Choate's last winning season was 11 years ago. In 2014-15, the Wild Boars went 16-7-5. They posted 10 wins over the first three seasons of the current decade.
It makes the 8-15-2 record last year that much more impressive. Sure, it wasn't a winning season — far from it, that's well under .500. But that was a five-win increase on the season before.
It's a part of the long road second-year head coach Mike Pereira knows he has to take to bring Choate back to prominence.
"Our seniors did a good job last year of identifying how we want to play and the standards," Pereira said. "Playing hard and playing in people's faces and just being tough to play against. That's kind of our M.O. Credit to the seniors last year for helping create that and moving the program onto better things."
Pereira understands there is still a lot of work to be done. But Choate looks to be on the path to being a playoff team again.
It's been a long time.
Generating offense
Choate is fortunate to get its top scorer from last season back in Greg Najda. The '08 Yale commit led the team in goals (12) and points (23) last season.
"He's gotten a lot of NHL attention," Pereira said. "There have certainly been [scouts] who have asked what our schedule is this year, which is always a good thing."
Along with Najda, Easton Kinsler will be expected to produce. The '07 senior had seven goals and 14 points last season.
"We're hoping that he produces this year," Pereira said.
Cam Conklin is another vital returner. The '07 had 16 points last season. He's playing with the Springfield Thunderbirds 18U team this fall.
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Newcomers will fill out the rest of the top offensive spots on the roster. Jalen Carter, Keenan Hauser and Michael Dossier have been standouts for the Yale Jr. Bulldogs' 18U squad this fall. Two other new forwards to watch are Andy Xu and Cameron Hunchak.
All are '08s and come from different parts of the world (Xu is from Beijing). It will be up to many of these newcomers to be the difference between an eight-win team and a playoff contender.
"There are a lot of guys up front that I'm encouraged by," Pereira said. "I think we're a deep group up front."
Protecting the house
Choate fell victim to the CHL ruling just a bit. The Wild Boars lost 6-foot-4 defenseman Harris Pangretitsch to the OHL's Soo Greyhounds. He was supposed to be a senior this season.
"That's kind of how the landscape is working now," Pereira said.
Choate still shouldn't have problems on the back end. Seniors like Lexi Kurt and Paul Stearns should break out and take steps forward. The same can be said for '06 Justin Dupuis.
"He should play a big role for us," Pereira said.
Just like up front, Choate will have newcomers looking to make a difference in back. One of those players is '08 Liam Oliver, who is playing with the Yale Junior Bulldogs 18U team.
"I think he can make a really good impression on the league," Pereira said.
Another key piece will be Jacob BriseBois. Justin, his older brother, got New England Hockey Journal's Goalie of the Year honors last season for St. Mark's, and his father, Julien, is the general manager of the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning. BriseBois arrives at Choate from Jesuit High School (Fla.) and Florida Alliance's 15O squad.
"He has a chance to really be an impact player," Pereira said. "He's big, he's long, he can move pucks."
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Other newcomers looking to find a role are '09s Ethan Russo and Brayden Young.
"It'll be by committee back there," Pereira said. "We have a good mix of returners, some older guys, some younger folks. It's a good mix."
Choate likely won't be by committee in net. Senior '08 Jacob Saldanha took possession of the starting job last season and will likely begin this campaign with it. He posted a 3.53 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage last year. Saldanha has had visits to college hockey programs at the Division 1 and 3 levels.
Still, junior Tyler Donroe will be there to push him.
"They're going to push one another," Pereira said. "Jacob had some big wins for us last year, and Tyler is a very capable goalie. I'm hoping that it'll be a good competition."
Building back up
Within the first few weeks of the school year starting in the fall, Pereira noticed something interesting: the hockey team was regularly sitting together for lunch. That includes the newcomers, of which there are many.
"It just kind of happened organically," Pereira said. "It's a pretty neat thing."
Pereira played a year of prep hockey at Avon Old Farms and was on the coaching staff for five years there before taking a job at UConn as an assistant. He is used to the Elite 8.
"Any team's goal right now is to be in the Elite 8," he said. "And if it wasn't your goal, then you probably didn't do a good job over the summer."
Hardly any team goes from eight wins to the Elite 8 in one year. But baby steps are part of the journey to that.
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"At the end of the day, we want to be looked at as a team that's constantly competing for playoff spots," Pereira said.
Step 1 was an improved product in the first year. That happened. So, what's Step 2?
"We took a step in the right direction this past year," Pereira said. "I think we have a good group of players — returning and incoming — that can now help us compete and make things interesting in the league. It's wide-open right now."
