Fall hockey is in the rearview. Next up: New England prep hockey.
It's a fun time of year. Every New England boys prep team has at least some hope that hey, maybe this is the year. The year our team makes the playoffs. The year our team wins a NEPSAC postseason tournament. The year our team makes the Elite 8. The year that I have my best game ever in front of a Division 1 college coach.
The possibilities are endless.
One of the most fun storylines entering every season is projecting the breakout candidates. Fall hockey is great at giving an early tell as to which players are most improved for the prep season. It's not everything, but it's something.
I did this exercise last season with forwards, defensemen and goalies.
Since this story is all about forwards, let me take a couple of victory laps from last season. Of the 23 forwards I predicted would break out, 10 were at least point-per-game players, while a number of others came close. I will give myself a special pat on the back for Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) and Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) — two young, first-year prep players who lit it up.
For this season, I picked prospects who are either newcomers to prep or are players who were mid-tier last season who look like they're ready for the next step. There are, however, a few players who are listed here again this season. We'll touch on each one of them below. There are also some committed players on this list.
An example of someone who isn't on this list is Viktor Samal. The Holderness rookie was on Czechia's Hlinka Gretzky Cup team this past summer. Would he be "breaking out" if he goes off for a lot of points this winter? Not in my opinion.
Let's dive into 32 forwards in prep who I expect to break out. They're listed in alphabetical order.
