The 2019 Beantown Spring Classic took place this past weekend, March 8-10, at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass., and at the Worcester Ice Center in Worcester, Mass.
Organizers switched up the format from previous years and invited five national-bound teams. In addition, there was the typical showcase style teams — three in the pre-draft division and two in the draft division.
Fewer teams and some cohesive units meant the hockey was better than in previous years. The games were spread apart nicely to make viewings easy. In the past, I’ve knocked the Beantown for watering down the product, but kudos to Scott Fitzgerald and Peter Masters for making improvements to the Beantown Spring Classic in 2019.
Many NHL scouts and college coaches attended the three-day event, looking to check in on prospects that they had viewed throughout the season. In addition to the hockey being played on the ice, there were some interesting rumors and topics being bandied about in the stands.
As first reported by Mark Divver of the Providence Journal, Sean Tremblay is supposedly out as head coach of the Islanders Hockey Club in the USPHL NCDC. Tim Kyrkostas will reportedly become the new head coach. Look for Pittsburgh Penguins amateur scout Frank Golden to be named the Director of scouting of the North Andover-based program. He’s previously coached with North Reading High School and New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs 16-U.
Tremblay isn’t the only league coach on the chopping block. John Gurskis won’t be back as head coach of the South Shore Kings. That organization has reportedly offered the job to a NHL scout as well as a Division III college coach, both of whom declined.
Sources also telling New England Hockey Journal that Rich Alger will not return in 2019-20 as head coach of the Boston Bandits.
The Maine Nordiques, the North American Hockey League expansion franchise based in Lewiston, Maine, had scouts in the building watching the action on the ice. The organization announced its first tender in Holderness goaltender Connor Androlewicz, an ’00 from St. Louis, Mo., who recently committed to play college hockey at the University of Maine.
There was also plenty of talk and speculation regarding the future of coaching staffs at St. Lawrence and Vermont.
Getting back to the action on the ice, several 2019 NHL Draft prospects had a final opportunity to perform in front of the region’s amateur scouts prior to June’s draft. St. Sebastian’s LD Jayden Struble (Northeastern), Lawrence Academy LD Braden Doyle (Boston University), Salisbury RD Luke Krys, Hotchkiss goaltender Henry Wilder, Lawrenceville C Nikita Nesterenko and Selects Academy G Dominic Basse (Colorado College) were the players in attendance who are listed or were listed by NHL Central Scouting at one point this season. One notable omission was Rivers LD Cade Webber, who missed the event due to visiting family in Pennsylvania.
One last topic that had a few NHL scouts buzzing was the late addition to NHL Central Scouting’s list of Boston Advantage 18-U LW Jack Ring, a late ’00. He averaged less than a point per game.
Here’s a look at 10 uncommitted prospects who stood out and whose stock improved due to their performances at the 2019 Beantown Spring Classic:
Jagger Benson
#39 Beantown Draft 1, 10/23/00, D, Right Shot, 6-2/155
Benson has always had the skating and skill set to be attractive to college coaches, but he started to earn more attention as he was Tilton’s best prospect en route to the school’s first NEPSAC title in 17 years. He’s tall, a right shot, and can skate. He needs to put on muscle and avoid costly turnovers, but he’s a Division I talent.
Connor Chalmers
#20 Beantown Pre-Draft A, 8/30/03, D, Right Shot, 5-9/155
Chalmers had an impressive showing here after getting very little ice time with Kimball Union during the prep season. His feet and ability to transition pucks up ice are what made him stand out this weekend. He was good in my viewing Saturday, but reportedly was even better Friday night.
Matt Cormier
#10 Beantown Draft 1, 2/20/01, RW, Right Shot, 5-10/160
Cormier scored a couple of goals in Saturday afternoon’s game by using his speed to create offense on the rush. He’s quick, but there’s still areas of his game that need refinement in order to become a successful player at the collegiate level.
Ryan Coughlin
#2 Selects Academy 18U, 2/9/01, RW, Right Shot, 6-1/185
Coughlin did a nice job of protecting pucks down low and using his size, strength, and reach to cycle pucks below the dots. He’s a player with Division I interest.
Ryan Greene
#19 Selects Academy 15’s, 10/21/03, C, Right Shot, 6-0/160
Green was really, really good for Jon Hutcheon’s team. He’s a cerebral, 200-foot center who made plays. He’s come back from the Canada Games with a swagger in his step and it’s showing in his production.
Brendan Fitzgerald
#32 Beantown Pre-Draft B, 3/6/03, D, Left Shot, 5-10/145
Fitzgerald is an offensive-minded defenseman who competes extremely hard and plays with an edge in his half of the ice. He has terrific vision and skill with the puck on his stick.
Lukas Gustafsson
#34 Beantown Pre-Draft B, 12/16/02, D, Left Shot, 5-9/165
Gustafsson scored on a transition play by firing home a nice wrist shot. He’s able to make quite a few nice passes to turn defense into offense. He has good touch and can make a saucer pass look easy. He’s got good edges as well. His one recurring issue is turnovers. He’s been offered by a few Hockey East schools, including Maine, where his father Marcus Gustafsson starred.
Stephen Kyrkostas
#23 Selects Academy 18U, 3/23/01, RW, Right Shot, 5-10/165
Kyrkostas has really good speed, which allowed him to produce in Saturday’s game. He scored a rebound goal by driving the net on a rush. His hockey sense is the one area of his game that needs a little more improvement, but his skating ability is up to Division I standards.
Senna Peeters
#22 Selects Academy 16U, 6/14/02, RW, Right Shot, 5-11/175
He scored a really nice goal to give his team a 3-0 lead against the Cape Cod Whalers. He’s a good skater with a good overall skill set.
Casey Raffone
#17 Selects Academy 15’s, 5/21/03, LW, Left Shot, 5-9/160
Raffone might not have the upside of some of the other players listed above him here, but he produced on Saturday. He scored on a rebound and also on a low wrist shot from the slot. He’s quick and can get to pucks and scoring areas.
