With Christmas in the rear-view mirror, prep school hockey will slowly return to the region.
Cushing hosts the Watkins Tournament starting Thursday and Tabor’s Joshua Weeks Tournament hits the ice Monday.
There weren’t a lot of surprises throughout the first month of the prep season, outside of Milton Academy’s win at the Flood-Marr Tournament.
Five intriguing storylines permeated the first 30 days of the prep hockey calendar, including teams and players rising to the top.
Avon, Cushing playing part of favorites
Cushing and Avon Old Farms, ranked second and third, respectively, in my preseason rankings, are both undefeated heading into the final two months of the regular season.
The Penguins, however, don’t have an unblemished record. The team has skated to three ties, including on opening day at Dexter Southfield. Paul Pearl’s team enters its own tournament as winners of four straight and champions of the Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament.
As expected, the team has been carried by its dynamic duo of Boston College commit Landan Resendes (Marlboro, Mass.) and UConn recruit Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.).
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The Winged Beavers have dominated the early portion of their schedule, capped off by winning the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic. Similarly to Cushing, John Gardner’s team has been bolstered by the first line. Northeastern commit Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.) has led the way, but senior center Charlie Gollob has made plays and been a great leader. Senior Joe Odyniec (Ridgefield, Conn.) has joined them and catapulted that to a recent commitment to UConn.
Another huge part of AOF’s success has been the play of ’05 senior goaltender Stephen Peck. He’s allowed just seven goals in eight games. His stellar play paved the way for his addition to the latest edition of NHL Central Scouting’s 2023 draft list.
My preseason favorite, Salisbury, has two losses and a tie, but I still fully expect Andrew Will’s team to continue getting better as the season goes on.
Milton’s surprising run to Flood-Marr championship
Of all the winners at the NEPSAC holiday tournaments, the most surprising was Milton Academy. One of two hosts of the tournament, the Mustangs upset Kimball Union, 3-1, in the final. Paul Cannata’s team tied Salisbury in the last preliminary round game. Two shutout victories over Deerfield and Andover set the stage for the final two games against the class of prep hockey.
Junior goaltender Sam Caulfield (Needham, Mass.) was awarded MVP of the Flood-Marr, thanks to his .981 save percentage in three games. Senior forwards Mikka Kelechian and Jacob Pohl and defenseman Mason Chen are returners who have propelled Milton to early season success. A couple of youngsters, '06 Ryan Shea (Milton, Mass.) and '07 Anthony Sergeyev (Dover, Mass.), made noise at the Flood-Marr. Shea opened the tournament with a hat trick and finished it with a goal and an assist in the final. Sergeyev tallied two goals and a helper in the opening game.
Elsewhere, three other teams are off to pleasantly surprising starts. Tilton is 9-1 after winning the Brooks/Pingree Holiday Tournament. The Rams have enjoyed the services of some older newcomers, hailing from the MIAA circuit.
Tabor’s only loss is to Avon Old Farms. Impressive wins over Kent and Frederick Gunn as well as a tie against Nobles dot the Seawolves’ resume. Senior Jack DesRuisseaux leads the team in scoring with six goals and eight assists in eight games. Gerry Dineen will take its 6-1-1 record into next week’s Joshua Weeks New Year’s Tournament.
NEPSAC affiliate member Lawrenceville started 2-5, but won all four games at the school’s invitational tournament to claim it for the first time in 74 years. The team’s top two scorers are '06s Dillan Rud and Porter Byrd-Leitner.
Peck, and others, have shown importance of goaltending
Peck and Taft goaltender Rudy Guimond have both been added to the most recent draft list put out to scouts by NHL Central Scouting.
Guimond, a Yale commit from Kirkland, Quebec, has a .950 save percentage in seven starts. The Rhinos are 6-2, in large part due to Guimond. Taft’s only losses came against Avon Old Farms and Belmont Hill.
Nobles sophomore Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline, Mass.) didn’t play in the opener of the Flood-Marr and it cost his team an opportunity to play in the final. The Bulldogs won the last three games of the tournament, all with Bernstein in net. He’ll be the most coveted sophomore goaltender, in terms of college coaches contacting him on January 1.
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Elsewhere, Cushing senior Cooper Rautenstrauch and Brunswick senior captain Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, Conn.) played key roles in their respective teams winning holiday tournaments. Holahan posted a shutout against St. Sebastian’s in the final of the Kevin Mutch Christmas Tournament. Holahan’s size, combined with his ability, caught the eye of at least a few college coaches and scouts at St. Sebastian’s renovated Lane Rink.
Gallant, Mutryn state their case for NTDP
A quick glance of the top scorers in prep school hockey offers a glimpse into the who’s who of the circuit. Connor, Gollob, and Resendes all are in the top 10.
But, two anomalies when looking at the scoring charts are the '07s, St. Mark’s center Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) and St. Sebastian’s right wing Teddy Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.). Gallant has three goals and 10 assists in just six games. Right outside the top 10 is Mutryn, who has two goals and 11 assists.
The two sophomores will both be receiving plenty of phone calls and text messages from college coaches on Sunday when the January 1 contact period opens up for players in their grade.
LATEST RANKINGS: Milton makes statement in Flood-Marr win
While there are still three months left until the final roster decisions will be made for the 2023-24 USA Hockey NTDP U17 team, both Gallant and Mutryn appear on the inside of the cut line.
The two players are vastly different but equally intriguing to college coaches and USA Hockey personnel. Gallant is smaller but has elite compete, good offensive instincts and a great stick. Mutryn is a prototypical power forward with skating and athleticism that jumps right off the page.
Gollob, DiGiulian garner increased college attention
The consistent chatter among college coaches this fall has been the lack of quality, uncommitted players among the junior and senior classes in prep school hockey.
That fact is undeniable, but a couple of juniors and seniors have proven their worth through the first month of the season.
Gollob, an '04 from Toronto, Ontario, isn’t the prettiest of skaters and has had the luxury of playing with Connor, one of prep school hockey's top two forwards. However, give Gollob his due. He has six goals and nine assists. Gollob had a three-game goal-scoring streak to end the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic and added four assists throughout the four games. His hockey sense and determination help him overcome his skating, which has gotten better.
AFTER ONE: Top performers from the first month of prep hockey
Kent first line center Gio DiGiulian, a late '05 junior, has continued to prove his capability of being a Division 1 commit. His strong fall with the Yale Junior Bulldogs put him on the radar. He skates well and has a strong, two-way hockey sense. In front of a large contingent of college coaches at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic, he scored four goals and two assists.
As mentioned above, perhaps no player in prep hockey has improved his stock more in the first month of the season than Peck.
Those are two seniors and a junior who could be committing in the near future.
