Hangin’ out with … Reading Royals’ D-Man Charlie Vasaturo

Key facts

Teams: Reading Royals (ECHL), Union College, Avon Old Farms | Hometown: Sewell, N.J.

Pos.: D | Shoots: Right | Size: 6-2, 205 | Age: 27

Notable: In three ECHL seasons, has totaled 35 points (12-23-35) in 167 regular-season games and two goals in 16 Kelly Cup playoff contests with Kalamazoo and Reading. Scored in first pro game, as a member of the Wings, on Oct. 16, 2015, vs. Fort Wayne. Prior to turning pro, played four years (2011-15) at Union College, recording three goals and 13 assists in 112 games. Member of the Dutchmen’s 2014 NCAA national championship winning team. Captained the Dutchmen during his senior season. Before his college career, played two seasons each at the Lawrenceville School and Avon Old Farms School, and two seasons with Salmon Arm (BCHL).

Favorites

Food: Cheesesteak

Movie: “Old School”

TV show: “Entourage”

Actor: Vince Vaughn

Actress: Margot Robbie

Musician: Kenny Chesney

Vacation spot: “Down the (Jersey) Shore is always fun.”

College road rink: “We went to Yost Ice Arena (University of Michigan). That was a lot of fun.”

Non-hockey athlete: Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers)

Sport other than hockey: Golf

All-time hockey memory as a kid: “Playing for Team Philadelphia in the PeeWee Quebec tournament.”

Equipment

Helmet: CCM

Stick: CCM

Gloves: CCM

Skates: Bauer

You were a Philadelphia Flyers fan as a kid. What are some of your favorite memories from those days watching them?

“The first one would be the Stanley Cup Final run in 2010. Seeing them go all the way there was really fun. When they acquired Chris Pronger, I loved watching him play.

“I loved going to the games as a kid; actually, I went to a lot of (then-Philadelphia) Phantoms games when I was real young. We were there when they won the Calder Cup in 2005; that was really cool. That was the first championship in the Philly area I’d ever seen, which was really cool as well.”

In addition to Pronger, who were some other players you enjoyed watching?

“I’ve always loved watching Shea Weber play. He’s a meaner player, but he still puts up great numbers. Nowadays, there are so many great players, from the Suters to the Doughtys. Everyone is watching where Erik Karlsson is heading this offseason. But Weber has always been my favorite.”

What is your favorite memory from your two seasons (2005-07) playing at the Lawrenceville School?

“My freshman year, Scott Stevens was our assistant coach. That was really cool, picking his brain and learning from him. It was a real eye-opening experience. Being a Flyers fan and him being on the New Jersey Devils, watching him always play against my team as I was growing up, and then he’s coaching me for one year, that was my highlight.”

What was your biggest takeaway from Stevens?

“He was prepared every day, for practices or games. He was always available to offer knowledge. He was great in terms of that. He always had little tricks of the trade to provide you. He was always coaching, wanting you to get better, every day, which was awesome for me.”

You then played at Avon Old Farms School for two years (2007-09). What stands out from that experience?

“There were so many great players on our team. My first year at Avon, my junior year, we were able to win the New England championship. We had Cam Atkinson on our team, and he’s gone on and done well. We had Parker Milner, who’s also done well. A lot of guys went to play at different colleges. Also, it was really fun playing all of those different schools in the New England prep league such as Taft, Berkshire and Salisbury.”

You then made the cross-continent trip to play in the British Columbia Hockey League with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. What led to that decision?

“I had a family friend (agent Steve Mountain) who had a few players out there who were moving on, and an opportunity arose to play junior out there. He was a really good family friend, and I trusted him a lot. He said I should go out there, and that I would have a blast. And I did. I absolutely loved my two years out there.”

What was the biggest thing you learned about yourself being so far away from home during those two seasons (2009-11)?

“Not that you don’t live on your own in prep school, because you do, but you see your family a little more often when you’re in high school. Going to play junior, you mature, and you grow up quickly. The billets are great, and they take care of you as great as anyone can. But you still have to grow up and be independent when you live that far away, in a different country. I didn’t know anyone or anything, and met all the guys on the team for the first time. I still keep in touch with quite a few of those guys.”

Then you came back east, played four years (2011-15) at Union College, and as a junior won the 2014 NCAA national championship. Even better, you won it at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. What did that experience mean to you?

“That was probably the best championship I could ever ask for. I had gotten injured the last game of the regular season my sophomore year, and I remember watching the ECAC third-place game between Yale and Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac went on to win it, and I remember saying we are right there, we can definitely do it. And you circle the following year’s (Frozen Four) when you see it’s in Philadelphia. Everyone was looking forward to it.

“We got off to a slow start that season, actually; we won one of our first five games. Then we turned it on, and after February, it felt like it didn’t matter who we were playing or where we were playing. You just had that feeling we were going to win those games no matter what; we were on a roll. Even if the other team scored first, we would say, ‘Well, we will go back and score now.’ It just seemed like it was meant to be that year.

“And doing it at home, in front of a bunch of family and friends, was a great experience.”

What did it mean to you to wear the ‘C’ your senior season?

“It was a great honor. I loved all four years there. I loved the school, the community, the professors, my classmates and the university as a whole, so any time you get to wear a letter and not only be the captain of the team but the school as well, it’s a great honor. I loved it. Each member of the class I graduated with was a leader, and we did it as a group. The captains before me — Brock Matheson, Nolan Julseth-White and Mat Bodie — you learned from them, and went out, worked hard and emulated what they did. When it became our turn to do it, we worked hard and everyone followed suit. Unfortunately, the senior year didn’t go as well as we would’ve hoped, but it was still a lot of fun.”

You were roommates with Shayne Gostisbehere, a teammate for your first three seasons at Union. What do you remember about that experience?

“Oh, he’s a great person, first and foremost, before being a great hockey player. He’s a great friend. On the ice, he’s very skilled; he loves to play, loves to compete and hates to lose, like all the great players do. He’s a lot of fun and great to hang out with. He’s been doing great so far, and he’s going to keep getting better and better. If he’s not already considered one of the best defensemen in the National Hockey League — which he should already be — he definitely will be very soon.”

What was the biggest thing you learned at Union, as a person, and as a player?

“I realized how great the community is. Everyone supports each other and everyone wants you to do well, in the classroom and on the ice in practice or in games. And also the close relationships and friendships. I became very close, not only with my team — we’d see each other in class or walking from class or when we were hanging out at night in the apartment — but also my graduating class. All eight of us still keep in touch to this day, and we go on a golf trip every summer.”

After graduating Union, you started your professional career, and have played three seasons in the ECHL, over two and a half with the Kalamazoo Wings before you were traded to the Reading Royals this past season. What has been your favorite moment in the ECHL so far?

“It was really cool to play a whole seven-game playoff series again. In college, it’s do or die, and it’s a different element. So it was fun to get back to playing a best-of-seven. My first year in Kalamazoo, we lost in five (to the South Carolina Stingrays). My second year, the Toledo Walleye was the top team in the league, and we took them to Game 7, which was at their place. Unfortunately, we lost 3-1, but that series could’ve went either way.

“The atmosphere of the whole seven-game playoff series, against that team, which has a sold-out barn every night, an unbelievable fan base that travels really well, was really cool.

“Then this past spring, it was really cool to come back home and play in a playoff series for Reading, pretty much my hometown team.”

Although your Flyers fandom is in the past, is it special to be playing for their affiliate in Reading?

“Oh yeah. It’s really cool to play professionally so close to home and be part of an organization you rooted for as a kid for so long. But the allegiance is in the past. My closest friend (Johnny Gaudreau, Carneys Point, N.J.) plays 3,000 miles away during the year in Calgary with the Flames. Shayne is in Philadelphia. You have best friends, close friends, who play all over in the NHL now. I’m more so rooting for them as opposed to different teams. But it’s still really cool to play so close to home and come full circle.”