AVON, Conn. -- Action is heating up the frigid Farmington Valley as the storied Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic gets rolling Thursday through Saturday.
A total of eight teams are taking part in the two-division, round-robin tournament that takes place largely at Avon Old Farms (with two games at nearby Trinity College). In addition to host Avon, which is 5-0 to start the season, other undefeated entrants include Loomis Chaffee (6-0) and Berkshire (4-0).
Not only are each one of those teams feeling the heat, there is also some pressure of expectations being borne by select players on those teams and other participating teams. Here are a few of those players to watch during the tournament.
Tabor Heaslip
Because he's on the host team, co-captain Tabor Heaslip is being looked to by the Winged Beavers to take his team to the next level. Avon Old Farms is off to a flying start because of the play of forwards Heaslip, University of New Hampshire commit J.P. Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.), Timur Alishlalov and defenseman Drew Tsakounis (Penn State), among others. But this is Heaslip's team; as he goes, so go the Beavers. The UConn commit has been called the team's "heart and soul" by coach John Gardner and that competitiveness will need to be evident from the opening face-off for his squad to maintain its roll. Avon plays Kent, Tabor and St. Paul's at the Classic.
Alex Jefferies
No other player will be watched more closely by scouts at the tournament than Gunnery winger Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.). Highly regarded, the '01 Jefferies has been rated a 'C' player heading into the June 2020 NHL Draft in Montreal. The Merrimack commit -- who declined a reportedly attractive offer from Boston College, among other colleges -- had an impressive 27 goals and 30 assists for 57 points in 31 games last season as a junior. How he responds to the intensified spotlight will help determine his draft placing. Gunnery opens with Trinity Pawling, then plays Berkshire and Loomis Chaffee.
Briggs Gammill
An injury to forward Briggs Gammill (New Canaan, Conn.) limited him to seven games with Berkshire last season, but the Yale commit is back and looking to keep his undefeated Bears on a roll. Gammill lit it up prep hockey in 2017-18, scoring 21 goals in 27 games to firmly establish his name among the circuit's best players. A return to that kind of dominance -- he already has four goals this season -- will afford Berkshire well in its mission to continue to be a solid contender. Berkshire opens against Loomis Chaffee in a doozy battle between two undefeated teams, then faces Gunnery and Trinity Pawling.
Jack Musa
For Trinity Pawling, sophomore Jack Musa is a highly coveted 2003 forward who has gotten varying degrees of interest from scouts, but that will heat up come Jan. 1, when coaches can start contacting him. Musa had a good fall, scoring 12 goals in eight games with the New Jersey Avalanche 16-U. Trinity Pawling is 2-2 to start the season, but is coming off a 6-0 blowout over Hoosac and might be in a positive, underdog frame of mind heading into the tournament. TP faces Gunnery, Loomis Chaffee and Berkshire.
Hoban-Krause-Cipollone
The upstart Loomis Pawling Pelicans have burst out of the gates thanks in large part to the trio of Guilford, Conn.'s Cody Hoban (Dartmouth), Alex Krause (Dartmouth) and Anthony Cipollone (Vermont). The speedy line set the pace and pushed the play in Monday's 2-1 win over Choate, picking up momentum from playing the fall together with the Junior Bulldogs. Coach J.R. Zavisza (Lexington, Mass.) tends to roll four lines, but if one line can make a difference this weekend and keep the Pelicans flying high, it will be Hoban-Krause-Cipollone doing the job. Loomis faces Berkshire, Trinity Pawling and Gunnery.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
