It was a light weekend as far as major showcases go in the New England region. The E9 Prep League was in action Friday through Sunday at The Rinks at Exeter and Haverhill Valley Forum. Teams competed at the 18-U, 16-U and 15 Only divisions.
A handful of college coaches and NHL scouts took in various games over the course of the weekend. It was calm before the storm, you could say. The next few weekends will be busy for those scouting talent in the region.
The Beast Playoffs take place this upcoming weekend before the Beantown Fall Classic and Eastern Exposure Cup conclude the October slate. E9 Playoffs and Massachusetts Hockey District Playoffs are a couple of marquee events on the calendar over the first half of November.
MacDonald, Fisher state draft case
The East Coast Wizards 18-U went 0-2-1 over the weekend, losing to the Neponset Valley River Rats and Boston Hockey Academy and tying Seacoast Performance Academy. While the results weren’t there, the team had three players who NHL scouts were watching.
Nobles center Ben MacDonald, St. Mark’s defenseman Michael Fisher and Belmont Hill right wing James Fisher are three players to watch as far as the 2022 NHL draft goes. Out of those three, MacDonald is certainly the most intriguing.
MacDonald skates well, has vision and can make plays. The Weston, Mass., native and Harvard commit was good, albeit unspectacular over the weekend. I really like MacDonald and certainly think he’s the best '04 New Englander still skating in the region. It wasn’t his best viewing, but he did do some nice things. I’d project him as a late third or early fourth-round pick, as it stands now. He’s slated to play the 2022-23 season in the USHL before matriculating to the Crimson for 2023-24.
Michael Fisher, from Westboro, Mass., is big, skates well, and is almost certainly going to get drafted. His hockey sense is a work in progress, but it’s not irredeemable. The Princeton commit is expected to play the 2022-23 season in the USHL with the Youngstown Phantoms.
James Fisher didn’t get a ton of ice time and it wasn’t his best viewing. In the few shifts where he was noticeable, his powerful stride and hard shot were evident. He ripped one just wide late in the second half from the top of the right wing circle. From Wilmington, Mass., Fisher is a Northeastern commit. While I like his potential, and have for a while, Sunday’s game didn’t do much to merit draft attention.
It’s a down year in terms of 2022 NHL draft prospects playing in New England. With Cameron Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.), Ryan Healey (Hull, Mass.) and Jackson Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.) skating in the USHL, the pickings are slim for NHL scouts in the region. The Wizards will draw a majority of the attention when it comes to midget teams in New England.
After the River Rats, the Wizards are probably the next best team in Massachusetts. What they lack in depth, they make up for in game-changing talents, such as MacDonald and the Fisher duo. The Cape Cod Whalers, South Shore Kings Prep, and Central Mass. Penguins are the teams that round out the top five in Massachusetts.
Power jolt for Boston Advantage
The Boston Advantage defeated the River Rats, 4-1, at the 15 Only division on Sunday morning. The three-goal margin of victory was thanks to a trio of power play goals scored by the Advantage.
The team’s power play is a well-oiled machine. Obviously being one of the few full-season teams in the area helps. Practicing every day certainly adds to the dynamic of the first unit. The puck movement was a thing of beauty.
Defenseman Kiernan Poulin is a stud when it comes to offensive, puck-moving defensemen in the '06 birth year. The Norwell, Mass., native has great mobility, vision, poise, and confidence with the puck on his stick. He had the primary assist on the first man-advantage tally that came off the stick of fellow defenseman Andrew O’Sullivan, who is a very good player in his own right.
McDonough plays up with ease
I’ve seen Boston Advantage 18-U play a handful of times this fall. One constant has been the team’s undisputed best player. Power forward Will McDonough has made an impact in all viewings. The Duxbury, Mass., native is an '05 playing up, but you’d never suspect it if you didn’t know his birth year.
He’s big, strong and shoots it with authority. He does a good job protecting pucks, fending off opposing defenders and getting into scoring areas. McDonough, a NTDP Evaluation Camp attendee last May, is a big-time player. He was called up for two games with the U-17 team last month.
McDonough’s skating has gotten better. He doesn’t have that quick twitch and isn’t going to blow by opposing defenders or create a ton of separation with his speed. But, McDonough does have a good center of gravity that allows him to be hard to knock off pucks. He’s strong on his skates and has a presence on the ice.
The team’s other top player is defenseman Tim Busconi, an '04 from Duxbury, Mass., who is committed to Boston University. Despite the team struggling over the weekend in terms of wins and losses, Busconi was solid offensively against the River Rats in a 4-1 loss.
Outsiders helping River Rats 18-U
The Neponset Valley River Rats, coached by Ross Pasquantonio, is 15-4-3 so far this fall. The team has a balanced scoring attack but has gotten a lot of production and impact from players outside the region.
The Rats won all three games over the weekend, including a big 6-3 victory over the East Coast Wizards Sunday. A lot of the damage was done by players who come from outside of the area.
Avon Old Farms junior Charlie Gollob, an '04 from Toronto, Ontario, had a goal and three assists versus the Wizards. The team’s scoring leader is heavy on pucks, smart, and doesn’t get pushed around. Trinity-Pawling junior Tobias Iantorno was held off the score sheet Sunday afternoon but is the team’s second-leading scorer. An '04 from Mississauga, Ontario, Iantorno has heated up after shaking the rust off, due to not playing for a year with the COVID lockdown north of the border.
'03 Cal Osterberger, a Berkshire senior from Boise, Idaho, had two goals and an assist. His work on the penalty kill and his tenacity to win puck battles below the dots has been notable all fall. Three other '04s from outside of New England, Caleb Owens (Trinity-Pawling), Jack Brandt (Tabor) and Clarence Beltz (Lawrence), all found the score sheet over the weekend.
Owens, from Fort Myers, Fla., had the game-winner against the Wizards and has been instrumental in blocking shots and buzzing around this fall. Brandt, from Columbus, Ohio, and Beltz, from Missoula, Mont., have skill that should intrigue college coaches.
