The Beast hosted an event over Columbus Day Weekend at the Haverhill Valley Forum, Lawrence Valley Forum, Chelmsford Forum and Tsongas Center.
Outside of teams from the Beast, college coaches, agents and scouts got a look at Gentry Galaxy 15U, a relatively-new program formed for this age group. There were a lot of talented players on this team, including ’03 forward Chaz Lucius and ’04 Cruz Lucius, both committed to playing for the University of Minnesota.
There were several events going on last weekend, including the North American Challenge Cup and EHF/Mass. Selects League Showcase. Ample time was still spent in Haverhill and Lawrence, watching numerous games at the Beast event.
For this write-up, focus was placed on standout uncommitted players who haven’t been discussed as often this fall.
18U Standouts
Alex Contey
#1 Springfield Rifles 18U, Kent, 7/27/00, Goaltender, Catches Left, 6-2/198
Contey is a little bit inconsistent, but when he’s on, he’s on. He has really good size and moves well in the crease. He competes really hard and pounces on loose pucks.
Eamon Doheny
#8 Springfield Rifles 18U, Deerfield, 6/1/01, Defense, Left Shot, 6-0/181
Doheny was always one of the better defensemen in this age group, but he’s taken kind of a backseat while playing at Deerfield. He’s steady and reliable. He’s one of those defensemen that just gets in the way, blocking lanes and using his body positioning.
Marcus Joughin
#9 Northern Cyclones Prep 18U, New Hampton, 7/5/01, Forward, Left Shot, 5-9/154
From Tecumseh, Ontario, Joughin is making the move to prep hockey from Islanders HC 16U. He has a good mix of skill and smarts to make plays offensively.
Timmy Lovell
#27 Boston Advantage 18U, 2/8/02, Defense, Left Shot, 5-5/130
Lovell has played all over the map the past month or so, competing with the 18U and 16U teams for Boston Advantage and in the NAHL with the Northeast Generals. While he’s extremely small, he’s so slick. He retrieves pucks and gets the play going the other way. He’s got about seven Hockey East offers, including a recent partial from Boston University.
Julien Menes
#10 Northern Cyclones Prep 18U, St. Paul’s, 1/25/00, Forward, Left Shot, 6-1/190
Menes is a heady prospect with good size. He’s a 200-foot player who's reliable in all three zones. He scored a really nice goal against Boston Advantage, but has been snakebitten offensively this fall.
Tim Rego
#5 Springfield Rifles 18U, Williston, 10/31/00, Defense, Right Shot, 6-0/184
The Mansfield, Mass., native has been in the shadows somewhat at Williston, but he’s a very skilled offensive defenseman. He has a good stick and could find his way onto a Division 1 roster as an older freshman in a few years.
Andrew Seaman
#7 Northern Cyclones Prep 18U, Phillips Exeter, 4/21/00, Forward, Right Shot, 5-10/170
Seaman caught some eyes last winter in his first year with Phillips Exeter. His speed catches your attention right away. He can fly and he’s had a really productive fall. There are still parts of his game that need rounding out, but he’s got the skating ability for Division 1.
Cooper Swift
#6 Northern Cyclones Prep 18U, Choate, 3/10/00, Defense, Left Shot, 6-1/175
Entering his final season with Choate, Swift is a very good NESCAC candidate. He’s a smooth puck mover and skates well with decent size.
16U Standouts
Timur Alishlalov
#32 River Rats 16U, Avon Old Farms, 10/8/02, Forward, Right Shot, 5-8/150
Alishlalov is a good skater who uses his edges well. He has skill, drives the net and is around the puck a lot. Some of his habits will need development over the coming years. He’s undoubtedly a Division 1 player.
Aidan Cobb
#9 Yale 16U, Kent, 3/5/02, Forward, Left Shot, 5-10/170
Cobb was a really good bantam player with the Westchester Express, but went unnoticed some last year. Now, he’s starting to come on again. He has good agility and made a nice play to beat an opposing defenseman in a one-on-one sequence for a goal.
Jack Hepp
#2 River Rats 16U, St. Paul’s, St. Paul’s, 4/12/02, Defense, Right Shot, 6-4/205
Hepp has come a long way over the past year or so under the guidance of Dan Murphy at St. Paul’s. He’s always been an intriguing prospect with good size. He’s strong and his skating has improved a lot. His vision and first step are two parts of his game that will need more work, but he’s got upside.
Isaac MacLeod
#91 Northern Cyclones Prep 16U, New Hampton, 4/4/02, Forward, Right Shot, 5-9/165
MacLeod is another newcomer to the prep scene, coming down from Quebec. He has good hands and can finish. His skating will need some work to truly become a Division 1 prospect, but the offensive production is there.
Patrick Morrissey
#5 River Rats 16U, Dexter, 1/7/03, Defense, Right Shot, 5-11/160
Morrissey continues to impress this fall. He has really good vision and moves the puck up ice with a good first pass. He has good height, but will get even better as he fills out his frame. There are plenty of marque programs hot on his trail.
Niko Rexine
Rochester Coalition 16U, 6/20/02, Forward, Right Shot, 5-11/161
Rexine is a hard-nosed forward who will make a good bottom-six winger at the college level. He hits hard and has limited offense, but can contribute when he sticks to playing a solid, north-south game.
Andrew Rodrigues
#1 Springfield Rifles 16U, Northfield Mount Hermon, 3/7/02, Goaltender, Catches Left, 5-11/165
Rodrigues had a really good game on Sunday against the River Rats. He’s a little on the smaller side, but he did a good job cutting down on angles for shooters.
T.J. Semptimphelter
#35, Mercer Chiefs 16U, Lawrenceville, 5/9/02, Goaltender, Catches Left, 6-0/170
Semptimphelter is a little undersized, even though he’s listed at 6-feet on the roster. He’s athletic and acrobatic in net. He makes some highlight-reel saves with his quick reflexes. He’ll need to be a little bit quieter in the crease, but still has light Division 1 interest.
Bauer Swift
#7 Springfield Rifles 16U, Choate, 6/17/02, Defense, Right Shot, 5-10/175
Swift skates well and made some nice plays in transition. He’s a little bit under the radar, but he’ll be at Westminster this winter.
Griffin Tominez
#11 Springfield Rifles 16U, Millbrook, 1/23/02, Forward, Left Shot, 5-10/175
Tominez played for the Rochester Coalition last year. His game has improved a lot and he looked really good on Sunday here. He has some skill, as evidenced by a nice shootout goal. He skates hard, too.
15U Standouts
Anton Castro
#33 Gentry Academy 15U, 1/23/03, Goaltender, Catches Left, 6-1/165
Castro split time with his fellow goaltender here, but he was very good when the puck was in his end. He has good size, athleticism and fundamentals.
Michael Cataldo
#77 River Rats 15U, St. Sebastian’s, 5/4/03, Forward, Right Shot, 5-11/160
Cataldo was solid on the wall during the power play. He has good vision, skates well and has some grit.
Matt Copponi
#6 River Rats 15U, Mansfield High School, 6/4/03, Forward, Right Shot, 5-9/145
Copponi is showing more and more skill as he develops. He has good hands and hand-eye coordination. He skates well and is athletic, but has a tendency to overhandle the puck and not move it quickly enough.
Connor Kurth
#10 Gentry Academy 15U, 7/30/03, Forward, Right Shot, 5-10/170
Kurth jumped up onto the top line during the first power-play unit. He has a good release and his shot comes off his stick with zip.
Aidan Lyons
#11 River Rats 15U, Nobles, 2/26/03, Defense, Left Shot, 5-9/155
Lyons has a good amount of skill from the backend. He can skate, pass the puck up ice in transition and quarterback a power play. His hockey sense needs some improvement, but his skill set and skating are good enough for Division 1.
Jake Martin
#7 Gentry Academy 15U, 3/18/03, Defense, Right Shot, 5-11/187
Martin is an under-the-radar defenseman nationally by playing at Gentry, but he has some size and is a candidate for NTDP Evaluation Camp. He has decent size and was on the point for the first power-play unit. He’s still a little raw and his feet could use some work, but he’s a very intriguing prospect.
Bennett Schimek
#3 Gentry Academy 15U, 4/15/03, Forward, Right Shot, 5-10/155
Schimek’s height might be generously listed on the roster, since he’s a smaller forward with skill. He was moved back to the point on the power play, but played up front on the top line with the Lucius brothers. He has good vision and can stickhandle and protect pucks.
