D Tommy Vannelli (2013, 47th, STL)

[Eyelanders]

What can you tell me about this guy? It appears he had a good Ivan Hlinka tournament and from the little I saw, I was quite impressed. Looked as big, good skating defenseman that has good offensive instincts.

He was drafted this year by Tri-City Storm of the USHL, is it possible that he play there next year?

Click to read more...

 

[WeissFC]

He'll be back at Minnetonka HS, but doesn't mean he won't do a before and after with Tri-City.

 

[Bookman]

Is he related to THE Tom Vanelli?

 

[WesternCollegeHockey]

Is he related to THE Tom Vanelli?

Nephew, I believe.

 

[puckfan13]

Anyone see him play all year? Thoughts? Seemed like a toolsy and high IQ kind of player from what I read - Jeff Petry kind of guy with a relatively lengthy developmental path in front of him?

 

[doakacola*]

Is he related to THE Tom Vanelli?

Who is THE Tom Vanelli?

 

[North Country]

Minnetonka is known for developing very good defensemen.

 

[StuckOutHere]

Tommy Vanelli Leaves NCAA for WHL

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/224139831.html

I believe he is property of Medicine Hat.

 

[rumrokh]

I don't actually know anything about him as a person, but he seems like a nice, well-spoken kid in interviews. My guess is that this decision was not made impulsively. I'm a fan of college hockey, but it's definitely not the right development place for certain players. Vanelli is a great skater and has good puck skills - what he needs is experience to develop his defensive game and situational awareness. So it makes sense for him to play in juniors if he can get more games and more icetime there - and a lot of NCAA teams revolve heavily around seniority and established pairs.

 

[SiouxPride]

What happened to Tommy Vannelli?

As a UND fan I remember being jealous that the rival school had him, and relieved when he left and played in the WHL. However now a days I don't hear a single thing about him. Is he in the ECHL? Is he still promising as a prospect ?

 

[edguy]

22 ECHL, I would not call that a promising prospect..

By the looks of it he lost all of last year to injury so that probably derailed him quite a bit.

 

[Oberyn]

He missed basically all of last season due to a concussion. He's playing in the ECHL right now trying to get his game back. I think he's a longshot to make it to the NHL.

 

[MortiestOfMortys]

As others have stated, he missed most of his first pro year to injury. However, before he got hurt, he did not look very good in camp, and was basically invisible in his first few pro games. He missed 12 weeks at the beginning of this year (different injury), and started his season being re-assigned to the Missouri Mavericks, the Islanders ECHL affiliate. After 11 games and 2 assists there, he was again re-assigned to the Atlanta Gladiators, Boston's ECHL affiliate. Since the move, his play has been spotty. He is still looking for his first pro goal, but has had a few nice games here or there. For example, two weeks ago he had 5 assists in 2 games (doubling his production on the year), and followed that performance up with goose eggs in 4 games last week. Very inconsistent.

His skating just isn't pro level. He can make some nice, crisp break out passes every now and then, but not consistently enough to lean on that skill alone. His defense isn't very good, and he's very lanky so it's hard for him to hold his own out there physically. Pretty much every scouting report I've read about him seems... off. I don't know if the injuries ruined his game, but he's really just not all that good. He's been passed over by just about every other defensive prospect in the Blues system at this point, and next year will be his last to show he's worth another contract before his ELC is up. There isn't anyone blocking him out on the right side on our AHL team, so if he wants to take a spot, it's there for him. I very much doubt he can do that at this point though.

 

[VoluntaryDom]

He was good in NHL 15.