By ANTHONY BOTTAN
and hopefully, has opened the door for him to fulfill his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.
The road to his childhood dream, however, has been a long and tortuous one, filled with up and downs, disappointments and triumphs. At 15, Perdicaro and three of his friends hit the road en route to Boston, Mass. to try out for the Eastern Junior Hockey League. He was the only one of his friends to make it.
He played left wing for a team from Rockland, Mass., and the team paid a host family to house him during the season. Perdicaro only played one year in the EJHL, and then was drafted into a Canadian, semi-professional hockey league -- the Ontario Hockey League.
The Sault St. Marie Greyhounds selected Perdicaro in the seventh round of the draft. As a player on the Greyhounds -- the same team hockey legend Wayne Gretzky played for as a teenager -- and in a league where he was one of only ten American players, he learned how to rely on himself and his skill to prove to coaches, and other players, that he was deserving of a spot on the roster.
"I was kind of on my own," he said. "It's hard when you're trying to work for a spot and older guys get jealous. It's definitely a business and at a young age, it's hard to realize that."
Perdicaro admitted that in addition to him being young, he was American, and other players on his team had resentment toward him for that. "Sometimes, I'd have guys trying to fight me in practice," he said. Though he had to deal with opposition, even from his own teammates, Perdicaro persevered, played hard and polished his game. "It gave me a better hockey brain," he said.
He played for the Greyhounds for two full seasons, but he knew his time to get drafted into the NHL was running out. The age group for the Canadian Hockey Leagues is 16-21. Though 60 percent of players in the league, he said, get drafted into the NHL, if he was not drafted by 21, his shot at the NHL would be over.
Perdicaro said that after two years on the Greyhounds, he wasn't getting the playing time he felt he deserved, so he asked the team to release him. The team obliged, and he was picked up off waivers by the Rouyn Noranda Huskies of the Quebec Hockey League. He only played 15 games for the Huskies before he suffered a concussion that put him out of commission for a month. After returning from the concussion and playing two games, he was traded to the Drummondville Volitgeurs. "It was such a cultural change," he said. "Everything was in French and I didn't know anybody."
Perdicaro's career looked to be heading in the wrong direction. He decided to leave the team and play in British Columbia for the Penticton Vees as a last ditch effort to fulfill his dream of one day playing in the NHL. He shined in his first season with the Vees. In 17 games, he scored 14 points, had four goals and 10 assists. The Vees finished in first place and took home the championship. "It was unreal. It was such a good feeling," Perdicaro said.
While out to dinner in the Manhattan in the off-season, Perdicaro's agent called him to congratulate him. The New York Islanders had extended an invitation to Perdicaro to try out for the team. "It was such a shock," he said. "I had a rough year, I got traded. I was a little surprised, not in my skill, but that it was finally happening."
Fifty amateur hockey players were invited to the week-long prospect mini-camp, and Perdicaro said the Islanders coaches and scouts told him he played well, and they planned on watching how his second season in Penticton played out. Perdicaro said he has been in touch with Islanders Assistant General Manager Gerard Gallant, whom he said, has been giving him a good vibe. He heads back to camp on August 20 to start preparing for the upcoming season, and with his dream close enough to touch it, Perdicaro is not slowing down a bit.
"Being from Long Island, it would completely unreal," Perdicaro said if given the chance to play for the Islanders.
Comments on this story? Abottan@
liherald.com or call (516) 569-4000 ext. 246.
