Farinacci: Signing with Bruins 'Was a Pretty Easy Decision'

BostonBruins.com - John Farinacci won't have to look far for advice.

The 22-year-old, who signed a two-year, entry-level contract ($910,000 annual cap hit) with the Bruins on Wednesday, has some pretty good resources to turn to regarding what it's like to don the Spoked-B.

"They probably didn't know until about an hour ago," Farinacci, speaking via ZOOM, said of his uncle and cousin, Ted and Ryan Donato, both of whom have played for the Black & Gold - the elder for eight seasons from 1991-99 and again in 2003-04 and the younger from 2017-19.

"I'm sure over the next couple of weeks, I'll have some talks with them and see what kind of tidbits they got from it."

Farinacci has gathered plenty of hockey tidbits from his uncle over the past few years as a centerman for Donato's Harvard Crimson. The New Jersey native captained the Crimson during his senior season in 2022-23 and registered 20 points (5 goals, 15 assist) in 19 games after missing time due to a herniated disc.

"With him being my uncle, I think at first it was a bit of an adjustment," said Farinacci, who lost his sophomore season due to Harvard's COVID-19 shutdown and played instead for Muskegon in the USHL in 2020-21. "He went from Uncle Teddy for the first 17 years of my life to being Coach pretty quick. I learned so much from him, obviously. He was a tremendous player and he's an amazing coach…he's taught me a lot. I couldn't have asked for a better coach."

The 6-foot, 185-pound center was originally drafted by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round (76th overall) of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. But because the right shot pivot never signed with Arizona, he became a college free agent on Tuesday after four years of amateur hockey (one season with Muskegon and three with Harvard).

"With the Coyotes, that was something back in March that, obviously, was discussed a lot once the season ended," said Farinacci, who finished his Harvard career with 25 goals and 61 points in 79 games. "And for whatever reason, it kind of just didn't work out. Nothing but good things to say about them and their organization. Unfortunately, just kind of did not work out with them."

After becoming a free agent on Tuesday, a deal with the Bruins came together quickly in large part thanks to Farinacci's familiarity with Boston and the Black & Gold. Farinacci also played at Dexter Southfield School in Brookline for two seasons from 2017-19 before heading to Harvard, the alma mater of Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.

"Obviously, being here for the last couple of years with Dexter, over there in Brookline and Harvard, I think it was always something in the back of my mind," said Farinacci, who also played with newly acquired Bruins defenseman Reilly Walsh at Harvard.

"And something I kind of did my due diligence on going into 5 o'clock [Tuesday] night, having talks with management…and I loved everything they had to offer. Obviously, knew a little bit about them beforehand, just from my own research and whatnot.

"For me, it was a pretty easy decision. And one that, obviously, I'm super excited about. I talked to a couple other [teams on Tuesday] night, but for me it was nothing that could compare to the feeling of being a part of the Bruins.

"Such a great organization like Boston, I think, will do wonders for my development."

Farinacci, who described himself as a 200-foot centerman, will not have to look far for some strong examples to model his game after. While he is just missing out on the Patrice Bergeron-David Krejci era, there is still plenty for him to look to when it comes to trying to follow in their footsteps.

"I see myself as a 200-foot centerman," he said. "I think I could play on both ends of the ice, good on face offs. I think I can kind of play any role that I need to. I kind of pride myself on being somebody that can do that. I think my hockey sense, intangible-wise is probably my biggest strength.

"And I think a guy that I tried to, obviously - not comparing myself at all - but a guy that I watched a ton and really tried to emulate myself afterwards…Patrice Bergeron.

"I think the way that he played the game was amazing. That's the guy that I try to play like as much as I can."