Six of the best programs in the region will take to the ice this weekend at the Northford Ice Pavilion in North Branford, Conn., for the Northeast Pack Playoffs.
Bishop Kearney Selects, Long Island Gulls, Mount Saint Charles, New Jersey Rockets and Pittsburgh Penguins Elite will compete at 14U, 15 Only, 16U and 18U. Mid Fairfield Junior Rangers will join them at 14U and 15 Only.
The three-day event starts Friday and runs through Sunday at the three-sheet facility just outside of New Haven. It’s a safe bet that a number of college coaches, NHL and junior scouts, and USA Hockey personnel will be in attendance.
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Here are three things to watch for at the 2023 Northeast Pack Playoffs.
NTDP Watch
There are a handful of players with the chance to make the 2023-24 USA Hockey NTDP U17 team, including New England native Anthony Bongo (Ridgefield, Conn.) of Mid Fairfield 15O. A slick, mobile, offensive defenseman, Bongo is on the smaller side, but his hockey sense is elite.
Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U center LJ Mooney and Mount Saint Charles 15O center Conrad Fondrk are the locks from the Northeast Pack to make the NTDP. Others in consideration are Bishop Kearney center Cooper Dennis and left wing Jack Murtagh, Mount Saint Charles 15O center Nicholas Whitehead and defensemen Matthew Grimes and Carter Amico (Portland, Maine), and Long Island Gulls 15O center Jesse Orlowsky and right wing Ethan Wyttenbach.
One '07 player who unfortunately will be absent is Long Island Gulls 16U defenseman Donny Bracco, who is out for the rest of the season with an elbow injury. The injury might negatively impact him, but he was certainly in the mix to make the NTDP.
Uncommitted players of note
Two uncommitted '06s at the 16U division will have the most eyes on them, among college coaches. New Jersey Rockets left wing Kuzma Voronin has an elite offensive skill set. The Russian’s skating ability and stick are both elite. He’s a potential first-round NHL draft pick in 2024. Late '06 center Geno Carcone of BK Selects is a first-line player with elite hockey sense. His skating and ability to play at pace are questions, but he’s one of the most coveted uncommitted recruits in the U.S. at the '06 birth year.
There are three uncommitted '05s on the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 18U who are worth watching for different reasons. Defensemen Cal Huston and Luke Malboeuf and left wing Saxton Tess are three players college coaches in New England don’t always get to see as much, but all are potential recruits at the Division 1 level.
NHL prospects
Mount Saint Charles 18U has two forwards on NHL Central Scouting’s Midterm Rankings ahead of the 2023 draft. Cornell commit Chase Pirtle, a right wing from Far Hills, N.J., has good hands and size. Pirtle’s compete away from the puck needs to improve, but he’s a big body that could get a look. Blake Montgomery, a left wing from Bowie, Md., has the size, skating and tools that are intriguing, but needs to play with more intensity to be taken more seriously among coaches and scouts. Both are longshots, at best, to be drafted in June in Nashville, but a few NHL scouts might make the trek down to Northford to get a report.
