As is the case in most draft years, New England has a heavy presence on the NHL Central Scouting's pre-draft list. But there's a subsection of those players that require a deeper dive.
The Central Scouting list is used by teams as a rough guide for the top prospects in the upcoming draft, with the 2020 edition held at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Alexis Lafreniere of Rimouski in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is the consensus favorite to be selected No. 1 overall.
This year's Central Scouting list, in particular, has a significant number of sons of former college players with ties to New England.
Here's a look at what some of them are up to:
Brett Berard, LW, U.S. National team: Berard's dad, David (West Warwick, R.I.), played five games over two seasons at Providence from 1988-92, and has been the head coach at College of the Holy Cross since 2014. Brett Berard (East Greenwich, R.I.) has been playing with the U.S. National U-18 team. He's committed to join his dad's alma mater for the 2021-22 season. NEHJ's Jeff Cox expects Berard to go in the second or third round of the 2020 NHL Draft.
Riley Duran, C/RW, Lawrence Academy: Duran's dad, Jim (Woburn, Mass.), played at Plattsburgh State from 1988-92, capped by 61 points in 36 games during his final season. Jim earned local Hall of Fame honors for his career, which included two years as captain. He's currently the coach/athletic director at Woburn high school. NEHJ's Jeff Cox says Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) is a versatile player who "can skate and disrupt the opposition’s breakout," projecting to a very good third-line forward, likely a winger. He'll do his developing in prep hockey before heading to Providence for 2021-22.
Alex Jefferies, RW, Gunnery: Jefferies' dad, Brian (Mills, Mass.), played for Providence from 1988-93, totaling 13 points in 49 games as a winger. The younger Jefferies credits his dad with getting him into hockey, starting him skating at age 3. Jefferies is considered one of the top prospects in the 2020 NHL Draft. NEHJ's Jeff Cox calls Jefferies "a strong winger" who is "willing to drive the net." Recently, Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) reaffirmed his commitment with Merrimack after a dalliance with Boston College. In the meantime, he's considered one of the top players at Gunnery.
David Sacco, C/RW, Lawrence Academy: Sacco's dad, also David (Malden, Mass.), played at Boston University from 1988-93. He played parts of three seasons in the NHL with the Maple Leafs and Ducks, bouncing around the minors and Europe as well. The younger David's uncle is Joe Sacco (Medford, Mass.), the former NHLer who is now an assistant coach of the Boston Bruins. The younger Sacco has, according to NEHJ's Jeff Cox, "skating and physical presence to project as a really good third-line winger." He's also been described as a physical player with "the ability to change the tone of a game with his hard hits."
Ronan Walsh, RW, Proctor: Walsh's dad, Mike, played for Colgate from 1980-84, capping his college career with 33 points in 34 games (to go along with 94 minutes in penalties). The senior Walsh had a cup of coffee with the New York Islanders over two seasons, and mainly played in Europe and the AHL. He's now coaching Ronan at Proctor. The junior Walsh (Andover, N.H.) has been called by NEHJ's Jeff Cox "a hard, north-south, power forward."
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.
