The Mass. Hockey Festival Final 40 will be held this weekend at Lovell Arena in Rockland, Mass. There will be no shortage of intriguing storylines.
Forty players from each of the 2006, 2007 and 2008 birth years will compete for spots in USA Hockey's Select Camps, which occurs in Amherst, N.Y., at different times throughout the summer.
On Saturday, the 2008s will play at 2 p.m., followed by the 2007s at 4 p.m. and the 2006s at 6 p.m. Play will pick up again on Sunday when the 2008s take the ice at 10 a.m., while the 2007s go on at 12 p.m. and the 2006s at 2 p.m.
The compete level will be high as players fight for a limited number of spots. Here are some things I'm watching for.
How many players actually make it in each birth year?
Obviously, this is the big one. We'll dive into the strong candidates from each birth year and position in a bit, but the numbers matter. We need to know what we're working with.
There's no set number of players that move on. Here's how the numbers broke down last year.
2022 Select 15s:Â
- 32 New Englanders in total
- 10 forwards from Mass.
- Seven forwards from New England District
- Six defensemen from Mass.
- Five defensemen from New England District
- Two goalies from Mass.
- Two goalies from New England District
2022 Select 16s:Â
- 30 New Englanders in total
- Nine forwards from Mass.
- Seven forwards from New England District
- Seven defensemen from Mass.
- Three defensemen from New England District
- Three goalies from Mass.
- One goalie from New England District
2022 Select 17s:Â
- 28 New Englanders in total
- Eight forwards from Mass.
- Six forwards from New England
- Five defensemen from Mass.
- Five defensemen from New England
- Three goalies from Mass.
- One goalie from New England
It's entirely up to how well players performed last weekend and this weekend. Another thing to consider is Ryder Shea (Framingham, Mass.), an '06, was invited to USA Hockey National Goaltending Camp, which is also this weekend. That guarantees him a spot at the Select 17 camp.
The '06 goalies
Last year, the three '06 goalies who went to Select Camp were Thatcher Bernstein, Keagin Wilson and Shea. Bernstein didn't try out this time and Shea has an automatic bid. That doesn't mean only one new goalie will go — it's up to the raters.
The four '06 goalies in the Final 40 are Sam Caulfield, Cole Pouliot-Porter, Evan Zhang and Wilson. Caulfield and Pouliot-Porter stood out in their respective leagues. Caulfield finished the winter tied for the region lead in save percentage (.948) and led Milton Academy to the No. 3 seed in the NEPSAC Elite 8 Tournament. Pouliot-Porter was arguably the top goalie in the MIAA, backstopping Xaverian, the No. 7 seed in the state tournament, all the way to TD Garden.
Zhang was the starter on a weak Roxbury Latin team, posting a 3.13 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. For a team that only had three wins, Zhang was solid in his second year as the starter.
THE '06s: 13 standouts from the '06s in the first weekend of Mass. Hockey Festival
Wilson battled with JJ Thibodeau all season for the starting job, with Thibodeau seeing the majority of time. But at the end of the season, Wilson emerged and helped get Belmont Hill the No. 6 seed in the NEPSAC Elite 8 Tournament and upset Milton Academy in the quarterfinals.
While I can't give a definitive prediction on who makes it (sorry, everyone), I am interested in watching how Pouliot-Porter, the lone MIAA goalie, matches up with the three prep school netminders.
How about the rest of the '06s?
The forwards who went to Select 16 Camp last year were Gavin Cornforth, Jackson Delleo, Will Doherty, Jack Galanek, Teddy MacAusland, James Marshall, JJ Monteiro, Nate Porter and Jack Sadowski. Galanek is the only one of the nine who didn't try out this year.
On defense, Will Felicio and Andrew O'Sullivan didn't try out. Both made camp last season, along with Dylan Hunt, Owen Keefe, Joseph Mense, Liam O'Keeffe and Kiernan Poulin.
There are open avenues for new players to slide up.
It's hard to imagine any of these players who went last season not making it this season, but they won't be without competition this weekend.
Laz Giardina is a strong candidate to make the move. The 6-foot-5 forward played hard last weekend and is impossible to miss. Ethan Cox, Dennis Davidson and Callum Hughes are other forwards who had good first weekends and could make a serious push for Amherst, N.Y.
Dennison Monahan showed well last weekend and could play his way into consideration for Select 17 Camp.
How Teddy Mutryn and Richard Gallant impact things for the '07s
The '07s are far from short on talent to send to Select 16 camp. Last year, the '07s sent Tommy Anderson, Cam Caron, Richard Gallant, Liam Gore, Billy MacAusland, Jack McDonough, Michael Munroe, Teddy Mutryn, Jake Tavares and CJ Watroba for forwards. As for defensemen, Nick Evans, Shayne Gould, Evan Jones, Anthony Pelliterri, Colin Rowe and Tyler Russo made it. Goalies Devin Mehta and Anthony Palmer were the Massachusetts representatives.
Neither Mutryn nor Gallant tried out because they both received invites to the USA Hockey NTDP Evaluation Camp. Gallant made the team, so he will not be at Select 16 Camp. Mutryn didn't make next year's NTDP U17 squad, so he received an automatic bid to Select 16s. Gallant's absence opens up an opportunity for someone else to go, while Mutryn keeps his spot.
Tavares recently suffered an injury, so he's been unable to try out. Mehta was at the first weekend of the festival but didn't make the Final 40. All six defensemen who made it to Select Camp last year will be at the Final 40 this weekend.
THE '07s: 12 standouts from the '07s in the first weekend of Mass. Hockey Festival
Again, this doesn't necessarily mean that more spots will be open — it just means more hope for others vying to go to Amherst. Also, spots aren't guaranteed to the returning players. A lot has changed over the last 12 months.
So, who could make a case to go that didn't last year?
Joe Marchi, Rian Chudzinski and Nick D'Olympio are strong candidates to shimmy into a forward spot. All three showed well last weekend. On defense, it will be difficult to supplant the six who made it last year, but that's not to say it's impossible.
Palmer was strong in net last weekend, so it's hard to imagine him not moving on. However, Garrett Glaser, Alexander Tarves and JJ Thibodeau also performed well at New England Sports Center and have made legitimate cases. Glaser saw time for Shattuck St. Mary's 15U team this winter, while Thibodeau played a lot for Belmont Hill. Tarves, a freshman, sat behind two seniors.
Who makes it from the '08s?
This is the 2008-born players' first crack at making the Select 15 Camp. The process is entirely new to them.
That means there aren't players in the class who made a Select Camp last year.
It's a clean slate.
From what I watched last weekend, David Bosco, Benjamin Short, Spencer Thornborough, Casey Mutryn and Stephen Rousell seem like the locks from the forwards. I don't pick the teams, but those five feel like safe picks. On defense, Thomas Broderick, Lance Toland and Brady Sloper would be solid picks, too.
THE '08s: 17 standouts from the '08s in the first weekend of the Mass. Hockey Festival
The forwards have a ton of competition. Ty Hymovitz, Michael Federico, Matthew Krayer, Noah Survilas, Andrew Giguere and Owen McHale all showed well last weekend as well. They will all make strong cases for trips to Amherst, N.Y.
