From Jeremy Roenick to Keith Yandle to Jay Pandolfo to soon to be NHL star Jack Eichel, the state of Massachusetts has produced numerous standout professional hockey players. The state hopes to be able to add another name to that list.

On Tuesday the Bruins kicked off their ninth annual Development Camp at Ristuccia Arena—the rink’s last season as practice home to the Bruins—where management gets to get a good look at the future of the organization and some other non-roster invites who hope to show enough to earn a chance down the road with the Black and Gold.

Coming in with much less hype than some of the draftees, a non-roster invite to camp surely has just as much of a chance to eventually crack the club’s roster as a drafted player does.

For Mike Vecchione, he hopes that rings true.

An invite to camp is an honor for Vecchione for sure, but this one has special meaning to the 22-year old and in more ways than one.

Vecchione, who is going into his Junior year at Union College, grew up just about 10 miles north of TD Garden in the town of Saugus, Massachusetts. Prior to joining the Dutchmen of Union College, Vecchione was a standout forward at Malden Catholic High school where he starred on a line with Bruins’ prospect Ryan Fitzgerald and then went on to continue his success with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League.

Fitzgerald was drafted 120th overall by the Bruins in the 2013 entry draft and is entering his third development camp with the Bruins. Vecchione says it’s nice to have a friend to go to both on and off the ice during camp.

“It feels pretty good. He’s a guy that’s been here for a couple years now and it’s good to have a veteran guy like that to go to if I have any questions on or off the ice,” Vecchione said. “We haven’t done any line drills together yet [as of Tuesday] but I’m sure if we get around to that again our old chemistry will come back.”

Fitzgerald and Vecchione hope someday to be able to reignite the chemistry that made them so dominant in high school (Photo credit: Angela Spagna/Bruins Daily)

During the 2010-11 school year at Malden Catholic, Vecchione, Fitzgerald and Brendan Collier (selected 189th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2012) set numerous MIAA hockey records en route to a Division 1A championship—a game played at TD Garden. The trio combined for 86 goals, 138 assists and 224 points. Their 86 goals ranks 11th for most goals scored by a single line in MIAA history while their 138 assists ranks third and their 224 points ranks fourth.

Vecchione hopes that someday down the road he and Fitzgerald have the chance to do some special things on the ice once again.

“The things we were able to accomplish in high school as a line, alongside Brendan Collier, were pretty magical, so I mean if we were able to play together down the line as Bruins, that could mean trouble for the rest of the league for sure,” Vecchione said. “We always knew where the other one was going to be and we compliment each other so well on the ice with our styles of play so it would be an interesting thought as a future possibility.”

At 5’10” 194 pounds, Vecchione is one of the smallest guys at Bruins camp, but don’t let that fool you. His speed, skill and hockey IQ are more than enough to allow him to open eyes at camp and in the NCAA ranks. Stellar at the faceoff dot, and even more reliable on the penalty kill, Vecchione is more than a one-trick pony.

Getting a chance to show his talents at Bruins camp, the Saugus native hopes this helps him reach a dream that he’s had since he was a kid.

“I mean it is a tremendous honor to be invited and wear that ‘B’ on my chest,” Vecchione said. “It has been a dream of mine to one day play for my hometown team ever since I went to my first Bruins game in the Garden a long time ago. So if I one day get to make that next step to the big stage then I think it will finally hit me.”

At 22, Vecchione’s resume is impressive. After notching 34 points in 38 games as a Freshman with Union, Vecchione helped the Dutchmen capture their first ever National Championship in 2014. The Dutchmen defeated the University of Minnesota in the final 7-4, Vecchione notched a goal in the victory.

“Going into Union my freshman year, my number one goal was to simply be an impact player from the start. Winning a national championship was a thought because the team had been exceptional the past two years prior to me coming in,” Vecchione added.

“When people ask me what it was like to win a national championship, words to describe it do not come easily. It is the reason why I wanted to play college hockey. Growing up in Boston and watching BU and BC win it one after another, I knew that would be something I would strive for when I made the jump to college hockey.”

In 2015, Vecchione tied for seventh in the nation in scoring with Daniel Ciampini (Union) and Danny O’Regan (BU) with 50 points.

Skating in his second development camp in as many weeks, Vecchione hopes what he learned skating with the Wild a week ago helped sharpen his skills.

“Being able to go to Minnesota and do their camp was a great experience. Their camp is mostly about teaching the players what it takes to be a pro. It was a great learning experience and helped me prepare for Bruins camp,” he said. “Everything I did in Minnesota, whether it was power skating, puck protection, off-ice testing, and practices, we have done here as well, so I knew what to expect and was confident coming in.”

After watching fellow Massachusetts native Jimmy Hayes return home to reach a dream of his, Vecchione hopes someday to follow in Hayes’ footsteps.

“I haven’t got a chance to follow Jimmy that much but I saw he was doing great down in Florida so I’m hoping he has the same success in a Bruins uniform,” Vecchione said about Hayes. “If I was able to do the same as Jimmy one day, like I said time and time again, it would be a dream come true.”

“For a local guy like Jimmy, going from a national championship at BC, to having great success in Florida, then coming back to his hometown to play as a Bruin is a pretty good resume so I am hoping for a similar road for myself someday if things fall into place.”