The race to earn a spot in USA Hockey's national camps continues this weekend.
After impressing at Mass. Hockey's girls festival last month, the state's top players across the 2008, 2009 and 2010 age groups will trek along Route 3 to the South Shore for the Final 40.
From there, a group of evaluators will pick a still-unknown number of players to move on to the national camps.
The 2010s will fight to make the National 15 and National 15 Goalie Camps, while the 2008s and 2009s will battle for spots in the National 16/17 Camp. Those camps will be at Miami University (Ohio) in July. Each age group also has an opportunity to make the U18 Women’s National Festival in Lake Placid in August.
Before we dive into storylines for the weekend, here’s the full schedule. All games will be held at Lovell Arena in Rockland, Mass.
Saturday (Rink 2)
- 2 p.m.: 2008s
- 4 p.m.: 2009s
- 6 p.m.: 2010s
Sunday (Rink 3)Â
- 10 a.m.: 2008s
- 12 p.m.: 2009s
- 2 p.m.: 2010s
Here are five storylines to watch.
1. How many players advance from the Mass. Hockey festival?
It's the biggest question staring everyone in the face this weekend.
USA Hockey will inform Mass. Hockey how many spots it can give per birth year. While we don’t know the exact number for each, we can see how many there were in previous years to see what we're working with.
Here's a look at last year's numbers.
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2024 National 15 Camp:
- 15 forwards
- 10 defenders
- Two goalies
2024 National 16/17 Camp:
- 12 forwards
- 10 defenders
- One goalie
2024 U18 National Select Player Development Camp:
- Nine forwards
- Seven defenders
One important note is that players participating in the 16/17 camp also have the opportunity to advance into the remaining spots of 46 at the U18 camp, which is now known as the Under-18 Women's National Festival.
2. The uncommitted '08s and '09s
I mentioned a handful of these players going into last month's Mass. Hockey festival.
Of the 12 players I highlighted, 10 advanced to the Final 40: Annabelle Aitken (Winchester, Mass.), Maggie Averill (Wayland, Mass.) Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.), Ava Decourcey (Rockland, Mass.), Kimee Duplessis (Framingham, Mass.), Erin Flaherty (Boston, Mass.), Kate Glantz (Burlington, Mass.), Molly Halloran (Belmont, Mass.), Annabelle Lovell (Hingham, Mass.) and Janie Maritn (Burlington, Mass.).
We're coming up on an important time in the recruiting cycle for rising juniors in the 2008 and 2009 years.
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Beginning June 15, college coaches can begin communicating with those players via phone, email, text and direct message. Coaches can begin making verbal offers as well. Starting Aug. 1, official visits can begin, and off-campus contact is permitted.
On top of making their case for national camps, the Final 40 offers a key chance for those rising juniors to showcase themselves in front of college evaluators before getting into summer showcases and camps.
The above players have another shot to leave a good impression after doing so at April's festival. Others I'd keep an eye on include: Olivia Bonarrigo (Walpole, Mass.), Oona Kathan (Arlington, Mass., Kaylee Mandeville (Uxbridge, Mass.), Mackenzie Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.), Maggie Lovering (Scituate, Mass.) Lana Hardin (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Devon Moore (Milton, Mass.), among others.
3. The 2008 goalies
This group of goalies is fascinating to me.
Between Aitken, Madison Hayes (Foxboro, Mass.), Ines Khamis (Lancaster, Mass.) and Addison Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.), each has yet to have the chance to be a No. 1 goalie in prep.
Each, however, has shown well at points with their split-season club teams, be it Hayes and Sutherland with the 16U Mass. Spitfires, Khamis with the Assabet 16Us or Aitken with the Boston Jr. Eagles 16Us.
Aitken and Sutherland have shared the net at Dexter Southfield the last two seasons. Aitken had a .947 save percentage as a sophomore this past season, following a .939 as a freshman in 2023-24. Sutherland is coming off a .932 save percentage as a junior this past winter, which improved on a .909 the year prior. In both seasons, Aitken got the nod down the stretch, leading Dexter to the Large School championship game in 2024 before starting in the Elite 8 quarterfinals in 2025.
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Khamis split the net with Jackie Wright (Walpole, Mass.) at St. Mark's the last two seasons, seeing less action this past winter than the season prior. After posting a .927 save percentage as a sophomore, Khamis had a .873 mark as a junior this past season. With Wright off to Boston University next fall, Khamis has the chance to take on the full workload at St. Mark's.
Hayes, meanwhile, worked in tandem with freshman Coleen Wallace (Duxbury, Mass.) at Thayer. Hayes finished the season with a .928 save percentage, facing a heavier volume than her freshman season when she had a .916.
Hayes and Sutherland made it to National 15 camp in 2023. Neither of the four advanced in 2024. How will it shake out in 2025?
4. The '09 forwards
If your kid is skating with the 2008s or the 2010s, and you have some time to kill after or before those sessions, make sure you get a glimpse of the 2009s, especially the forwards.
This is a group stacked with electrifying talent.
Among this year's 2009 Final 40 group, 13 moved on to national camps.
Molly Bardol (Walpole, Mass.), Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.), Simone Burns (Winchester, Mass.), Madeline Carey (Braintree, Mass.), Brooke Carlson (North Andover, Mass.), Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.), Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.), Elena Gordon (Rowley, Mass.), Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.), Julie Murphy (Canton, Mass.) and Nora Swaim (Concord, Mass.) each made National 15 camp last summer. Lovell and Jane Daley (Medfield, Mass.) advanced straight to U18 Selects.
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Bromley, Burns, Carlson, Jane Daley, Freitas, Georgantas, Lovell and McCool should have strong chances of again moving on in one capacity or another.
As far as the '09 forwards who should make strong cases to advance after missing out last season, I'd put Mia Daley front and center. The rising junior at Williston Northampton had an impressive freshman season in prep (24 points) and found another level as a sophomore this past season with 34 points (17 goals) in 25 games. Daley is also coming off a strong showing at USA Hockey Nationals in March. She is a Division 1 prospect as her confidence has grown, and she drives play constantly.
Madeline Call (Dedham, Mass.) is another name I'd throw into the ring, coming off a 22-point (nine-goal) season as a freshman at Thayer. She's a strong puck-carrier and plays with a high motor. Hardin and Jocelyn Gray (Hanover, Mass.) are two I'm very interested to see this weekend as well.
5. What about the 2010s?
This is the first time the 2010s have experienced the festival process. They got a taste of it last June at the 2010 Eastern Select Development Camp, which followed a tryout that coincided with last year's Final 40. That tryout and camp introduced players to the USA Hockey National Player Development Camp process.
Either way, it's a clean slate all around right now. It's also a key opportunity for players to separate themselves from the pack early on and make strong first impressions.
We love our predictions around here, so allow me to take a crack at projecting which 2010s will advance to the National 15 camp.
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Looking at the forwards, I'll pencil in Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.), Teagan Beigel (Natick, Mass.), Ava Carr (Medway, Mass.), Lydia Kealty (Norfolk, Mass.), Caroline Kreuz (Worcester, Mass.), Cassie Ling (Needham, Mass.), Kelsey MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.), Maddie Perkins (Milton, Mass.), Giuliana Polcari (Marshfield, Mass.) and Ella Skeiber (Pembroke, Mass.). That's 10 off the bat and 15 advanced last year.
On defense, I'll go with Emma Burke (Braintree, Mass.), Joelle Burns (Winchester, Mass.), Maggie Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.), Emery Deroeve (Charlestown, Mass.), Vanessa Hall (Saugus, Mass.), Madelyn Humber (Concord, Mass.), Elizabeth Levering (Westwood, Mass.) and Chloe Rabazzi (Burlington, Mass.). That makes eight, and 10 made it last season.
Admittedly, I haven't seen nearly enough of the 2010 goalies to make any informed predictions, although Chloe LeMay (South Grafton, Mass.) was among my standouts from last month's festival.
