Former Viper Volpatti Is Ready For His First Full Season Of Pro Hockey:

This is in the Revelestoke Newspaper:

Aaron Volpatti is ready for his first full season of pro hockey

By Alex Cooper - Revelstoke Times Review

Published: September 09, 2010

The end of 2009-10 hockey season was a whirlwind for Aaron Volpatti. After finishing his fourth and final season with Brown University, he found himself signing a contract with his favourite team, the Vancouver Canucks, and entering the professional hockey ranks with their minor league team, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

The experience, the Revelstoke native said, was awesome and “a little bit surreal.”

“My first game was in Abbotsford so I had a lot of people I knew come watch me,” he said. “A lot of my family came so it was kind of nice. I ended getting a goal and a fight in my first game.”

The goal, which he described as “greasy” was Volpatti’s only one in eight regular season games. He also got into two more fights the rest of the way.

Still, he said he doesn’t see himself as a goon, just someone willing to dropping the gloves after a big hit, if the situation calls for it.

In the playoffs, the 6’1”, 205-pound Volpatti scored one goal in five games before the Moose were eliminated in the first round in six games by the western conference leading Hamilton Bulldogs.

“It was a little bit easier transition than I thought it would be so it wasn’t too bad,” he said of moving from college hockey to the pros.

Volpatti said the main difference was the play was more controlled and there were no mistakes. While he said he did well at first, he did admit to having some bad games.

“There was a game or two I struggled a little bit, got a little complacent maybe, and had to give myself a wake-up call and remind myself of what I had to do,” he said.

Following the season he was told his style of play was popular in the NHL but he needed to work on his board play and being stronger on the puck and getting it out of the zone.

He went and got his university degree from Brown and then spent the summer mostly in Vancouver working on his conditioning and skating with other professionals, including NHLers Alex Edler, Brendan Morrison, Manny Molhotra and Willie Mitchell, among others.

“My strength is where it needs to be. I’m just working on getting in really good condition,” he said.

The Canucks open their prospect camp on Sept. 10. There, Volpatti will skate alongside 27 other hopefuls, including highly touted prospects Cody Hodgson and Jordan Schroeder.

The competition is nothing new for someone who’s spent his life competing for a spot on the ice.

“I’m just going to play my game, that’s what got me this far,” he said.

“I can’t change anything, just be really physical, bang bodies, be good with the puck and hopefully chip in offensively.”

Heading into training camp his goal, naturally, is to make the Vancouver Canucks straight out of camp. He recognizes that is a lofty goal.

“I realize there’s a lot of depth in the organization right now,” he said.

“My goal is to at least get my feet wet this year, hopefully get 10 games or more, and have a good year in Manitoba if I end up there.”