WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Just one day before the Providence Bruins were to begin the 2002-03 season, Carl Corazzini sat alone in a small room in the bowels of the Dunkin' Donuts Center trying to gather his thoughts.
His mind was filled with all sorts of emotions. He had questions but no answers.
The former Boston University standout and Framingham, Mass., native had always enjoyed success, but the information he had received on that October day changed the way he would play hockey for the rest of his pro career.
During his rookie season in Providence, Corazzini, a forward, played in 61 games for the P-Bruins, and he was hoping to increase that number in his sophomore campaign. He did, but not at the AHL level.
He was crushed when coach Mike Sullivan told him he was being demoted to the East Coast Hockey League. The ECHL is a league filled with has-beens and never-will-bes. It wasn't for someone who captained the Terriers and played for legendary coach Jack Parker, he thought.
The reality was, Corazzini was going there, whether he liked it or not.
In retrospect, it was the best thing for him.
"First of all, it lights a fire under your butt," said Corazzini, who was promoted to the Boston Bruins Tuesday night and could make his NHL debut tonight in Buffalo. "It puts things into perspective. Those guys play for love of the game. To get down there and play in that situation was helpful. I became a better hockey player. At first it hurt me a little bit, but when you look back at it, it really was the best thing for me."
After his 27-game stint in Atlantic City, Sullivan recalled Corazzini on Jan. 18, 2003. Since then, he has been stronger, quicker, smarter and more productive. His improvement and hard work this season were evident yesterday as he practiced with the Bruins.
"Oh, my God," said Corazzini. "Just to have the opportunity to skate with these guys is great. To be out there with guys like Joe Thornton, Glen Murray and Brian Rolston -- guys I grew up watching -- just to skate on the same ice with them at a real Bruins practice is real exciting for me."
The news of his promotion came as a complete shock to the 24-year-old Corazzini, who was late for a team event the previous night. P-Bruins coach Scott Gordon summoned his third-leading goal-scorer (12) to his office, and Corazzini thought the worst.
To break the ice, he grabbed a newspaper article about fellow Framingham native Lou Merloni signing with the Cleveland Indians to show the coach. At first, Gordon didn't seem impressed, and then he said: "That's great, Framingham is going to be real happy now that there's two guys in the show."
Corazzini responded, "No way; who's the other guy?"
"You," said Gordon.
Corazzini was speechless. In less than one calendar year, he's gone from the ECHL to the NHL.
"He's obviously going to bring a lot of speed to our lineup," said Sullivan. "He's played extremely well in Providence. He's been scoring goals and killing penalties, and he brings that element of speed."
Even though he practiced with the Bruins at Ristuccia Arena yesterday and will accompany the team on its two-game trip to Buffalo and Ottawa, there's a possibility he won't play much. Some of the Bruins have been hampered by injuries, but some could return to action soon. Corazzini was on a line with Rolston and Ted Donato yesterday, but Sullivan said it would be a game-time decision whether Corazzini dresses.
Corazzini is just happy to be rewarded for all his hard work and success in the minors.
"You wait your whole life to put one of those sweaters on," said Corazzini. "Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Craig Janney are pretty much my idols. To throw on a jersey that they've had on before is quite exciting."
If he does get to play, Corazzini plans to keep it simple and make good use of his biggest asset -- speed.
"If I have a chance to get in a game, I've got nothing to lose," he said. "I'm just going to skate around with reckless abandon and see what happens."
