Victor Mancini learned a lot about his game from his first year in the NHL.
There is often an adjustment period that players go through as they transition from the AHL to the NHL level, as players pick up on the increased pace and skill in the NHL. Mancini felt that the transition between the two leagues pushed him to add elements into his game that not only helped him grow as a player but also helped make the transition easier.
“I wanted to add physicality to my game, and I think that makes it easier moving forward with breakouts and closing play quickly and going back to moving my feet,” Mancini said. “If I’m playing fast and aggressive, playing physical, the game kind of slows down, it gets easier.”
A major goal for Mancini as he begins his NHL career, is to gain as much experience as possible, and take advantage of every learning opportunity presented to him, whether that be through NHL practices or games, and become a consistent defenceman every night.
“I’m going to see more game reps and things are going to get easier, but I do feel like moving forward the next two years of my contract, starting to transition into getting a lot of experience, you need to put this to use now,” Mancini said.
The veteran presence in the Canucks locker room has been important in helping Mancini take that next step and feel as though he is developing his game in the right way, and in the right direction moving forward.
“They’re a really good voice just to ask questions about certain situations, and when they provide their two cents, I find it pretty insightful because they have a ton of experience,” Mancini said.
This offseason will be an important one for Mancini, as he hopes to continue building the momentum he gained in the latter half of the season, and be confident coming into training camp next season. Skating will be a focal point for him, as being a strong skater helps with all aspects of his game.
“You can never be too good a skater. There’s a lot of things that I want to improve on [with] my skating in the game,” Mancini said. “Just with the guys I skate with, and the skating coach, and the gym, I feel like it all pieces together really well and leaves me feeling really confident coming into training camp.”
While Mancini has goals, and he will be working towards building up his strength and skill work this summer, he undoubtedly had taken huge strides last season and felt he was better equipped to handle the responsibility that comes with playing in an NHL lineup.
“There’s a number of things, but I think [I'm] just getting used to the speed and the tempo of the game. I feel like I made more plays this year. It kind of slows down in your mind, getting the puck into forwards hands as quickly as possible, playing fast, things like that,” Mancini said.
Taking both the lessons he learned from his NHL experience, as well as his increased summer training regime, Mancini is well on track to come in ready to be a difference maker for the Canucks next season as they shift their focus to empowering younger players in the lineup.
Listen to this and much more as Mancini joins Chris Faber on the latest episode of the Canucks Insider Podcast.
