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Whether or not JVR really ever burned the Terriers, I have a weird complex about rooting for any of these guys who played in Hockey East against BU. Like Brooks Orpik? Even when he put on the USA sweater for the Olympics it was tough.
In any case, since no Terriers get to contend for the cup, except for the outside chance that 3 goalies get hurt and Johnny Curry gets some PT, I don't want to see JVR go any further than he has.
This is the third of a six eight part series saying goodbye to Terriers who are moving on from Boston University. We'll look back at the best moments in the collegiate careers of each Terrier bidding adieu to Commonwealth Avenue.
Now it's time to reflect on the career of the other Saponari brother, the one who actually played, and truly showed a ton of ability and promise as he came into his own as a more important piece of the team.
Vinny Saponari came to BU as a highly touted prospect, coming from the National Talent Development Program. Playing for the USA-18 team, Vinny had a chance to come play against his future team in the arena that was surely a hefty motivating factor for his decision to come to BU. In that game, Vinny gave fans a taste of his ability, scoring a goal in that first trip to Agganis.
Saponari Was the 94th Overall Pick For Atlanta in the 2008 Entry Draft
Add his USA resume to the fact that he was a relatively highly touted NHL prospect (Hockey's Future ranked him as the #10 Thrashers' prospect in 2009) and you had a player that Terrier Faithful were pretty excited about.
And for a time, Vinny delivered. After a strong rookie season, Vinny returned for his sophomore year even better, flourishing as a vital piece of an offense that lost so many pieces to the NHL. Over the course of the 2009-2010 season, Vinny developed a litany of offensive skills, and really improved his strength while carrying the puck. However, in a bizarre turn of events, he was abruptly released from the team, leaving a gaping hole where there should have been goals for the next two seasons.
This is the second of a six eight part series saying goodbye to Terriers who are moving on from Boston University. We'll look back at the best moments in the collegiate careers of each Terrier bidding adieu to Commonwealth Avenue.
As the Saponari brothers depart the Boston University hockey program for reasons not entirely known, we are forced to add two more to our growing list of departed players from the 2009-2010 team. In this edition, we'll say goodbye to Victor Saponari.
It's Not Easy to Find a Picture of Victor in Uniform
The high point for Victor came early on in his Terrier career, when he netted a goal in an exhibition game against a team of high schoolers. Ok, that sounded a lot meaner than I thought it would, but let's be honest, it's a fact.
Victor played in just 14 games as a Terrier, scoring a grand total of zero official goals, and recording two assists. But hey, he got his brother to come to BU, and that was pretty moderately helpful.
Victor was also featured on an on-campus Sports TV show called Terrier Nation.
Over the past day plus we've talked at length about the bomb that Jackie Parker dropped on Terrier Nation when he dismissed a pair of Saponaris and suspended a Trivino. For obvious reasons, the main point of discussion has been the booting of Vinny Sap. Vinny was a rising star not just at BU, but was beginning to make a name for himself across the nation for his flashy goals. His outright dismissal from the team will clearly have a bigger long-term impact than either Victor's dismissal or Corey's suspension.
An interesting point we have barely touched on here is Victor getting kicked off the team. As far as we know, the only incident that the elder Saponari brother was involved in was drinking with several of his mates on St. Patty's day. Trivino did that, and made an awful rap about being a puckstar, and he'll still be playing in November.
So why is Victor gone? Did he and Vinny do something really dumb beyond what we already know about? Or maybe he really just "displayed conduct unbecoming of a Boston University hockey player" like Parker said. Or maybe there's another element that everybody is thinking, but nobody really wants to say.
Immature and Stupid, But Grounds For Dismissal? Not Really
So I went back and listened to "Party Like a Puckstar" in its entirety. It wasn't easy. My ears are bleeding, and I have a headache, but I found a way to get through it. I also took the liberty of transcribing the lyrics, as best as I could. I couldn't make out everything they say because beyond the awful quality, Vinny Saponari and Corey Trivino, as good as they may be on the ice, are just as bad on the mic.
A Run-Down of the Details of the Saponari Dismissal and the Trivino Suspension
After the surprising announcement that the 2010 Terriers would be three players lighter than we expected due to some sketchy, unspecified indiscretions, the logical thing to do is to wonder what in the hell you would have to do to get kicked off of a team that was already desperate for help offensively.
Let's go through the things that we know, because we have been told them by the people involved.
WE KNOW: Vinny Saponari broke a "drinking rule" earlier this season, as he told the FreeP. That could mean pretty much anything, since the team rules are so strict on the issue. The rule states that players cannot consume alcohol on any day of the week except for Saturday nights. Even then, they are not supposed to be out drinking past a certain time. We have seen Johnny Curry, Kevin Schaeffer and Sean Sullivan run into trouble when they were jumped by some idiots after a party. More along the discipline line, Brian McGuirk, Brandon Yip, Boomer Ewing and Dan McGoff were all suspended for a stretch in 2007 for boozing while watching football on a Sunday afternoon. It's a well known fact that Parker takes drinking very seriously, so it's not surprising that he would punish players for breaking this rule.
WE THINK: Vinny Saponari, Vinny Saponari, Corey Trivino and Adam Kraus were all drinking on St. Patty's day. Well, no shit sherlock. The only person in this entire city who wasn't drinking was me, because I was at work. Otherwise, I would have been loaded too. That's what happens in Boston on St. Patty's day. People get drunk. I'm talking men, women and children. It is pure chaos. It just may be the best part about living in Boston, and more importantly, about going to college in Boston. So it would make sense that these guys were doing what everyone else within a 10 mile radius was doing. The problem with that is that the team was bounced from the playoffs less than 48 hours later. And they looked pretty bad doing it. So yeah, Parker would be pissed if his drunken idiot players got drunk, and as a result blew their shot at the NCAA's.
WE KNOW: Vinny and Corey made a really dumb parody of an already bad song. "Party Like a Puckstar" really made it big when Barstool pumped it up earlier this week.
Yeah, the song is stupid, and Parker surely saw it. He probably said, "What a bunch of idiots I have for a hockey team. " He probably also said, "That song is a piece of shit." But we don't know whether he said, "That song is so bad that it makes me want to take this crappy shell of a team I have and make it even worse."
WE THINK: It couldn't have helped their case with Parker. Everyone knows that Jackie hates stupid behavior, and he presumably hates rap music. I picture him as more of a classic rock and blues guy. But I highly, highly doubt that this would be enough to make Parker say, "That's it! That does it! These guys are toast!"
WE KNOW: Vinny was "late to a bike ride," as he told the Freep. Being on time to team workouts is a pretty essential part of playing for a team. And when your team's heart and desire is already being called into question, it doesn't send a good message to your coach when you can't show up to workouts on time.
WE THINK: Parker wants to make a serious example of anybody not dedicated to the team concept. He publicly called his team out several times over the course of the season, and he repeatedly said his guys simply didn't have the hunger necessary to win. Had you been late to workouts when the team was rolling to a championship, that would be one thing. But when the team is struggling, everything is amplified. And it makes sense that Jackie would want to show his team that he is not messing around.
WE KNOW: “Over a period of time, there have been cumulative instances in which Victor and Vinny Saponari have displayed conduct unbecoming of a Boston University hockey player,” according to Jack Parker.
WE THINK: These guys did something really, really stupid that Parker would rather the whole world not know about. Luckily for him, these guys have careers and repuatations to worry about as well, so if something did happen, it's unlikely any of them would come out and reveal it publicly. The school and team wouldn't want a nasty incident on their record, and neither would the players.
Let's review.
WE KNOW
Vinny got in trouble for breaking a drinking rule
Vinny and Corey Trivino made a really shitty rap video that went viral
Vinny was late to a bike ride
Parker thinks these guys don't represent BU well enough
WE THINK
Vinny, Victor, Corey and some goalie who never plays got drunk on St. Patty's Day
Parker doesn't like his players making really shitty rap videos
Being late to a bike ride = being made an example of
Vinny and the boys did something much worse than we're hearing about right now
Jake Seiner of the FreeP talked to Vinny Saponari today after the news came down that he was being released from the Terrier Hockey team. Vinny claims that he was blindsided by the decision.
“I just found out today, like all of you, and I’m pretty shocked, just as shocked as everyone else. I didn’t see this coming. I know I’d made some mistakes as far as rules go, but I really didn’t think it would lead to this.”
“[Parker] said that he didn’t feel like he wanted me on the team anymore. I didn’t really have a chance to argue back or give any feedback. I didn’t really have a choice. Our meeting was pretty short, didn’t last very long.”
“There was a drinking rule that was broken earlier during the year, and then I was late to a bike ride, and that was pretty much it really."
"To me, do I think it’s justified? No. I love this team, and I wasn’t ready to leave. I made a mistake or two since I’ve been here, but I didn’t feel like I was a bad thing for the team, or any kind of bad influence. To me, it’s unjust, to [Parker], maybe not.”
Just a few weeks ago, Vinny and Corey Trivino became (moderate) internet stars thanks to their re-make of "Party Like a Rockstar." Their song, "Party Like a Puckstar," was awful. Legitimately just brutal. In case you haven't heard it yet, here it is.
When the news came down about the punishments, Barstool joked that their posting of the video was a factor in the players getting punished. While I doubt that, plenty of people have raised the question of whether or not the video itself played into Parker's decision to drop Vinny and suspend Corey. Vinny addressed that in his interview as well.
“[Parker] said that wasn’t a factor in his decision. I can’t imagine that being true because the only other two things I’ve done was when I went out on a night we’re not supposed to and was late to a bike ride. I can’t understand how that didn’t play a part. I think the teammate we shared it with shared it with other people, and me and Corey weren’t aware of that. It wasn’t the teammate who posted online. I know they wouldn’t do that. Unfortunately for us, it happened that way, and really blew out of proportion from being something we were doing while we were bored in our dorm room to people taking offense to it. We’re definitely sorry about that.”
Once again, credit to Jake Seiner for talking to Vinny so extensively. If and when we hear from Corey and or Victor, we'll bring you that as well.
Drinking Incident Cited Among Several Issues Leading to Punishment
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the Terriers going into the 2010-2011 season, we get this bomb dropped on us.
Here is the basic run-down. Victor Saponari and Vinny Saponari have both been dismissed from the BU hockey program, and Corey Trivino has been suspended for an indefinite period of time to start off next year. Earlier this week, the Daily Free Press reported that these three players would face punishment stemming from an incident at the tail end of last year.
Vinny Saponari and Corey Trivino Were to be Crucial Components of the BU Offense Next Year
Jack Parker issued a statement in a news release, saying "Over a period of time, there have been cumulative instances in which Victor and Vinny Saponari have displayed conduct unbecoming of a Boston University hockey player. In a related issue, Trivino will be suspended for the early part of next season.”
The FreeP report said the following: "Sources said the coaching staff was recently informed that the four players were drinking on the night of March 17, less than 48 hours before the Terriers’ Hockey East semifinal matchup with the University of Maine. BU’s season came to an end with a 5-2 loss in that game."
You may notice that the above quote says "four players," even though only three were disciplined. Adam Kraus was the other player implicated in the incident.
Here's the thing. There simply has to be more to this whole thing than one drinking incident. Drinking before a playoff game, which the team coincidentally came out completely flat in, seems like grounds for suspension, but not necessarily dismissal.
In his two years at BU, Vinny Sap had 20 goals and 31 assists. He is by far the biggest loss of the three in my mind, as he really began to come into his own, especially in the offensive end, this past season. Vinny began to make it a habit to score highlight reel goals, and on a team devoid of senior leadership and goal scoring he was poised to ascend to a very important position on this team.
Vinny's Abesnce Will Be Tough to Replace
Trivino is a big loss as well, although not quite as much on the scoresheet. His two years in Scarlet and White saw 10 goals and 18 assists, but he was praised as an important energy player. When he went down with an injury near the end of last season, it threw a major wrench into the then free-flowing Terrier offense.
One possibility is that Parker is simply cleaning house of any and all players who aren't completely committed to the idea of a fresh start. He has talked at length about the importance of being more hungry, and even went as far as selecting the team captains, breaking the long tradition of allowing the players to vote on their leaders. If these guys were negative influences on their teammates, and helped maintain a lazy attitude in the locker room, it could be as simple as Parker not wanting them around.
However, my suspicion is that this probably goes a bit deeper than that. It's great to make a statement, but this team has already been stripped down to the bone. To release an important player outright when you're already hard up for goals for just a drinking incident seems a bit extreme.
We're going to have several more posts on this, including reaction from the players, more details and more analysis, so stay tuned.
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