Ben Merrill is in a bit of a bind.
A lifelong Boston Bruins fan after growing up in Hingham, Mass., the St. Sebastian’s product will need to set fandom and rivalries aside after the Montreal Canadiens selected him in the sixth round of the 2024 NHL Draft.
“I was a huge B’s fan growing up, so I definitely had a little hate for the Canadiens before, but I think I definitely like them a little bit more now,” Merrill said. “When I thought about it, it was definitely a strange feeling, you know, having hated them for so many years. But I love them now. I’ll still be a bit of a B’s fan, but I’ll definitely be cheering (Montreal) on too.”
Merrill thought he could go anywhere from the third round and onward. As Day 2 of the draft, which features Rounds 2-7, wore on, it was hard for Merrill not to worry whether or not the call would ever come.
“You can't really expect anything in the draft,” he said. “So much can happen.”
The Habs ended up using the 166th pick to take Merrill, who was watching the draft on NHL Network at home with his family. Once his name flashed on the screen, a dream 18 years in the making became a reality.
“Once my name went up, all the emotions kind of changed,” Merrill said. “My dad went pretty nuts, and then I was just kind of a little shook, so I didn't have much of a reaction. It was more kind of internal, but my dad was pretty pumped. My mom was just pretty shocked as well. She just kind of looked at me, and my siblings were a little shook as well. But it was pretty funny seeing my dad react.”
The whirlwind was in full force. Texts flooded in. Childhood friends came over to the house right away to celebrate.
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“It’s a cool moment to see the people you have around you,” Merrill said. “It’s pretty amazing.”
Before he knew it, he was off to Montreal for the Canadiens’ development camp from July 2-5.
“That was really cool,” Merrill said. “I’ve never really experienced anything like that with all the care and a professional life, in a way, because they treat us like professionals. Just being in a Canadiens jersey and in the gear, being with the coaching staff and going on a tour of the rink (the Bell Centre) was pretty amazing.”
Merrill’s ascension as a prospect has been swift.
He was still growing into his body when he first arrived at St. Sebastian’s as a freshman in 2021. Merrill, who now stands at 6-foot-4, 194 pounds, frequently was the extra forward on a team filled with skilled veterans.
“When I first had him at Seb’s, I’m not sure I would have projected this, to be honest with you,” Arrows head coach Sean McCann said. “I remember talking to him near the end of the year, and just encouraging him to continue to work hard, watch the older guys and pick up nuances of their games and pay attention when we're doing video and systems.
“He needed to learn a lot as a player.”
Learn a lot, he did.
Merrill came back for his sophomore year with improved conditioning. He was much more confident and stronger, and it translated to the ice.
“He went from being that 13th forward to a top-nine or top-six guy, and really playing well for us in a number of situations, especially kind of helping us out offensively on the power play,” McCann said. “To be honest, the confidence that builds for a kid when they see themselves improve, kind of in the weight room or with explosiveness or conditioning, that translates to the ice. They feel they can do more, and they believe in themselves more.
“I think that's what really happened to Ben. The opportunity was there for him to put himself in a better situation, and he grabbed it. He was on the third line at the start of the year, but he quickly moved himself up to the second line and had opportunities on the first line. He just kind of grew his repertoire and his opportunities to kind of play in different situations. To me, it was more the confidence that Ben gained from that summer of improvement.”
The results showed on the stat sheet. Merrill posted only three points (two goals) in 21 games as a freshman. He exploded for 24 points (11 goals) in 27 games as a sophomore.
“He continued to improve, continued to get stronger, started to understand and see the game even better and make plays that surprised other guys on the team,” McCann said. “He caught them off-guard with passes he was making that they didn't expect to come their way. His hockey IQ was continuing to develop and getting better there. Just the understanding of spacing and timing, being able to make players around you better, that’s what I started to see out of Ben during the course of the year.
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“That’s a really hard thing to develop. Those are instincts you develop out of failing constantly, realizing what you can do, what you can’t do and what you need to improve on. We saw that out of Ben.”
After his breakout sophomore year, Merrill went straight to the Chicago Steel’s (USHL) camp. It was a key learning experience for the forward, who began to feel he had a shot to be drafted this summer.
“Literally after my last exam of sophomore year, I flew up to Chicago and had the Steel camp, and I did pretty well on that,” Merrill said. “Because Chicago is such a well-known organization, especially in such a tough, top league, I think that was kind of the moment where I realized if I really actually put in the work, that definitely could be a possibility.”
Merrill’s big second season only helped his standing on Division 1 radars, too. He committed to Harvard last offseason. Soon, he’ll realize another dream — playing in the Beanpot.
“That’s something I've been going to my whole life and watching,” Merrill said. “I've always kind of wanted to stay local, not go too far. So it's an easy drive for that. Academics-wise, it's pretty good, I guess you can say. That was also a big part, you know, just kind of being (set up) for life (after hockey).”
He produced even more as a junior this past season with 18 goals and 37 points in 25 games, helping lead the Arrows to the Elite 8.
“I think the biggest part was trying to get the puck on my stick more, going to get the puck and not waiting for it,” Merrill said. “That just helped me create more plays, get more shots and do whatever was best for the team in that sense.”
The key difference, however, was he was getting some of the toughest defensive matchups from opposing teams.
“He was a known player now, and so other teams were going to kind of scheme against him and try to take him away at times,” McCann said. “I thought he did a really good job handling and understanding that.”
McCann believes Merrill brings a skill-set that will translate at the higher levels, especially if his hockey sense continues to improve.
“He’s got a lot of the attributes that you look for in kids that are going to play college and going to play pro and do it well,” McCann said. “I think what I've noticed out of Ben, he's got very good control of the puck, even in tight situations. … He’s going to continue to fill out and get stronger. The hardest thing is, as you go up every step of the ladder, guys are more and more competitive. Ben’s a competitive kid, but that’s something he’s going to have to continue to develop in every situation and combine that with the skill-set he has.”
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Merrill’s next challenge will be junior hockey. He’s slated to play for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL, along with former Seb’s teammate Matt Cataldo (Norfolk, Mass.).
He already got a taste of what to expect when he attended Montreal’s development camp after the draft.
“I took a lot away from it, especially the compete level,” he said. “Everyone's good at that level. They're not going to bring someone that can't compete there. So every guy’s a good matchup. A lot of guys there were playing juniors, college and even NHL. So that pace and compete level are things that I'll definitely take with me to Penticton.”
