It's easy to get swept up in a million different hockey conversations between games at the Flood-Marr tournament, no matter the year.
But last season, one topic kept coming up.
"Have you seen Hotchkiss?"
The Bearcats, who entered at 0-1-1, lost to Milton Academy to begin the tournament, but then went on a torrid run, taking down Kimball Union, Westminster and Deerfield for a title.
"That was a catalyst," head coach Mike Doyle said.
Hotchkiss proved it was for real the rest of the way, going 17-6-4, securing the No. 5 spot in the Elite 8 and reaching the semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion Avon Old Farms.
Part of why there was so much chatter around Hotchkiss at last year's Flood-Marr was because of the previous year. The Bearcats won six games in 2024-25, and hadn't gone near the playoffs since 2019-20.
The surprise of Hotchkiss being good again is gone. Now, it's about maintaining a standard.
Zoomed-out view
When Doyle was hired four years ago, Hotchkiss' core from the 2019-20 team that made the Elite 8 was gone.
"I was really starting from square one when I took over the program," Doyle said.
Hotchkiss is known for its elite academics. By no means is it an easy prep school to get into — far from it. The acceptance rate is under 20 percent.
"We can't bring in 15 guys a year," Doyle said.
So, Doyle had to focus on filling a roster in his first year. The second year of recruiting, however, came down to bringing in intelligent younger players to build around. They would hopefully bear fruit down the road.
His bet was correct. It's why Hotchkiss went from six to 17 wins in one season.
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The last few years
Since COVID-19 destroyed the 2020-21 season, Hotchkiss' win totals are as follows: four, eight, eight, six and 17.
The Bearcats scored the No. 5 spot in the Elite 8 and took down No. 4 St. Sebastian's in the quarterfinals, who, ironically, somehow had a bigger jump in wins going from six to 19.
The coach
Doyle began at Hotchkiss in 2022 after a five-year stint as Brewster's boss. A former defenseman, he played at Choate in the early 2010s before playing at Connecticut College from 2011-15. In four years at Hotchkiss, Doyle is 39-50-2.
Who will the stars be?
Hotchkiss is fortunate to bring back forwards Jake Harrison, Austin Groves and Ryan Murray, three of last season's top four scorers.
Harrison had 33 points in 27 games, while Groves and Murray had 14 goals apiece and were at 29 and 25 points, respectively.
They will be expected to take another step.
Hotchkiss is also fortunate to bring back most of its core of defensemen. Senior Evan Williams returns, along with juniors Chris Chun, Aidan Bujnicki, Ethan Hung (Fairfield, Conn.) and Constantine Theocharis.
"We're going to be really deep," Doyle said. "I think we're going to be able to play four lines and six to seven defensemen."
Newcomers
The two biggest newbies are in net: Troy Falbo and Xavier Rivera. They have the task of replacing Neilan Johnson, who put up staggering numbers: a 1.79 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. He won our Goalie of the Year Award last season and eventually committed to Northeastern. He jumped to juniors.
Falbo, a '10, arrives via Little Caesars. Doyle compared him to former Avon Old Farms standout Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.).
"He's very sound technically," Doyle said of Falbo. "He makes the big saves."
Rivera, a late '09, has been at Berkshire the last two seasons and will be looking for more playing time at Hotchkiss.
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"I'm actually really excited about both guys," Doyle said. "I've come to no preconceived notions about what [the playing time] might look like."
On defense, the one newcomer is Michael Doyle (yep, same name as his new head coach), a '10 from the North Jersey Avalanche.
Chris Kelly is an intriguing new name to watch up front. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound '09 arrives from the Lac St-Louis Lions in Canada. Leo McCullough (Stamford, Conn.) is a '10 from the North Jersey Avs who should make an impact, along with Parker Everett (Philadelphia Junior Flyers) and Brayden Gearin (Londonderry, N.H.)Â from Cardigan Mountain.
Breakout prospects
Both new goalies are certainly strong breakout candidates. They'll have to be if Hotchkiss hopes to stay in the Elite 8 race.
But a great candidate is senior forward Justin L'Abbe, who had 12 points last season.
"He's always been a middle-six kid," Doyle said. "He went from four points to 12 as a junior. I'm looking for him to kind of take the next step."
Another name is Ty Higginbotham (Hopkinton, N.H.), who had 10 points last year. Both L'Abbe and Higginbotham project as important scorers in the top six.
The ceiling
A lot will come down to Falbo and Rivera in net. But if the goaltending is at least solid, Hotchkiss should be in Elite 8 contention all season.
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"I just want us to really leave it all out there and see where the chips fall," Doyle said.
Given that the Bearcats are senior-heavy with most of last year's core back, the chips should fall in their favor.
