Shane Vansaghi ‘a good fit for Flyers’: Behind the scenes from NHL combine, draft and camp

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Shane Vansaghi was 9 years old when he turned on the TV to watch the 2016 NHL Draft.

He remembers the Toronto Maple Leafs taking Auston Matthews No. 1 overall, and then five players from his hometown of St. Louis going in the first round. Sitting on the couch with his older brother Dominic, he was hooked.

“That was the first year we really started to pay attention to the draft,” Vansaghi said. “All these St. Louis kids were going, and I was like, ‘These kids played for the AAA Blues, so I was like, ‘Hopefully I can make that AAA Blues team.’ Ever since that draft, my brother and I watched the draft every year. We were just like fans.”

Over the next nine years, Vansaghi went from fan to NHL prospect.

He eventually made the AAA Blues team, and with a frame of 5-foot-10 and 172 pounds, he started training at Elevated Performance, where several of those 2016 draft picks worked out. The group included Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, who became sounding boards for a young Vansaghi, who went on to attend the U.S. National Development Program (USNDP) and Michigan State University.

Today, Vansaghi is a 6-3, 215-pound power forward, and in late June, he didn’t have to watch the NHL Draft on TV. He was there in Los Angeles.

On Day 2 at the Peacock Theater, Vansaghi was picked by the Philadelphia Flyers in the second round (No. 48 overall) — the culmination of years of hard work that now gives him a chance to put his autographed NHL jersey on the wall at Elevated Performance next to the Tkachuks, Alex Pietrangelo, Ben Bishop and others.

“The first thing I did when I first walked in that gym, reading all of the names, I was like, ‘That’s a dream of mine to have my jersey framed up there,’” he said. “I’d be on the bench, or the bike, and I’m telling myself, ‘Picture your jersey and your team being up there.’ If that ever happens, it will not feel real because I’ve dreamed about it for so long.”

The walls at Elevated Performance in St. Louis feature autographed jerseys from brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, among others. (Courtesy of Elevated Performance)

To experience the build-up of the past month and the joy of hearing his name called, Vansaghi took The Athletic behind the scenes for the NHL combine, the draft and the Flyers’ development camp.

Here are the details of a 34-day stretch that changed the life of the 18-year-old.

NHL combine

The annual event is held in Buffalo, N.Y., and this year it was June 2-7. There were interviews with interested teams and physical testing.

Twenty-seven teams requested to sit down with Vansaghi, who was Central Scouting’s No. 33-ranked North American skater. He describes himself as a prototypical power forward and says a good comp to him is the Montreal Canadiens’ Josh Anderson.

“I think I’m one of those players who constantly drives the play to the inside of the ice,” Vansaghi said. “I’m good at protecting pucks, playing in the dirty areas, in the corners, behind the net, in front of the net — that’s my game. If you watch (Anderson) and you watch me, I think you’ll see some similarities.”

At 8 a.m. on June 2, the New York Islanders were Vansaghi’s first interview, followed by Philadelphia. He was in the room with Flyers general manager Danny Briere, director of player development Riley Armstrong and the rest of the amateur draft staff.

“We had a good talk about some things I needed to work on — the next step I need to take in my game,” Vansaghi said. “They told me they liked me and hoped to get me. I remember after my interview, as the week went on, every time I passed them in the hallways, they’d say hello. I could tell they were one of those teams that liked my interview and liked me as a player.”

There were 90 prospects at the combine who went through 14 fitness tests, measuring aerobics, agility and more.

Vansaghi finished No. 1 in both the left and right hand grip, squeezing 180 pounds with each side. The record is 187 for the right hand and 182 for the left hand.

“The grip strength is one of the key indicators of overall strength for the body,” said Jon Benne, who owns Elevated Performance and trains Vansaghi. “You can have a great high jump, lateral jump, things like that. But to win the puck, zip passes and catch passes, the grip strength is a key indicator.”

The players were also measured by how many consecutive pull-ups they could do, and Vansaghi tied for second with 15. He also finished fifth in the bench press and 20th in the VO2 aerobic testing.

“I thought I did pretty well,” Vansaghi said. “I’ve seen jokes (after the grip test) about people not wanting to shake my hand, but I’m not shaking anyone’s hand that hard.”

The results were no surprise to Benne, who witnessed Vansaghi set a personal record on the Assault Bike at his facility, riding one mile in 1 minute, 52 seconds.

“When this kid gets on the bike, it’s like the DJ stops the music and everybody in the club stops and watches,” said Benne, who compared Vansaghi’s performance to Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo, who also trains at Elevated Performance. “He already has an NHL body. He’s already NHL strong. You see some kids that don’t take care of themselves from a nutrition standpoint and recovery standpoint, but Shane has been doing that since he was 15.”

NHL Draft

This year’s draft, on June 27-28, was “decentralized,” meaning the NHL teams stayed back in their respective cities.

Vansaghi, who had never been to L.A., was one of close to 100 prospects who made the trip with friends and family. He landed on Thursday night, checked into Hotel Indigo and went for a rib-eye steak at the District.

“I waited so long for the draft to come and when I got there, I was like, ‘It’s finally here,’” Vansaghi said.

The wake-up call on Friday, which was the morning of the first round, was 6:30 a.m.

There was “Breakfast with the Commissioner” at 7 a.m., when Gary Bettman met with the prospects and their parents. There, Vansaghi ran into his former USNDP teammates Logan Hensler and James Hagens.

In the afternoon, RSG Hockey, which represents Vansaghi, hosted all of its clients at Flemings Prime Steakhouse in downtown for lunch. That ended about 2:30 p.m., and the first round began at 4 p.m., so it was time to head back to the hotel.

In March, Vansaghi picked out a navy blue pin-stripe suit, and it was time to put it on.

“I wouldn’t say I was nervous, but the feeling of it getting real kind of hit,” he said.

Shane Vansaghi puts on his tie before the first round of the NHL Draft. (Courtesy of Vansaghi family)

Vansaghi walked to the Peacock Theater and found his seat about eight rows from the front, in Row G.

“They had the top prospects sitting in the back, so they had a longer walkway to the stage,” he said.

Players could have six people seated next to them, but the prospects had to be in the aisle seat so the cameras could easily spot them.

The draft got underway, and Vasaghi said the first five to 10 picks were exciting.

“What’s going to happen? Are there going to be trades? It was cool!” he said.

The event would slow to a crawl, however, with the 32 picks in Friday’s first round taking 4 hours, 28 minutes. Vansaghi waited patiently without hearing his name, but wasn’t worried when he didn’t.

“I was more excited for the next day, because I knew that I was going to get picked for sure,” he said.

Shane Vansaghi attended the NHL Draft in Los Angeles on June 27 and 28. (Courtesy of Vansaghi family)

The second round on Saturday began at 8 a.m. and Vansaghi showed up in the same suit and sat in the same seat. He started listening for his name beginning with the San Jose Sharks’ pick at No. 33 overall.

“I had to make sure I wasn’t dazing off and looking at something else,” he said. “If my name gets called, I’ve got to be ready.”

When NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced the names of the first few players, Vansaghi had to get into a routine of resetting himself each time.

“You’re locked into what he’s saying, but when it’s not you, I’m looking at the board and thinking, ‘Who’s up next?’” Vansaghi said.

The Flyers went into the draft with pick Nos. 38, 40 and 48 in the second round, and took defensemen Carter Amico and left winger Jack Murtagh with the first two picks.

“If I was on the board at No. 48, I knew in the back of my mind Philly has to take me,” Vansaghi said.

Even though it seemed like a strong possibility, it still sent shivers down his spine when the Flyers called out his name.

“There’s so much build-up that when it finally happens, it doesn’t feel real,” Vansaghi said. “I was hugging everybody in the seats and putting on the jersey. It feels like you’re dreaming about it, rather than it actually happening. It didn’t sink in until an hour or two later when I could calm down.”

The Vansaghi family celebrated Shane’s selection at the recent NHL Draft. From left to right: Joe, Shane, Nada, Dominic. (Courtesy of Vansaghi family)

The club had “Vansaghi” stitched on the back of his jersey, which is not so common for players taken nearly 50 picks into the draft.

“That was a small detail that makes a big difference,” he said. “My family appreciated it, and it just brings you into the Flyers family quicker. You just feel like a part of Philly.”

Flyers development camp

As Vansaghi was still celebrating in L.A., the Flyers were making plans for him to attend their development camp from July 2-6. He jumped on a flight at 8 a.m. Sunday with Amico, Murtagh, and fellow prospects Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt, and they landed five hours later in their new NHL city.

Monday was a rest day. Tuesday through Thursday were on-ice practices and off-ice workouts with extra-curricular activities such as paintball and pickleball at the end of the day. Friday was a trip to Atlantic City to celebrate July 4 on the Jersey Shore. Saturday was a three-on-three games and Sunday was five-on-five.

“I kind of established my identity of a player,” Vansaghi said. “It’s hard to do that in drills and practices, but I thought I did a pretty good job, showing the coaches and development coaches who I am and what type of player I am. In the games, I did the same thing, and thought I ended up playing pretty well.”

In the three-on-three tournament, Vansaghi put a hit on one of the Flyers’ camp invites, Tim Lovell, and dropped him to the ice. Vansaghi had slashed Lovell’s stick out of his hand earlier in the play, and they were both racing for the puck in the corner.

“Yeah, I saw that one all over (social media),” Vansaghi said, laughing. “He knew that I was going to go hit him, so he tried to hit me before he could get hit. I stood my ground.”

After six days of camp, Vansaghi headed back to St. Louis to grab his belongings and then make the eight-hour drive to Michigan State for his sophomore season. A year ago, he was the sixth-youngest player in NCAA hockey and had six goals and 16 points in 37 games with the Spartans.

“(Philadelphia) knows that Michigan State is a spot where I can really grow and turn into a pro,” Vansaghi said.

In fact, the Flyers were impressed with the way Vansaghi handled himself last season, playing against opponents that, in many cases, were several years older and more physically developed. They believe that had Vansaghi been competing against his peers in junior hockey, his numbers would have been much more gaudy.

“If he would have went back and played junior hockey, I think he would have just absolutely dominated,” Armstrong said. “So, it was good that he was able to play against some older guys, bigger guys.”

The Flyers had a clear agenda headed into this year’s draft. Flush with picks, they had an obvious focus on bulking up their system.

Prior to making Vansaghi their fifth selection in the second round, they had already taken winger Martone (6-3), Nesbitt (6-5), Amico (6-6), and Murtagh (6-1). When the 6-3 Vansaghi’s name was called, it was evident that they were focusing on bigger bodies, but also the kind of competitive skill that’s necessary for NHL playoff hockey these days.

The potential for Vansaghi to develop into a gritty, hard-nosed winger who becomes more valuable when the intensity ramps up is what attracted team personnel.

“You watch him at Michigan State this year, he gets that whole arena going,” said Flyers assistant general manager and draft expert Brent Flahr. “He’s a big, big kid. He plays a certain way. There were not many players like him in this draft, or many drafts. I think he has got some work to do to get to the NHL, but once he does, I think he’ll be a fan favorite and a very welcomed teammate.”

Said Armstrong: “I think we’ve got to work on his hands and skill to bring him to the next level, but for the most part, when you have a power forward that likes taking pucks to the net … I think we were kind of scared of those areas in the past here with the Flyers, so I think adding a guy like that, he’s going to change a little bit of the dynamic in a couple of years once he’s up here.”

Vansaghi agreed that Philadelphia is a great fit.

“Any time I hear anything about the city, it’s that identity, and I think that’s who I am,” he said. “I feel like Flyers fans will appreciate my game and will love watching that type of hockey. Hopefully, one day I’ll put that jersey over my head and play in the NHL for the Philadelphia Flyers.”

And then one day taking that jersey to Elevated Performance, signing it and hanging it on the wall.

“It’s cool that they look up to those guys,” Benne said. “You want them to see that others have walked in the same footsteps. It’s just been a process, and Shane has trusted the process. He’s got a phenomenal work ethic. He’s always 30 minutes early, and he’s always staying longer, doing a little more, taking care of his body. He doesn’t take a day off from taking care of himself. He knows where he wants to go, and I don’t think anybody’s going to stop him from getting there.”

(Top photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)

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