It took a little longer to see the first New England native taken in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft at United Center June 23-24, but once the New York Islanders tabbed Newburyport, Mass., defenseman Ben Mirageas in the third round, many of the regional players came off the board in a close spread in the next 20 selections.
After six area natives were selected in the 2016 NHL draft, New England saw a modest bounce-back in terms of sheer numbers and placement of the picks in 2017 with seven, but five of them were all third- and fourth-round selections.
"Overall, it was probably a deeper class of area players," said one New England-based NHL scout after the proceedings wrapped up in Chicago. "It’s a cycle, you know? In 2015 you had a lot of kids picked from the New England states, and you had the three kids (Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin and Colin White) from Mass. all go in the first round. Last year, you had just three more total players taken in the entire seven rounds, so we’ll probably keep seeing that fluctuation from year to year. I think 2015 was an aberration on the high side, but 2017 was a pretty balanced group of players on the whole."
One player who rode an impressive surge all the way from his native Connecticut to a USHL championship in the same city the draft was held in, to thirdround selection, was second-year eligible (’98-born) forward Jack Badini (Old Greenwich, Conn.). The Harvard recruit is an excellent skater who put everything together with the Chicago Steel this year after being passed over in 2016, getting hot late in the regular season and then using his speed and production to help his club capture the 2017 Clark Cup by leading the Steel in playoff points with 17 in 14 games.
If Badini was a player overlooked in the New England Hockey Journal predraft rankings, all of the other projected players left Chicago with NHL jerseys and memories of officially starting their pro journey in the annual rite that takes place on the final weekend in June.
Mirageas, one of Badini’s Steel teammates, impressed the Islanders with his blend of size and NHL-caliber skating to be chosen in the mid-third round. He was quickly followed by another top blueliner, the offense-savvy Reilly Walsh (Andover, N.H.) just four picks later at No. 81 to New Jersey. Walsh was followed less than 10 selections afterward when Detroit took gigantic netminder Keith Petruzzelli at 88. Petruzzelli, who also was New England Hockey’s Journal’s No. 1-ranked player for the 2017 draft, curiously slid further than projected after being projected by many NHL observers to be a solid second-rounder. If the wait bothered the Wilbraham, Mass., native, he didn’t show it. The former standout with Springfield Cathedral High and Selects Academy was all smiles while wearing the red and white with iconic winged wheel crest.
"It’s hard to put into words," he told New England Hockey Journal. "It’s a great feeling, obviously a great franchise with Detroit, and I can’t wait to get started."
Dexter defenseman Jack Rathbone (West Roxbury, Mass.) became the fifth local taken early in the fourth round (95th overall), going to the Vancouver Canucks and closing out the run on New Englanders that began in the middle of the third.
"Unbelievable," he said to assembled media in Chicago. "This entire year, the past few months, have been a dream come true. You really can’t put it into words but it’s the most exciting moment of my life so far."
Fargo Force forward Jack Adams Boxford, Mass.), a ’97 in his final year of eligibility, was a sixth-round pick of the Red Wings on the heels of a strong 37-goal USHL campaign, his second full year in that league. The 6-foot-5 Union College recruit has tremendous size and hands, but his skating had held him back in previous draft seasons. When he gets the puck anywhere near the net and is able to establish the cycle below the dots, he is a dangerous offensive presence.
Team USA defenseman Phil Kemp (Greenwich, Conn.) was the final area player taken, the Yale recruit called out by the Edmonton Oilers with the 208th selection in the seventh round.
"The draft is just the first step," the scout said. "You don’t want to take anything away from the experience, but now the kids have to go out and develop and one day earn their chance at the NHL. It was a decent year for New England, but we can close this year’s draft book. I’m looking forward to seeing how Oliver Wahlstrom and Jake Wise perform next season. There’s a chance we could be talking about two first-rounders next June, but that’s a long ways off and a lot can happen between now and then.
2017 NEW ENGLAND DRAFT SELECTIONS AT A GLANCE:
Ben Mirageas
â–¸No. 77, D, NY Islanders (Newburyport, Mass.)
The lowdown: The former Avon Old Farms star who left New England for Bloomington of the USHL this year was dealt to the Eastern Conference powerhouse Chicago Steel at the league trade deadline, and he was one more key piece to power his team to its first title. With size and outstanding wheels, the Providence Collegebound Mirageas didn’t see his offensive game take off as anticipated, but he has a chance to grow and thrive under head coach Nate Leaman and the Friars coaching staff. He went off the board 32 spots after Chad Krys (45th) did a year ago, but proved himself to be a good example of the current trend in the NHL of prioritizing skating. In a draft that broke open with variance after the mid-second round, the player whose playing style his NHL club compared to Calvin de Haan rode the wave thanks to his impressive tools and pro potential.
Quotable: "It’s incredible for sure (to be the first New Englander drafted). A lot of us compete in the summers and growing up together, so it’s definitely a huge honor. It’s just taking the next step for me. I’ll wake up tomorrow and continue to work hard. It’s definitely been a real hectic couple of months, but it’s been the best three months of my life so far, and I just want to thank my family for being here tonight and all my coaches and teammates with Chicago and Bloomington. I couldn’t have done it without all of them." — Mirageas
Reilly Walsh
â–¸No. 81, RD, New Jersey (Andover, N.H.)
The lowdown: The son of former NHL forward and Proctor Academy head coach Mike Walsh showed that the league has time for skilled players who can score from the blue line, even if they are a bit undersized for the position. After scoring 30 goals and 69 points to lead all of prep in production this season, Walsh also played with the USHL champion Steel, even though he was unable to be a part of that club’s postseason run due to academic requirements. He’s a good skater with a dynamic, aggressive mindset — a pure puck carrier who uses his elite hockey sense and tremendous puck skills to make plays all over the ice. Watch for him and Calgary Flames prospect Adam Fox to give college opponents fits next year on the Harvard power play. The Devils are getting a real rink rat who is committed to putting in the work to get better defensively and build his body up to be able to handle the rigors of pro hockey.
Quotable: "You’re sitting there (as each selection is announced) and your heart is pounding pretty hard and you’re nervous to see if it is you (that gets picked next) or not. Once I heard my school called, I knew it was me and I was just really, really happy. … I’m just going to keep my style of play. It is different from most defensemen, but the way the league is going and the way the roles of defensemen are changing, I fit right into that. I like to play both ways, so that’s definitely something that helps me." — Walsh
Keith Petruzzelli
â–¸No. 88, G, Detroit (Wilbraham, Mass.)
The lowdown: When it comes to physical tools, they don’t come much more impressive than Petruzzelli, who had an impressive rookie season in the USHL with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. With his 6-foot-5 (closer to 6-6) frame, long limbs and quickness, the Quinnipiac recruit is extremely tough to beat on the first shot, and he has the balance and ability to reset for secondary and tertiary scoring chances. In talking to one NHL scout and goaltender expert from a Western Conference team on the draft floor, he opined that a combination of Petruzzelli’s shaky outing in the USHL’s playoffs combined with below-average physical testing at the combine might have contributed to the slide. At the same time, the scout added, "We were taking him with our next pick if Detroit hadn’t grabbed him there. I think he’s going to be a player." Often compared to Ben Bishop in terms of playing style, another NHL scout told New England Hockey Journal before the draft that he felt Petruzzelli is better than Bishop was at the same age.
Quotable: "I think I play kind of an athletic butterfly. Obviously, I rely on my size a bit, but I still think I play athletically. … I love how calm and collected Carey Price is, so I try to keep that as part of my game." — Petruzzelli
Jack Badini
â–¸No. 91, C, Anaheim (Old Greenwich, Conn.)
The lowdown: Kudos to Badini for surging up draft boards the way he did to land with the Ducks just outside the top 90. He’s a player who had impressed as a 15- and 16-year-old with the Long Island Gulls and North Jersey Avalanche minor hockey program before moving on to the USHL with the Lincoln Stars. The 6-foot, 203-pound center scored just six goals in 84 regular-season games over two years with Lincoln before erupting for 28 in 59 with the Steel this season. He plays with speed and pace, using his impressive wheels and instincts to get into scoring position. However, the big difference this year was how well he was able to finish off chances. Badini was skipped in the 2016 NHL draft, but he obviously drew powerful motivation from that. New England Hockey Journal was asleep on him, and the Harvard-bound forward proved that if you are willing to put in the work to keep developing, the payoff is there. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Badini also was named to the USA Summer Showcase roster for a chance to earn a spot on the 2018 World Junior Championship squad, further showing how far he’s come as a pro prospect.
Quotable: "Badini was not all that different a player than the one I saw at Lincoln the previous couple of years in that he was always around pucks and using his speed and head for the game to stand out. The issue was that he couldn’t finish and wasn’t getting the ice time to work through it, but once he hit his stride with Chicago this season, we saw the kid that had attracted notice out east. He’s dangerous in space and especially on the PK where he can just separate and transition to offense — good player." — NHL scout, Western Conference team
Jack Rathbone
â–¸No. 95, D, Vancouver (West Roxbury, Mass.)
The lowdown: The smallest of local defenders at barely 5-foot-10, Rathbone also checks all the boxes for the requirements NHL teams levy on undersized players for that position: he’s explosive, agile, handles the puck at speed and is a gritty competitor. He was a point-pergame defenseman at Dexter where he played for Dan Donato and will join fellow 2017 NHL draftees Walsh and Badini at Harvard, though he will have to play another year of junior hockey first. When he skates with the puck, Rathbone can put teams on their heels, but he will need to address a tendency to get into danger areas where turnovers can occur. According to one NHL scout, he sometimes skates first and thinks second, but he’s so mobile that he can improve on that as he gains experience at higher levels.
Quotable: "It’s awesome — it’s what you’ve been dreaming about since you were a little kid. I’m good buddies with all those kids (Mirageas, Walsh, Petruzzelli) and I was rooting for them and to hear their names called and then mine, it was a dream come true." — Rathbone
Jack Adams
â–¸No. 162, C, Detroit (Boxford, Mass.)
The lowdown: With massive size at 6-foot-5, slick hands and a real nose for the net, the Boxford, Mass., native and former Malden Catholic product broke out in a big way in Fargo, filling the net in his second USHL campaign. The biggest issue with the Union-bound Adams is his feet — he lacks agility and quickness in his first steps, often chasing the play in his own end when opponents have possession. He’s at his best when he can set up shop outside the paint or lower his shoulder and drive to the net. Unfortunately, he’ll have his work cut out for him if he can’t lighten his boots and improve the foot speed and short-area burst. The game is only going to get faster and more skilled from here on out.
Quotable: "Thirty-seven goals in the USHL is a good way to get an NHL team to give you a shot, especially in a draft year like this one. The skating is holding him back, but you can’t teach his size and he’s pretty nimble with the puck on his stick. The issue for him is getting the puck on his stick as often as he should if he were quicker. He’s just not able to get there fast enough." — NHL scout, Western Conference team
Phil Kemp
â–¸No. 208, D, Edmonton (Greenwich, Conn.)
The lowdown: With good size (6-foot-3, 205) and strength, Kemp is a meat-and-potatoes defender who skates well and provides captain-level leadership but doesn’t have a great deal of an offensive game to speak of.
The right-shooting Kemp, a Greenwich, Conn., native, has fluid footwork and can keep opponents to the outside with an active stick and effective gap control, but it’s pretty much a case of what you see is what you get for the Yale recruit. He’s going to play a lot of minutes in New Haven, and it likely will take some time in the minors for Kemp to work his way into the NHL mix, but for a late-round selection, why not?
He’s got the size and character to be a good depth player for the Oilers after helping lead Team USA to gold at the U-18 worlds in April.
Quotable: "Solid guy, legit competitor. Kemp went right about where you would expect, but he works hard, is a good leader and is the kind of kid who embodies the old adage about defensemen that if you don’t really notice them, they’re doing their job." — NHL scout, Eastern Conference team
