All eyes will be on the New England Sports Center this weekend.
Following last weekend’s boys festival — where select players from the ‘09, ‘10 and ‘11 birth years competed over a three-day event in front of evaluators — Mass. Hockey has officially narrowed the field to the Final 40.
From Saturday to Sunday, prospects from each age group will battle for spots at the prestigious USA Hockey Select Camps to be held over the summer in Amherst, N.Y.
For the ‘09s — the oldest group this year — they will aim to make Select 17 Camp. The ‘10s will vie for Select 16 Camp, and the ‘11s will get their first shot at attending a national development camp at Select 15 Camp.
Here is the schedule. All games will take place at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass. Each age group, divided into two teams, will play each other twice.
Saturday (Rink 8)
- 10 a.m.: 2009s
- 12 p.m.: 2010s
- 2 p.m.: 2011s
Sunday (Rink 8)
- 10 a.m.: 2009s
- 12 p.m.: 2010s
- 2 p.m.: 2011s
Here are five storylines to watch for this weekend.
1. A look at the numbers
USA Hockey doesn’t release a set number of players who will advance to Select Camp ahead of time. But using recent rosters as context, we can get a fairly good idea of what it will look like.
For Select 15 Camp, which will be this year’s 2011s, the numbers have been consistent over the last three years. Since 2023, 10 forwards, five defensemen and two goalies have been sent to development camp from the Final 40.
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The same has been true for Select 17 Camp, which is the ‘09s this time around. Numbers have been identical since 2023, with nine forwards, five defensemen and a goalie selected.
Select 16 Camp is where the numbers have slightly varied. This is the camp the ‘10s are fighting for. In 2023, Mass. Hockey picked seven forwards, four defenseman and a goalie. But for the past two years, nine forwards, five defensemen and a goalie have represented Massachusetts at development camp.
So we have a pretty clear idea of what rosters will look like. I wouldn’t expect any drastic changes in 2026.
2. Familiar faces
The ‘09s are the veterans of this process at this point. By now, they’ve had two cracks at attending Select Camp. Many will look to be selected to their third straight this summer. Paulo Gualberto (Centerville, Mass.), Owen Kailher (Duxbury, Mass.), Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.), Chase Warsofsky (Northboro, Mass.), Easton Anello (Windsor, Mass.), Kurt Beck (Arlington, Mass.) and Justin Lee (Newton, Mass.) made Select 15 and 16 Camps and have the opportunity to go for the trifecta at Select 17 Camp.
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But just because the ‘09s are the oldest players with the most experience throughout this process, it doesn’t mean new players can’t emerge to make their first camp. I really liked Luke Dickson (Medfield, Mass.), Jack Funk (Duxbury, Mass.), Devin Cokinos (Dedham, Mass.), Keith Olympia (Sudbury, Mass.), Ryder Bisson (Holden, Mass.) and Logan Moulton (South Grafton, Mass.) at the festival last weekend.
There’s no reason why any of these players can’t advance to Select Camp as first-time invites.
3. Who will emerge among the ‘10s?
There is good news for the ‘10s. Since Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.), Jack Queally (Milton, Mass.) and Blake Wilichoski (Danvers, Mass.) all attended the U.S. National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp, they won’t attend the Select 16 Camp.
That means there are only more spots for the ‘10s.
Last year, players that made Select 15 camp and are playing this weekend were Michael Barrett (Lynnfield, Mass.), Jamie Calla (Lynnfield, Mass.), Robert Dekleine (Westboro, Mass.), Carter Felt (Natick, Mass.), Owen Lundin (Marlboro, Mass.), Ethan Machado (Wayland, Mass.), Austin Wu (Dedham, Mass.), Brodie Anderson (Wayland, Mass.), Logan Cotter (Marlboro, Mass.), Shaun Farrell (Hanson, Mass.), Brendan Martin (Dedham, Mass.), Nick Ware (South Weymouth, Mass.), Kennedy Keung (Burlington, Mass.) and Will Torres (Framingham, Mass). These players stood out last weekend and have a good shot at making Select 16 Camp.
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And there is a bevy of other players who turned heads last weekend and will be in the mix.
Two names that wowed me were Owen Frick (Holden, Mass.) and Brayden Dickie (Canton, Mass.). I think both players have strong chances to be considered.
4. What about the ‘11s?
This weekend will mark the first chance for the '11s to make a Select Camp. With that comes a lot of unknowns. Some of these players established themselves as players to watch as freshmen this past season, but others emerged as new names to keep an eye on this last weekend.
I watched Jackson Liao (Wellesley, Mass.) and thought he would be hard to keep off the Select 15 roster. He was that good.
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Deacon Brackett (Hingham, Mass.), Alexander Bobrov (Milton, Mass.) and Sam Archibald (Canton, Mass.) also struck me as players who have a really strong case to be considered.
5. The MIAA is well-represented
In a landscape where prep school has seemingly taken over, players from the MIAA represented themselves well at the festival last weekend, and many advanced to the Final 40.
In total, 19 players across all three age groups are set to return to high school hockey in 2026-27. Some, too, played this past season before transferring to prep. Bisson, for example, starred for St. John’s Shrewsbury last winter. He’ll attend Dexter Southfield next season.
It’s not surprising that the highest MIAA representation lies in the ‘11s, with 11 players returning to the high school landscape next winter. It is common for many prospects to play two seasons in the MIAA before transferring into the prep circuit and reclassifying as a sophomore. We just saw this with Colin Walsh (Framingham, Mass.), who dazzled at Framingham High last winter before swapping to Rivers for next season.
The point is, everyone’s path is different. Just because a player plays in the MIAA doesn’t mean they don’t have a shot at making Select Camp.
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Last year, Martin and Ware advanced to Select Camp as ‘10s after playing a season at Catholic Memorial. Gavin O’Toole (Canton, Mass.), a standout at Canton High, made Select 16 Camp last season. It’s possible. It all boils down to who the best players are this weekend. And that’s true about everyone.
