The NHIAA had no shortage of phenomenal boys hockey players during the last season, and though some have moved on, there are plenty of returners looking to make their marks this season.
Highlighting the list of New Hampshire's best is a trio of standouts from the reigning Division 1 champion Concord, two St. Thomas Aquinas forwards looking to fill in the scoring hole left by graduating seniors, and a number of Division 3 players who made big jumps last year and will look to continue that momentum the same during the upcoming campaign.
We've listed below 12 players we think will be among the state's best.
If you live around any of these high schools and want to check out a game, here are some names to watch for on the ice.
Dillon Boucher, Berlin-Gorham
Senior
Forward
Boucher missed five games last season and still scored over 30 points, leading to a first-team all-state nod. He had 16 goals and 15 assists in 13 games, including three game winners. He’ll be in the running for player of the year this season along with his teammate Boyd Poulin, who won it last year.
Nate Cloos, Kingswood
Senior
Defenseman
Kingswood finished the regular season 17-3-1 last season and made a run to the state championship thanks in large part to Cloos, its first team all-state honoree. Cloos was a huge part of success, both as a scoring threat and a shutdown defender. He led the Knights in assists with 18, highlighting his abilities as a playmaker and facilitator in the offensive zone. He and goaltender Jake Dubuc will need to be the two best players for Kingswood as it lost five players who had double-digit points from last season.
Hudson Goulet, Berlin-Gorham
Senior
Forward
Goulet is one of three Mountaineers on this list, as he’s coming off a 34-point season for Berlin-Gorham. An all-state honorable mention, Goulet put up 17 goals and 17 assists last season and was second in scoring on his team.
Carter Heise, Concord
Sophomore
Goalie
The Crimson Tide have their goalie of the future in Heise. He won the starting job in Concord as a freshman and is poised to make a jump in his second season. Heise has a big frame at just 15 years old, already standing at 5-foot-11. He also has that quick twitch skill that so many great goalies have. He works well laterally in the crease and has a great glove hand.
Heise had good numbers in the regular season, but his playoff stats were otherworldly. He posted a 0.66 goals against average and a .976 save percentage in the three games en route to their state championship.
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Adam Kozlowski, St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior
Forward
Kozlowski scored over a goal per game in both the regular season and playoffs last season on one of the highest scoring teams in the conference. With 44 points over 20 games, Kozlowski was only third on his team in scoring. He is one of the players who will have to step up to fill in the scoring holes left behind by graduating seniors Garrett Aceto (58 pts) and Jackson Estes (49 pts). Kozlowski should be in the running as one of the top goal scorers in the state come March.
Chad LaRiviere, Concord
Senior
Forward
LaRiviere was the top point scorer on the best team in the state, he finds himself atop this list for good reason. Following his 38-point campaign, he was named to the Division 1 all-state first team. He was the only All-State selection on the first or second team who wasn’t a senior.
Although he’s already racked up plenty of accolades, one glaring hole in his stat line from last season was his playoff production. He had just one goal in the three playoff games while many of his teammates picked up the slack. That will be one area LaRiviere should be hungry to improve upon this season. He’ll be a leader on this new iteration of the Concord hockey team as they look to repeat as state champions.
Boyd Poulin, Berlin-Gorham
Senior
Defenseman
The reigning Division 3 player of the year returns after putting up 17 goals and 27 assists last season. You would think a guy with 44 points is a forward, right? Wrong. Poulin is a defenseman who led the team in points by 10 last season. Not only is he a prolific offensive defenseman, but he’s also capable of shutting attackers down in the defensive end as well. He’s truly the full package on the back-end for Berlin-Gorham, and will once again look to lead a team that lost just two players from last season.
Maxwell Ryder, Belmont-Gilford
Junior
Forward
Belmont-Gilford won the Division 3 championship last season, but they lost 10 players, includes their top two scorers. Ryder notched just over a point per game last season, and will need to elevate that production as his 21 points are the most of any returner by a significant amount. He’ll be a massive factor in deciding whether the Bulldogs can make another deep run this season.
READ MORE: Top boys prep performers from the first week of the season
Gavin Santos, Bishop Guertin
Junior
Defenseman
Santos has flown under the radar, but according to some coaches, he may be one of the best defensemen in the NHIAA. Santos plays his half-season hockey with the Northern Cyclones U18 AAA team, where he put up 14 points as a defenseman this fall.
Santos plays a physical brand of hockey, but can also move the puck with pace, making him dangerous in all three zones. Also a member of the Bishop-Guertin baseball team, Santos will be a key for the Cardinals.
Aiden Tibbetts, St. Thomas Aquinas
Senior
Forward
Tibbetts is expected to be a big piece of that equation for St. Thomas Aquinas. He posted 10 goals and 16 assists in his junior season, but will be relied upon more this year without the graduated Aceto and Estes. Tibbetts and Kozlowski will likely skate together on the top line in the hopes that they can exceed their production from last year.
Nolan Walsh, Concord
Sophomore
Forward
Nolan Walsh was the second-leading scorer from the Concord championship team as a freshman. Walsh may be undersized, but he has the wrist shot of someone with a much bigger frame. As he grows throughout his high school career, Walsh could easily be one of the best players in the state.
The rising sophomore had 17 goals and 12 assists as a freshman, also posting five assists in three playoff games. He’ll be a key piece of one of the top forward groups in the state along with LaRiviere.
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Owen Zipf, Kennett
Junior
Defenseman
Zipf was one of only three sophomores to get all-state honors last season, and he’s out to prove it wasn’t a fluke as a junior. More of a defensive defenseman, Zipf had one goal and 12 assists last season, but the fact that he was second team all-state shows how valuable he is on the defensive end for Kennett. The Eagles lost 10 players from last season’s team, so Zipf will need to be a leader for Kennett both on and off the ice.
