Every winter, the Flood-Marr Tournament is one of the most heavily watched and scouted New England boys prep holiday tournaments.
The craziest part: There are no "weaker" teams at the event this season.
Kimball Union and Salisbury are top-10 teams. Deerfield is the first one on the outside looking into the top 10. Nobles and Milton Academy are in the Next 15. Phillips Andover won the tournament last year. Hotchkiss and Westminster are both pains to play against.
Picking a winner won't be easy.
Another fun tidbit: Phillips Andover won the Flood-Marr last year and went on to win the Large School Tournament. The year before, Kimball Union won it and later won the Elite 8. Milton Academy won it in 2022 and finished as the No. 3 seed in the Elite 8.
Winning the Flood-Marr often telegraphs success in March.
Here's the full schedule:
Owen Division:Â Milton, Hotchkiss, Kimball Union, Westminster
Harding Division:Â Nobles, Deerfield, Phillips Andover, Salisbury
Friday, Dec. 19 (at Milton)Â
- 9 a.m.: Milton vs. Hotchkiss
- 11 a.m.: Westminster vs. Kimball Union
- 1 p.m.: Nobles vs. Deerfield
- 3 p.m.: Andover vs. Salisbury
- 5 p.m.: Milton vs. Westminster
- 7 p.m.: Hotchkiss vs. Kimball Union
Saturday, Dec. 20 (at Nobles)
- 9 a.m.: Nobles vs. Andover
- 11 a.m.: Salisbury vs. Deerfield
- 1 p.m.: Kimball Union vs. Milton
- 3 p.m.: Westminster vs. Hotchkiss
- 5 p.m.: Nobles vs. Salisbury
- 7 p.m.: Deerfield vs. Andover
Sunday, Dec. 21 (at Milton)Â
- 8 a.m.: 7th place game
- 10 a.m.: 5th place game
- 12 p.m.: 3rd place game
- 2 p.m.: Championship
Now, here are some of the biggest storylines to watch throughout the tournament.
1. Just how much are Kimball Union and Salisbury the favorites?
Kimball Union enters as the No. 1 team in prep, while Salisbury is at No. 5. There is no question that both teams are the favorites.
But which is better?
KUA, despite missing senior forward Xander Boutilier and goalie Luca Campo, is scorching at 9-0-0. Senior Josh Phillips has been as good as advertised with 16 assists and 18 points. Junior forward Conal Mulkerrin (Hingham, Mass.) has been a force in his first year in prep with 10 goals, while senior Jackson Kimelman has six goals and 12 points. That top line has been dominant.
Forwards like postgrad Jack Ross, juniors Charlie MacLeod and Alexis Gagne, and sophomore Dawson Wood (Barrington, R.I.) have been vital for KUA's offense. On defense, junior Nasean Faria has five goals and 11 points, while senior Lucas Hannay has two and nine. Junior Thomas Ojard and senior Anthony Leech have been vital at both ends of the ice, too. And senior goalie Cam Ingram has stepped up with a 1.69 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
Salisbury is 4-0-0 with two huge wins over Taft and then-No. 3 Kent. Scoring has been far from a problem, with juniors Landon Klein, Luca Desjardins, Elliott Bibeau-Rivard, and Greyson Espenshade being potent. The same can be said for senior Luke Walkauskas. All are well above a point-per-game rate.
A name to watch for the Crimson Knights on defense is Zach Gill. The 6-foot, 195-pound defender has three points already, but is superb in his own zone, too. He's uncommitted.
Senior Jordan Rittenberg has gotten the most amount of time in net with a 1.88 GAA and a .923 save percentage, while '09 Christian Capone has a 2.25 and a .919.
If both teams play as well as they should, they should be on a collision course for the championship, which was the case in 2023. Kimball Union won that one, 5-2.
READ MORE:Â Full schedules, results for holiday tournaments
2. What a good showing from Deerfield would mean
Deerfield started the season at No. 10 in my rankings. Since then, the Big Green have lost three of their first four games, falling to Groton, Choate and Avon Old Farms. The lone win came against Northfield Mount Hermon.
The heartbeat of the team is Brown commit and goalie Elliot Lennon, who has been middle-of-the-pack to start the season with a 3.19 GAA and a .906 save percentage. The 6-foot-6 goalie has more to give — and this weekend would be the perfect place to show it.
Scoring has left a lot to be desired, too. Senior forward Matteo Alvarez, sophomore forward Alex Strug (Westport, Conn.) and junior defenseman Nathan Caples (Winchester, Mass.) are all tied for the team lead in points with four. Senior forward Lukas Machan, junior forward William Kertesz, junior Harry Holland, sophomore forward Owen Andrews and freshman Owen Hannah (Newington, Conn.) have been impactful.
This is obvious, but if Deerfield can get into a rhythm this weekend and come away with wins, it would be a statement. The Big Green would be back in the top 10 mix, and it would position them well for a strong post-Christmas run into the playoffs.
3. Can Nobles, Milton and Westminster use this as a get-right weekend?
Nobles enters at 2-2-0, Milton is 1-4-0 and Westminster is 1-2-1. All are in different spots roster-wise, but all three can be better. This is the perfect tournament to turn things around.
Let's start with Nobles. It's not a big surprise that senior forward and Brown commit Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) has nine points in four games. But a welcome surprise has been junior forward Ryan MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.) riding with him and posting three goals and six points. Nobles' defensive core, led by senior Tuck Gilbane (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) and junior Kris Soja (Ludlow, Mass.), is a strength. Kasen Walsh (Warwick, R.I.) and Deniz Unal (Milton, Mass.), both '10s, have played well. Sophomore Justin Lee (Newton, Mass.) has settled in net with a 2.63 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Nobles will increase the number in the win column as more forwards break out.
READ MORE:Â The latest boys prep rankings entering the holiday tournaments
Milton's roster is better than its record. Senior forwards Brody Sharpe (Wellesley, Mass.) and Joe Feinberg (Needham, Mass.) have been productive so far. Junior forwards Cam Doull (Concord, Mass.) and Max Colosimo both have two goals each. On defense, senior Justin Garvey has six assists and junior Chance Bolton has five points. But head coach Jim Gaudet needs more from everyone.
One big Milton storyline to watch this weekend will be '10s TJ Petropoulos (Brockton, Mass.) and Blake Wilichoski (Danvers, Mass.). Both have high-end promise. Another is junior goalie Eli Zucker, who has a 3.50 GAA and a .891 save percentage. If he's on, he's dangerous.
Westminster is older, which typically equates to success in prep. Postgrad forward Will Derbyshire leads the team in goals (three) and points (four). Head coach Tim Joncas has a plethora of senior forwards: Timmy Donohue (North Haven, Conn.), Dylan Ness, Gus McGarvey (Greenwich, Conn.), Matty Hanrahan, Brenden Gilooly, Owen Burke (Trumbull, Conn.) and Massimo Guarnieri — and those are just some of them. On defense, Joncas has senior Matteo Di Marzo, Carson Craig, John Donohue (North Haven, Conn.), George Tsatas and Michael Rossi, as well as sophomore Gavin Smith.
Sophomore Caden Weichselbaumer (Hampden, Mass.) has been thrust into the starting goalie spot and has done well with a 2.56 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
The pieces are there for all three teams to have success.
4. Can Phillips Andover repeat?
Last year was the first time Andover had ever won the Flood-Marr Tournament. It would be quite the story for Andover to do it again this year.
So far, the Big Blue are 3-3-0 with wins over Groton, New Hampton and Proctor, and losses to Thayer, Pomfret and Dexter Southfield.
It's hard for the former champs to be sleepers, but Andover is that in this tournament. Junior forward Nate Kreppner has broken out with three goals and eight points. Seniors Alex Small, Louis-Felix Beaulieu, David O'Neill, Jason Faith, Zachary Fedele and Tyler Miocevich have been productive thus far. The same can be said for juniors Kieran McIntosh, Russell Louie and Alex Theodore, a Dartmouth commit.
In net, senior Edouard Lord has been strong with a 2.98 GAA and a .927 save percentage.
5. Goalies who are NHL Draft prospects
NHL scouts will be watching Lennon and Hotchkiss goalie Neilan Johnson, who has a 1.95 GAA and a .938 save percentage in two games. Both are on NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Watch List.
READ MORE: Top boys prep performers from Dec. 10-16
It feels like every year, a goalie breaks out at the Flood-Marr. Andover's Chase Anderson was that last season. The year before, it was Kimball Union's Blake McMeniman (Revere, Mass.). Milton's Sam Caulfield (Needham, Mass.) was the guy in 2022, and Nobles' Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline, Mass.) got all the headlines in 2021.
