| John Farinacci | |
| Birth Date: | 14 February 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Red Bank, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 185 |
| Position: | Center |
| Shoots: | Right |
| League: | NHL |
| Team: | Boston Bruins |
| Prospect League: | AHL |
| Prospect Team: | Providence Bruins |
| Draft: | 76th overall |
| Draft Year: | 2019 |
| Draft Team: | Arizona Coyotes |
| Career Start: | 2023 |
John Farinacci (born February 14, 2001) is an American ice hockey forward currently playing for the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 76th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He played college ice hockey for the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team.
Raised in Red Bank, New Jersey, Farinacci played prep hockey for the Delbarton School before transferring to Shattuck-Saint Mary's.[1] Following his sophmore year, he transferred to the Dexter Southfield School for his final two years of high school.[2] During his senior year at Dexter Southfield, he was named team captain of the hockey team.[3]
Farinacci was drafted 76th overall by the Arizona Coyotes in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. He committed to play college ice hockey at Harvard University starting in the 2019–20 season.
Farinacci had a successful freshman year with the Crimson, scoring 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 31 games. Unfortunately, Farinacci and the rest of the team's season was abruptly cancelled during the 2020 ECAC Hockey Tournament due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.[4]
After initially expecting to play, the Ivy League announced on November 12, 2020, that they would be cancelling winter sports for the season.[5] This meant that Farinacci would not play for Harvard in the 2020–21 season. However, this did not stop him from playing successful hockey. For the season, he returned to play for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he played for a little while before committing to Harvard. In seven games with the Lumberjacks, serving as an assistant captain, he scored four goals and four assists. Farinacci also played on the international stage during the season, representing the United States at the 2021 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he scored five goals and two assists in seven games en route to the gold medal. After the tournament, he would not return to play for the Lumberjacks, instead opting to train and focus on preparing for his next season at Harvard.[6]
Farinacci returned to Harvard for the 2021–22 season for his junior year. Unfortunately for Farinacci, his production dipped in comparison to his freshman year, scoring 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 29 games. However, he helped Harvard win the 2022 ECAC Hockey tournament, giving Harvard an automatic bid in the 2022 NCAA tournament. Harvard would be eliminated in the first round to the Minnesota State Mavericks.
Farinacci was named captain of the Crimson for the 2022–23 season. However, he would end up missing the first part of the season recovering from surgery due to a herniated disc.[6] After returning to action on January 13, 2023, Farinacci put up great numbers and had his best statistical season at Harvard yet, given his missed time. He scored five goals and 15 assists in 19 games. Farinacci would help Harvard reach the final of the 2023 ECAC Hockey tournament, where they would lose to the Colgate Raiders. Despite this, Harvard still received a bid to the 2023 NCAA tournament, where they would lose 8–1 in the first round to the Ohio State Buckeyes, in what would be Farinacci's final game of his college career. Farinacci scored the lone Crimson goal in the loss.
The Ivy League did not offer their athletes another year of eligibility due to the lost 2020–21 season. As such, Farinacci could not return to Harvard for a fourth season. Although he could've transferred for another year, Farinacci did not want to play college hockey anywhere but Harvard, and as such, was set to turn pro.[6]
On April 12, 2023, it was announced that Farinacci would not sign with the Coyotes, and intended to test the free agent market.[7] He became a highly coveted collegiate free agent, and ultimately signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Bruins on August 16, 2023.[8]
Farinacci was assigned the Bruins American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Providence Bruins, to start the 2023-24 season.[9] Farinacci would stay in the AHL for the entirety of the season, finding success with the P-Bruins, scoring 12 goals and 26 assists for 38 points in 71 games. Farinacci would also score a goal and an assist in four playoff games, but the Bruins were eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack in four games in the opening round of the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs.
Farinacci has many connections within the hockey community. He is cousins with Chicago Blackhawks forward Ryan Donato, and his uncle, Ted Donato was his head coach at Harvard.
Farinacci is the brother-in-law of Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk.[10]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||||||
| USHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | USHL | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| ECAC | 31 | 10 | 12 | 22 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | USHL | 7 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Harvard University | ECAC | 29 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| Harvard University | ECAC | 19 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2023–24 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 71 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| AHL totals | 71 | 12 | 26 | 38 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||