In the Nick of time
Nick Volpatti had his heart set on being a member of the St. Catharines Falcons this season.
The 19-year-old Welland native (he turns 20 in December) played the last two seasons at the junior C level with the Niagara Riverhawks but didn’t want his career to end without at least giving it a shot at the junior B level.
So Volpatti put out the word he wanted to attend camp with the St. Catharines Falcons despite the odds being stacked against him.
“I didn’t know him from a hole in the wall,” Falcons coach Tyler Bielby said. “I never heard his name.”
To make matters worse, the Falcons already had their full allotment of nine 20-year-olds and weren’t really looking for another older player.
“We were in a pretty good situation with 20-year-olds,” Bielby said. “We told him and would encourage anyone to come out and show us what you have but as a 20-year-old trying to make a junior B team, it’s a very uphill battle.”
Volpatti was undeterred.
“I always wanted to play junior B,” he said. “I was playing junior C mostly because my brother (Daniel) was there and I love playing with my brother.
“We weren’t winning that much and if this is going to be my last season, I wanted to finish strong on a winning note rather than play an extra year of hockey and still not go anywhere with it.”
Volpatti then went out and made it impossible for the Falcons to let him go with a strong training camp.
“It went right down to the last day of camp,” Bielby said. “He kept showing us more and more.
“I would go as far as to say he may be the hardest working player at the junior B level in the province. That’s what he showed us. He doesn’t take a day off, he doesn’t take a minute off.”
The night Volpatti signed, he quickly showed Bielby and his staff they made the right decision.
“We sat in here as coaches and talked for 45 minutes and when we came out the dressing room had long been cleared out and he was on the stationary bike,” Bielby said. “The biggest message there is if you love the game and you’re willing to put the work in, it’s not over until you’re ready for it to be over.”
Volpatti, who is studying social sciences at Brock, admitted he was proud when he got the word he had made the team.
“I didn’t really think I was going to make it because they already had a full team signed but I trained all summer and worked hard,” he said. “I wasn’t too cocky about it, but I know I worked hard for it.”
Volpatti acknowledged he could have likely made another junior B team and perhaps played a bigger role.
“I thought it was intriguing to come here. I probably could get a ton of ice time on a lower-level team but I’d rather come here and earn a spot and play my role,” he said. “I did get a few e-mails from coaches on other teams but I know some the guys and I heard the coaching staff is really good and if I going to go anywhere, I want to go somewhere where we will do well.”
Volpatti has a goal and assist in his first four games with the Falcons.
“I don’t think we expected him to come out and be this big goal scorer coming out of junior C but he consistently found ways to score goals in exhibition games,” Bielby said. “We see him playing anywhere in our lineup. If we need him to be on a line where he’s shutting down another team’s best line, he’s got the work ethic and forecheck to be able to do that. If we need a goal, he’s shown early on he’s scored some timely goals.”
Volpatti collected an assist on Xavier Drummond’s goal as the Falcons dropped a 4-1 decision to the Caledonia Corvairs Friday.
Tyler Burnie had two goals and two assists for the winners while Ryan Littlejohn and Eric Guest added singles.
Nick Clay made 25 saves in goal for the win.
Ethan Cook made 21 saves and took the loss.
The defeat drops the Falcons to 1-3-1.
“Their best players were their best players tonight,” Bielby said. “They are a good hockey team and they played like it tonight. With that being said, we are a good hockey team and will be there in the end.
“We take it, we learn from it, and we will make sure that it’s us at the end who is on the winning side. It won’t come easy, but that’s why we play the game.”
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