The 2024-25 New England prep hockey season is far away. Heck, the most recent season wrapped up just over a month ago.
But it's always a fun exercise to look ahead. Even if the next season doesn't start for another seven months.
We will be looking at teams with a strong batch of returning players. If we were doing this story this time last year, Kimball Union would've certainly been near the top with rising seniors like Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.), Sam LeDrew and Jack McMinn, as well as rising juniors like Andrew O'Sullivan (Boston, Mass.) and Corwith Simmers.
Could we end up forecasting the eventual Elite 8 champion in this story? You never know.
Prep powerhouses like Kimball Union, Cushing, Avon Old Farms and Salisbury typically always find a way to be great. In this story, I looked at some different teams.
Let's dive into a way-too-early look at some of the better teams in prep hockey next season. A lot can change between now and then.
Nobles
Nobles came oh-so-close to snagging the No. 8 seed in this past Elite 8 Tournament. Instead, the Bulldogs finished as the No. 1 seed in the Large School Tournament, but were upset by Berkshire in the quarterfinals in large part due to senior goalie Tyler Bloomfield (Hudson, Mass.) going down with an injury. When the calendar flips to next season, Bloomfield will be the only big loss to graduation.
Top forwards like Yale commit Kyle O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.), Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.), Dennis Davidson (Newton, Mass.) and Ethan Cox (Westboro, Mass.) will be seniors. Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.), who took a huge step from his freshmen to his sophomore season, will be a junior. On defense, freshmen Kris Soja (Ludlow, Mass.), an '08, showed boatloads of promise this season. He will be a sophomore. Also on defense will be then-senior Lou Munger (Dedham, Mass.) and then-juniors Tuck Gilbane (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) and Jack Hartwell (Cohasset, Mass.).
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What head coach Brian Day's team does in net is unknown, but the team playing around that net will surely be one of the best teams in the region.
Rivers
Rivers was one of the biggest surprises in the NEPSAC this season. With an extremely young group led by eighth-graders, the Red Wings snagged the No. 1 seed in the Small School Tournament.
Next season, the team will once again be led by forwards Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.), Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.) and Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.) — all '09s with legitimate chances at scoring an invite to next season's U.S. National Team Development Program's Evaluation Camp. But the depth goes way beyond those three.
Head coach Freddy Meyer's team will also have then-junior forward Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.), who posted 35 points this past season. Forward Will Hatten (Wayland, Mass.), who just scored 20 goals, will be a senior. Up front, Jonathan Rivard (Newton, Mass.) and Stephen Rousell (Roslindale, Mass.) will be juniors. On defense, Evan Handler (Walpole, Mass.) will be a junior and Freddy Meyer Jr. (Winchester, Mass.) will be a sophomore. Both packed punches as puck-movers this past winter. Rivers struggled with finding a stable goaltender this past season. But then-junior Derek Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) looks poised to be a strong backbone next season.
The Red Wings will still be a very young team. But if they were able to do what they did this season, just imagine what they'll be able to accomplish next season.
Dexter Southfield
Yes, I know. A lot of metro-Boston teams to start, and that trend will continue in this story. But think about it — there was one metro-Boston team (St. Sebastian's) in the Elite 8. The pendulum has to swing in the other direction, right?
Dexter earned the No. 3 seed in the Large School Tournament with only a handful of seniors, although those seniors were impactful: forwards Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.), Henry Butte (Belmont, Mass.) and Ben Morgan (Chelmsford, Mass.), as well as defensemen Liam O'Keeffe (Boston, Mass.) and Carson Nickulas (Barnstable, Mass.).
The returning roster, however, projects to be real good next season. Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.), an '08 who somehow didn't even get an invite to this year's NTDP camp, will be a sophomore. It would surprise no one if he leads the team in scoring. The senior forward group will be potent with Sean Leetch (Boston, Mass.), Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) and Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.). Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.), Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.) and Jake Assad (Franklin, Mass.) will be juniors.
On defense, Cam Smith (Lincoln, R.I.) will lead the way as a senior. Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) was outstanding as a freshman and will be a sophomore next season. So, too, will Tommy Broderick (Norwood, Mass.) and James Baker (Dorchester, Mass.). Matt Hines (Hingham, Mass.), an '08, will be a junior on defense with Collin Rowe (Andover, Mass.) and Gus Abrecht (Weston, Mass.) as the seniors.
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Colin Davis showed promise as a sophomore goalie this season. Next season, the Canton, Mass., native projects to get even better.
Berkshire
In head coach Kevin Czepiel's first year, the Bears earned the No. 8 seed in the Large School Tournament and upset Nobles. The big senior losses off that team are leading-scorer Antoine Gauthier and defenseman Jack Turowsky, as well as forward Camden Raifstanger and defenseman Nico Pasquale.
Still, Berkshire will return a lot of its scoring from last season in then-seniors Duncan Thompson and Evan Regan (Acton, Mass.). Both Thompson and Regan were north of 40 points this past winter. The Bears will also bring back then-senior Devin Hikspoors. Matt Lacombe (Marlboro, Mass.), who posted 23 points last season, will be a junior. Stepping up on defense will be Quinnipiac commit Conrado Calederini (Greenwich, Conn.), Josh Williams (Boxford, Mass.) and Gus Chong.
Kyle Bolduc was outstanding in net this past season with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. He will be a senior next season and won't be splitting the net.
St. George's
St. George's was an Elite 8 team this past winter. And while a lot of success came from seniors like forwards Ryan Staples (Middletown, R.I.), Troy Hayes (Windham, N.H.) and Tate Pecknold (Fairfield, Conn.), as well as senior netminder Ryder Shea, head coach Allie Skelley's team has some serious talent returning.
Forward Max Donatelli (Barrington, R.I.), an '07, was tied for the team lead in points this past season with 40. He'll be a junior next season. Danny Buckley (Warwick, R.I.) and Colin Walsh (East Greenwich, R.I.), two big, potent scorers, will be seniors. So, too, will Owen Mulhern (Middletown, R.I.). Ryan Magaletta (Southboro, Mass.) will be a junior.
On defense, Marco Senerchia (Greenville, R.I.) and Nathan Walsh (Mendon, Mass.) will look to build off of their success last season. Senerchia averaged over a point per game, while Walsh was a two-way force. One question will be whether or not Everett Baldwin (East Providence, R.I.) returns. The Providence commit was a fourth-round pick by Cedar Rapids in the USHL Futures draft last year. If he returned, he would be a senior. He had 27 points in 28 games this past season.
The other big question would be what Skelley does in net. Either way, St. George's will still be a strong team next season.
Belmont Hill
The Sextants were a young team this past winter, but still competed well, finishing as the No. 6 seed in the Large School Tournament. Losing leading scorer Jake McManus will hurt come next season, but there's a plethora of other talent who project to be even better next season.
That starts with David Bosco (Winchester, Mass.). The '08 potted 18 goals and 37 points as a freshman on the top line. He earned a spot at NTDP camp, but didn't make the team, which means he should be a force come next season. Sophomore Jake Tavares (Belmont, Mass.) broke out for 18 goals and 32 points last season. He will be another one of Belmont Hill's top guns. Andrew Waugh (Norwell, Mass.) and Jin Lee (Natick, Mass.) will be seniors up front, while Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.) will be a junior. Woods was terrific on Belmont Hill's second line last season.
Defensively, Grayson Cohen (Weston, Mass.) was the breakout player on defense this past season with 18 points. He will be a senior along with a very veteran crew in back: Stephen Fabiano (Charlestown, Mass.), Lindan Verville (Needham, Mass.), Jack Duffy (Walpole, Mass.) and Evan Dresser (Everett, Mass.) will all also be seniors. Brady Sloper (North Andover, Mass.), an '08, will be a sophomore and is one of the better defenders in his birth year in the region.
The other big advantage Belmont Hill has is the tandem of then-senior Keagin Wilson and then-junior JJ Thibodeau in net. Both are back next season.
Westminster
Just one year after making it to the Elite 8 Tournament, Westminster had an underwhelming season this winter, going 10-12-3. Still, there's reason to believe that will turn around next winter.
Head coach Tim Joncas' team has some intriguing talent. And the Martlets will be much older next season, which often translates to gains in the wins category. UNH commit George McCaffrey (Ridgefield, Conn.), a longtime standout for Mid Fairfield, will be a senior. So will Quinn Pine (Fall River, Mass.), Blake Burke (Trumbull, Conn.) and Derek Rhodes. Forward Tommy Coccaro (Fairfield, Conn.), an '07 who ranked second on the team in points last season, will be a junior, while Timmy Donahue, an '08, will be a sophomore.
On defense, Connor Murphy (Avon, Conn.), JJ Hurley (West Hartford, Conn.) and Corbin Simons will be seniors. And even though Westminster lost Matteo De Luca, its starting netminder, to graduation, Jack Fichthorn, who will be a junior, looks poised to take over. He's long been a quality netminder for Mid Fairfield.
Will Westminster be Elite 8-bound? Not that I see. But the Martlets project to be much better than they were this past winter.
Thayer
As I see it now, Thayer is a prime candidate to have a big increase in wins next season after going 11-12-5 in a brutally tough ISL Keller division.
Head coach David Hymovitz's team has a whole slew of strong forwards who will be seniors next year: Brady Kudrick (Norwell, Mass.), Tommy Anderson (Braintree, Mass.), Mason Shea (Braintree, Mass.) and Teddy Lally (Norwell, Mass.). Kudrick and Anderson ranked No. 1 and 2 on the team in points last season with 38 and 32 points. Michael Federico (Hanover, Mass.), an '08, has eight goals and 15 points as a freshman this winter. As one of the top '08s in Massachusetts, he projects to be a breakout prospects come November.
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Peter Luecke (South Boston, Mass.) will lead the defense as a senior after notching 16 points in 28 games this past season. In goal, Hymovitz can turn to then-juniors Tyler Moschella (Braintree, Mass.) and Quinn Devin (Norwell, Mass.). Both had strong sophomore seasons with Moschella sporting a 2.54 GAA and a .903 save percentage, while Devin had a 1.93 GAA and an .890 save percentage.
