BOSTON — As the 2024-25 season nears, another birth year comes into focus: the 2010s.
To this point, 2009-born players have been the youngest prospects we tracked and watched. They were the U14s last season. Now, as they move to 15O, the '10s become U14s. Many begin high school hockey this fall.
Last week, Harvard hosted its Crimson Combine for players from the 2009-12 birth years. I focused on the 2010s, who took the ice Thursday and Friday. It was my first viewing of 2010 prospects.
Many of these players showed themselves as strong future prep prospects.
Here are 14 players who stood out from the birth year.
Graham Furness
Team 2/Minuteman Flames, 5/27/2010, FÂ
Furness is a prospect who has size at such a young age. He's a good skater for someone with that kind of size and showed himself to be strong at facilitating play both off the rush and during sustained offensive zone time. He was also good at gaining space in front of the net.
Alexander Guo
Team 3/Boston Jr. Eagles, 5/5/2010, DÂ
There are always one or two players at the 14U level who are just a step ahead of everyone else. That was Guo over Thursday and Friday. He created a goal early in the first half of Thursday's game against Team 4, skating it end to end and got it to Conor O'Brien for a goal. Guo was consistently able to do whatever he wanted with the puck, often using his great skating to motor up the ice. He scored the best goal I saw over the two days. On Friday, he hustled down the right side of the offensive zone, put the puck through his own legs around a defender and then stopped quickly, sending that defender flying into the corner. Guo then cut middle and scored over the goalie's blocker. He's an interesting prospect to track.
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Lucas Hould
Team 1/Connecticut Jr. Rangers, 5/26/2010, FÂ
Hould stood out quite a bit in Thursday's game against Team 2. He showed offensive creativity in the second half when he made a behind-the-back pass to Jason Creegan for a goal off the rush. He scored earlier in the half when he got to the front of the net and tipped a shot from defenseman William Devendorf past the netminder. Hould's best play, however, was when he showed off his speed, beating two defenders in the neutral zone and scoring on a shot through the goalie's legs.
Michael Kandrach
Team 4/Long Island Gulls, 8/3/2010, FÂ
Kandrach had a great showing over both days. He was quick to make an impact against Team 3 on Thursday when he scored a goal off the rush. He scored off a 2-on-1 later in the first half, too. But what Kandrach was really great at was puck protection in the offensive zone. In the second half of that game, he protected the puck and came off the half-wall to the middle of the slot. That directly led to a goal from John Grignoli.
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Sam Lee
Team 2/Boston Jr. Eagles, 9/29/2010, FÂ
I was throughly impressed with Lee's play over the two days. Lee was a force offensively, driving play consistently and making really smart, creative passes both in transition and during the cycle game. While he scored a hat trick in the second half of Friday's game against Team 3, his shot was lethal and he was able to play east-west just as easily as he played north-south. It was the little things Lee did that made him so effective. He hustled on the backcheck to prevent scoring chances. He also reloaded really well, getting above plays going the other way, even after long offensive zone sequences. This is a name I'll have circled for this coming season.
Chase Lovell
Team 1/ Jersey Hitmen, 4/15/2010, FÂ
The biggest thing to stand out with Lovell was his shot. He opened Thursday with a nice forehand to backhand finish off the rush. Later in the game, he had a handful of chances from his deadly shot that he got off quick and got to the net even faster. On Friday, he hustled for a pass, outskating a defender, and rung the crossbar. It's still very early (again: very early), but he has the foundation of a pro shot.
Max Prudovsky
Team 2/Boston Jr. Eagles, 7/29/2011, FÂ
No, that's not a typo: Prudovsky is a 2011. He didn't just fit in over the two days, either — he was one of the best players. Prudovsky showed himself to be a phenomenal passer, finding passing lanes and being deceptive in his decision making. He knew where to be in all areas of the ice and wasn't afraid to get hit going to the net. That was evident on Thursday when he got to the front of the net and tipped in a goal. His hands were great too, as he consistently stick-handled through and around multiple defenders.
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Dylan Rothstein
Team 3/Neponset Valley River Rats, 7/6/2010, FÂ
Despite not being one of the bigger players, Rothstein's impact was impossible to miss. Rothstein was able to generate speed quickly, as was evident in one of his goals on Friday. He won a race for the puck in the neutral zone, challenged a defender 1 on 1 and beat the goalie on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle. He always wanted the puck and once he got it, he always seemed to show off his great hands.
Xuxin Tang
Team 2/Feijyang, 1/15/2010, FÂ
Tang played the game at such a high pace. His best play of the two games came on Friday when he dangled two defenders and ripped a shot upstairs on the goalie, displaying his great hands. He also had two goals in Thursday's matchup with Team 1.
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Cole Tapper
Team 2/East Coast Militia, 10/11/2010, DÂ
When he had the puck in his own zone, Tapper was strong when faced with pressure. In one sequence in Thursday's matchup with Team 1, he went end-to-end after getting a puck behind his own net. He dangled a defender in the neutral zone and went in for a scoring chance. When an opposing defender had the puck a few seconds later, Tapper laid a hard hit on him and then stepped up on a forward at the opposing blue line.
Patrick Viano
Team 1/Boston Jr. Eagles, 12/2/2010, FÂ
Viano consistently stood out for making smart plays and reads. He consistently deduced opposing breakouts, positioning himself in future passing lanes. In Thursday's matchup with Team 2, he intercepted a breakout pass, walked in and hit the post on a breakaway. Later in the game, he broke up an opposing D-to-D pass at his own blue line and sprung forward James Fox for a rush. He showed his speed when he earned a breakaway and scored on it early in Thursday's first half. Those smarts showed themselves on Friday when he entered the slot, faked a shot and instead slid a pass to a teammate closer to the net. He scored later in the game, too, sniping a shot into the top corner.
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Blake Ward
Team 1/Boston Jr. Eagles, 6/14/2010, FÂ
Ward's hands allowed him to stand out as much as he did. In Thursday's matchup with Team 2, he hit The Michigan and showcased a high-end ability to coral the puck in tight areas. He was able to drive play. One heads-up play he made was on Friday against Team 4, he was in front of the other team's net and lifted the defender's stick right before a pass got to him, allowing him to catch it cleanly and get a scoring chance off. Ward's shot was great, too, as he sniped a goal on Friday.
Austin Wu
Team 4/Minuteman Flames, 1/28/2010, FÂ
Wu had flashes of dominance, especially on Thursday. He had a great, end-to-end rush against Team 3. Once he entered the offensive zone, he cut across the slot and scored on a quick, accurate shot. His skating was powerful, with a strong ability to get up and down the ice. He was regularly able to get past defenders 1 on 1.
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Matthew Xu
Team 1/ York Simcoe Express, 3/14/2010, FÂ
Xu is fortunate to have good size in relation to other players his age. But he also read the game well, putting himself in optimal positions to make plays. A good example of this was on Friday when he properly read Team 4's transition the other way, intercepting a pass in the neutral zone and springing play the other way. He also had no issue getting low in his own zone to aid defensemen in shutting down forward. In the offensive zone, he had nice hands in tight around the net.
