ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The top 2007-born players from New England District converged on New England Sports Village last weekend for a chance to earn a spot at USA Hockey Select 16 Player Development Camp this July in Amherst, N.Y.
The New England District Select 16 Festival took place over the course of three days. College coaches ran practices on Friday before running the benches and evaluating during games. The event culminated in Sunday afternoon’s All-Star game.
The New England District includes the five states in the region outside of Massachusetts. All of the top '07s were at the event with the exception of players who made USA Hockey’s NTDP Evaluation Camp in March. Carter Amico (Portland, Maine) is ineligible for national camps now that he’s on the NTDP and Anthony Bongo (Ridgefield, Conn.) received an automatic invitation to national camp based on attending NTDP Evaluation Camp.
Below are my rankings of the top '07s at the New England District Select 16 Festival. An asterisk indicates the player was chosen to participate at the USA Hockey Select 16 Player Development Camp by the evaluators.
Forwards
1. Michael Mardula *
Mid Fairfield 15O, 2/21/07, C/RW, right shot, 5-9/160
At least during my viewings, Mardula had the puck more than any other player here. His feet, ability to play at pace, and use of the middle of the ice are areas of his game that he can work on as he develops. He has good offensive instincts and a good stick.
2. George McCaffrey *
Mid Fairfield 15O, 1/2/07, LW, left shot, 5-11/150
McCaffrey (Ridgefield, Conn.) had a good showing here. He’s tall, long and made plays. He also showed off a heavy wrist shot. He never stood out to me as much as some of his Mid Fairfield teammates throughout the 2022-23 season, but he shined here. McCaffrey certainly earned his way to Amherst.
3. Egan Beveridge *
Chicago Mission 15O, 1/11/07, C/RW, right shot, 5-7/160
Beveridge (East Kingston, N.H.) is the most physically advanced player in the New England District at this birth year. He’s stronger and able to dominate because of the power he has in his game. He is able to protect pucks down low and take the play to the net. His hard shot and low center of gravity help him produce. After a year each at Mount Saint Charles and Chicago Mission, he’s hoping to catch on with a junior team in 2023-24.
4. Indiana Grossbard
Loomis Chaffee, 12/21/07, RW, right shot, 5-8/132
Grossbard’s (Wilton, Conn.) exclusion from national camp was one of my biggest gripes I had with the selections at either age group. He’s a late birthday who projects to keep getting better. Even forgetting the projection aspect, he made a couple of really nice plays off the wall and scored a goal in the All-Star game.
5. Dallas Potter *
Mount Saint Charles 15O, 6/9/07, C/RW, right shot, 5-7/130
Potter (Madison, Conn.) had a good showing and earned a bid to national camp after coming up just short a year ago. He scored a goal in the All-Star game, hunted pucks and competed in all three zones.
6. Alex Donovan *
Shattuck-St. Mary’s 15O, 4/8/07, RW, right shot, 5-10/155
Donovan (Darien, Conn.) has a lot of skill, skates well and has good size. While I didn’t see him produce during my viewings, his skill set will certainly translate well to the national camp environment.
7. Luke Dow *
Mid Fairfield 15O, 1/2/07, RW, right shot, 5-6/140
Dow (Orange, Conn.) is on the smaller side, but he keeps his feet moving and has a high motor. He worked hard, won a lot of races to loose pucks and earned his spot at national camp.
8. Tucker Harris
Cardigan Mountain, 8/14/07, LW, left shot, 5-9/135
Harris (Ferrisburg, Vt.) didn’t make it to national camp after doing so last summer. However, he showed he can still be one of the better skaters in the age group.
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9. Hugo Daniel
North Yarmouth Academy, 8/18/07, LW, left shot, 6-1/185
Daniel (Yarmouth, Maine) had a successful first season at North Yarmouth Academy. While he did it mostly under the radar, he showed well here with his ability to protect pucks. He was long and made some positive puck touches.
10. Van Martin
Lovell Academy 15O, 10/3/07, LW, left shot, 5-9/150
Martin (Derry, N.H.) is a goal scorer who did just that here. He’s got a good shot but needs to work on his footwork and skating as he continues his development.
Defensemen
1. John Baldwin *
St. George’s, 1/15/07, right shot, 5-9/146
Baldwin (Rumford, R.I.) was the best defenseman here and it wasn’t close. He was also the top player in the birth year among players trying out at the select festival. His skating and ability to make plays on the breakout and in transition were noticeable all weekend. He’ll be back for a second season at St. George’s in 2023-24.
2. Kirby Perler *
Mid Fairfield 15O, 3/28/07, left shot, 5-8/162
Perler was the second-best defenseman on Mid Fairfield this past season, only behind Bongo. As he showed at this tryout festival, he can skate with just about anyone. What currently separates him from the upper-echelon defensemen in this birth year is his hockey sense. If he can improve that, he’ll be an even better Division 1 prospect.
3. Tomas Drienik
CT Jr. Rangers, 8/14/07, right shot, 6-0/137
Drienik (Stamford, Conn.) was a newcomer to my radar this past weekend. He shined on Saturday and Sunday in the All-Star game. I put a few pluses down next to his name on Saturday for his size, skating and ability to push possession. He joined the rush and made a couple of really nice plays in the All-Star game. He’s a late bloomer who could pop over the next few years.
4. William Rob
Holderness, 8/2/07, left shot, 5-9/165
Rob (Montpelier, Vt.) is an offensive defenseman who can really skate. He’s able to evade oncoming forecheckers and made plays in transition and on the rush here. He can benefit from simplifying some of his puck touches, but he’s a player to watch as he enters his second season at Holderness.
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5. Marco Senerchia *
New Hampton, 7/4/07, left shot, 5-5/125
Senerchia (Greenville, R.I.) was one of the best skaters at the festival. He’s on the smaller side, but he makes plays, can run the top of the point on the power play, and push possession. As he continues to develop, he will need to learn not to over-handle pucks. After just one season each at Mount Saint Charles and New Hampton, he’s now off to St. George’s.
6. John Donohue
Avon Old Farms, 1/14/07, left shot, 5-10/195
Donohue (North Haven, Conn.) caught my attention for his physical play. He’s a throwback. He plays with an edge and a mean streak. He delivered a couple of big hip checks on opposing players and wasn’t afraid to go up against some of the top players on the opposition.
7. Nathan DiChiara
Loomis Chaffee, 4/12/07, right shot, 6-1/155
DiChiara (Fairfield, Conn.) has good size and keeps it fairly simple. A reliable defenseman, he didn’t pop, but he’s a solid prospect worth tracking.
8. James Odyniec
Bishop Kearney Selects 15O, 1/2/07, right shot, 6-0/170
Odyniec (Ridgefield, Conn.) could have been higher and he showed well, especially on Saturday. He was overshadowed by all the talent at Bishop Kearney, but he’s a strong player in his own right. He did a good job moving pucks on the breakout and skates well for his size.
Goaltenders
1. Hunter Marshall
Winnacunnet HS, 3/19/07, catches left, 5-11/150
Marshall (Hampton, N.H.) was the least known of the four goaltenders in Sunday’s All-Star game, having played New Hampshire public school hockey in 2022-23. He looked the part with his size, technical positioning, and athleticism. Unless he transfers to a prep school late in the process, he’ll be a junior at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H.
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2. John Fichthorn
Westminster, 5/10/07, catches left, 5-9/161
Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.) made a couple of big saves, including one of the most highlight reel-worthy ones of the weekend during Sunday afternoon’s All-Star game. He’ll be returning for his second season at Westminster in the fall.
