to the NHL will be up to him, but Farinacci checks a few Bruin boxes. He’s got decent size – 6-foot, 185 pounds – and is noted for his two-way, heady play. The Red Bank, New Jersey native, a nephew of Harvard coach Ted Donato, played at Dexter-Southfield and then on the banks of the Charles River, so he’s watched a few good two-way centermen in his time here.
His 200-foot game and faceoff work are something in which Farinacci takes pride.
“I think my hockey sense, intangible-wise, is probably my biggest strength,” said Farinacci. “I’m not comparing myself at all, but a guy that I watched a ton and really tried to emulate is Patrice Bergeron. I think the way that he played the game was amazing. That’s a guy that I try to play like, as much as I can.”
Farinacci said he spoke to a couple of other teams on Tuesday evening, but the Bruins always felt right to him.
“I think it was always something in the back of my mind,” said Farinacci. “It’s something I did my due diligence on going into 5 o’clock (Tuesday) night and then having talks with management, I loved everything they had to offer. I obviously knew a little bit about them beforehand just from my own research and whatnot. For me, it was a pretty easy decision and one I’m obviously super excited about..”
Like most players in his age group, Farinacci had a bit of a bumpy ride, losing a full season at Harvard to the pandemic. He had a good World Junior tournament playing, notching 5-2-7 totals in seven game for the gold medal-winning Team USA. He also missed a good portion of the Crimson’s schedule last season with a herniated disc in his lower back, but when he returned he was a point-a-game player, with 5-15-20 totals in 19 games.
“That Covid year was obviously a little iffy for everybody,” said Farinacci. “For me, I just tried to make the most of it, playing some games in the USHL with Muskegon and then obviously at the World Junior stint there for about a month. That year I just tried to make the most of it. And this past year it was a little bit difficult going through he injury that kept me out for a little bit of time and then coming back was a little bit of an adjustment. But I think the lessons I learned from that are going to help me along the way here.”
Farinacci remains friends with former Crimson defenseman Reilly Walsh, whom the B’s obtained in a trade this summer after a couple of solid season n the AHL. And there’s the Donato connection with the B’s. He credits the Harvard coach with his development.
“Being my uncle, at first it was a bit of an adjustment,” said Farinacci, whose mother is the sister of Ted’s wife. “He went from being Uncle Teddy for the first 17 years of my life to being Coach Donato really quick. I learned so much from him. Obviously he was a tremendous player and he’s an amazing coach. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s taught me a lot and I couldn’t have asked for a better coach.”
While it might be a bit much to ask that Farinacci jumps immediately to the NHL, there are jobs that can be won in training camp. Morgan Geekie, Patrick Brown, Jesper Boqvist and Trent Frederic could all be vying for third and fourth line center duty, but no one has a lock on anything. Count Farinacci as another player worth watching….
The B’s announced slate of happenings related to their centennial season, including the uneiling of three new uniforms for the season at a fashion show event to be held the JetBlue hangar at Logan Airport on September 16 as well as a red carpet entrances and special appearances by championship team members and retired numbers alumni at the season opener on October 11 against the Blackhawks.