If you find yourself at a boys prep hockey game over the next month, the on-ice intensity is at a season high. Every check is finished. Players are diving to block shots. Anything to gain a winning advantage in hopes of a higher playoff seed.
But if you turn your head just a bit and focus on the people around you, you'll find college coaches, junior teams represented and the occasional NHL scout.
Championships are on the mind. But so, too, are commitments.
As the final month of the prep season continues, various seniors are looking to play their best in hopes of a college commitment, as well as a place to play junior hockey next season.
Here are a handful of senior forwards to keep an eye on down the stretch. No postgraduate players were included in this story.
A separate story will be done on defensemen and goalies.
