Salvatore Tecci had been at the rink since noon, hours before practice was set to start. As the players slowly trickled in, each pretty much did the same thing. "They would walk past me, then turn and do a double take," he said. "Many had a look of 'Who is this kid?'"
Eventually, they came over and welcomed him. "But, they would introduce themselves by their first names, which didn't really help because I didn't know who they were," he shared. "Having lived in Boston for seven years, if I would have practiced with the Bruins, I probably would have known everyone on the team."
Tecci primarily grew up in Henderson, NV and his only exposure to pro hockey was the Las Vegas Thunder of the old IHL.
"When I first stared playing, there were only two ice rinks within 100 miles," said the 20-year old netminder. "I started skating when I was five, and eventually only became a goalie because one day somebody didn't show up. So, I said 'Yeah, I'll play goalie, they play the whole game.' I was always the youngest kid on the team, so they wouldn't give me a lot of playing time before."
In between filling in for one of his teammates back then and subbing for Quick while he was at the All-Star festivities, Tecci also attended the famed Thayer Prep School in Massachusetts - where a young Jeremy Roenick met Tony Amonte and skated on the same line together. As a freshman Tecci led the state in wins.
NHL scouts and college coaches paid him plenty of attention over the next few years. Yet, it all came to an abrupt end his senior year when he developed an eye infection that put him out of action for several months.
