No matter the season, the Housatonic is always one of the toughest gauntlets in New England boys prep hockey. Never has that been truer than this season.
Avon Old Farms and Salisbury are usual suspects. Deerfield was the No. 1 team in the Elite 8 last season. Westminster made it all the way to the Large School championship game last March. Kent enters this season as my No. 5 team.
Then, there are the other squads. Choate, Hotchkiss and Taft are three teams that should be much better this season. Trinity-Pawling and Loomis Chaffee project to be tough outs, too.
Here's a team-by-team breakdown of the Housatonic entering this winter.
Avon Old Farms
Coach: Mark NaclerioÂ
Record: 18-8-1; lost to Phillips Andover in semifinals of Large School tournament
Players to watch: Jacob Jett, F; Nico Ciardiello, F; Liam Donnelly, F; Tucker Harris, F; Ethan Gingelskie, F; Ryan Hecker, D; Matthew Koch, D; Maksim Yakub, D; Jake Power, D; Myles Foster, D; Anthony Palmer, G
Outlook: The Winged Beavers were cruising last season until a late January/early February stumble put them in the Large School tournament. They took their lumps in losing talent early to junior hockey throughout the offseason, with Dartmouth commit Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.) and Harvard commit Oskar Drabczynski gone. Still, Avon should have more than enough talent to be in the Elite 8 come the end of the season. Palmer in net is a huge advantage against most teams.
Choate
Coach: Mike Pereira
Record: 8-15-2Â
Players to watch: Greg Najda, F; Easton Kinsler, F; Cam Conklin, F; Jalen Carter, F; Keenan Hauser, F; Michael Dossier, F; Andy Xu, F; Cameron Hunchak, F; Lexi Kurt, D; Paul Stearns, D; Justin Dupuis, D; Jacob BriseBois, D; Jacob Saldanha, GÂ
Outlook:Â Choate should be much improved from last winter. In Pereira's second season, the Wild Boars are much older throughout the lineup. Najda, a Yale commit, has the potential to be one of the best players in the region this winter, while Saldanha projects as one of the better goalies. It's a tough schedule, but Choate should be a much tougher out this season and contend for the playoffs.
PREP PREVIEWS: St. Sebastian's | Cushing | Belmont Hill |  Milton | Tilton | Berkshire | Deerfield | St. George’s | Brunswick | Winchendon | Salisbury | Choate | Nobles | Kent | Holderness | Dexter Southfield
Deerfield
Coach: Tim McVaugh
Record: 22-5-0; lost to Cushing in semifinals of Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Lukas Machan, F; Matteo Alvarez, F; Colton Simas, F; Michael McGrath, F; Lukas Royko, F; Alex Strug, F; Owen Andrews, F; Harry Holland, D; Ezra Jones, D; Billy Weller, D; Nathan Caples, D; Elliot Lennon, G
Outlook: The No. 1 team in the Elite 8 last season, Deerfield doesn’t enter quite as high this season after losing most of its primary scorers from last year. The Big Green will also be without top senior defenseman Nate Watson for most of the season after he broke his ankle. That said, Lennon is still there. The NHL Draft prospect and Brown commit enters as arguably the top goalie in prep, and should give Deerfield a chance to beat anybody.
Hotchkiss
Coach: Mike Doyle
Record: 6-17-2Â
Players to watch: Aidan Patton, F; Isaac Oberting, F; Ty Higginbothm, F; Austin Groves, F; Ryan Murray, F; Jake Harrison, F; Evan Williams, D; Evan Seow, D; Aidan Bujnicki, D; Neilan Johnson, G
Outlook: Hotchkiss was a young team last season. That's not the case anymore. Doyle also brought in high-end players like Groves, Murray, Harriaon and Bujnicki. Holy Cross commit Connor Towle (Fairfield, Conn.) graduated, leaving the net open. But Johnson, who is on NHL Central Scouting's Preliminary Watch List, should give Hotchkiss a consistent advantage. The Bearcats should at least contend for postseason play.
Kent
Coach: Dale Reinhardt
Record: 13-11-2; lost to Belmont Hill in quarterfinals of Large School tournament
Players to watch: Jack Broderick, F; Will Schlechtweg, F; Lucas Husted-Edwards, F; Maddox Boyle, F; Aiden Grinshpun, F; Richard Shin, F; Keegan Sears, F; Noah Fitzsimons, F; Cal Gustafson, D; Dylan Mallgrave, D; Jason Segal, D; Jacob Ward, D
Outlook: Last season, Kent was my No. 10 squad in my first rankings, and the Lions narrowly squeaked into the Large School tournament. There is no question the Lions must prove they’re for real this time. Here’s why I feel like they will this year: legit prep talent that has a season at Kent under their belt. That should spell trouble for opponents.
Loomis Chaffee
Coach: John ZaviszaÂ
Record: 8-16-1Â
Players to watch: Will Watson, F; Giovanni Ferucci, F; Logan Ferrara, F; Owen Schwarz, F; Nikolai Bazalitski, F; Jack Daly, D; Max Hu, D; Markus Weber, GÂ
Outlook: Loomis is a year older and much deeper from last season. Associate head coach Paul Thompson expects Loomis to be able to roll four impactful lines. Daly and Hu will be key cogs on a defensive core that does have some youth and inexperience after them. Weber should be stout in net, giving Loomis an advantage. The goal: a hard team to play against that makes it to the playoffs. It's been since 2022-23 that the Pelicans made the postseason.
READ MORE:Â Our preseason boys top 10Â |Â Ranking the next 15 teams
Salisbury
Coach: Andrew Will
Record: 19-7-5; lost to Dexter Southfield in quarterfinals of Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Luca Desjardins, F; Caden Creech, F; Angus Proctor, F; Nate Burlock, F; Grayden Espenshade, F; Elliot Bibeau-Rivard, F; Landon Klein, F; Zach Gill, D; Tyler Roccas, D; Avery Tymus, D; Jack Mazzella, D; Elliott Watson, D; Jordan Rittenberg, G
Outlook: The Crimson Knights are always in the top 10, and were my No. 1 squad entering last season. They’re unproven up front, outstanding on defense and stout in net. Plus, they project to be bigger and much more physical. Salisbury always starts out a bit slow and the roster is full of new players who will need time to adjust. But once the post-Christmas hockey starts, expect Salisbury to be an Elite 8 team.
Taft
Coach: Ryan ShannonÂ
Record: 11-10-3Â
Players to watch: JT Rothstein, F; Domenico Clarizio, F; Dylan Chery, F; Joe Gannon, F; Carson Lowry, F; Henning Reinprecht, F; Brady Smith, D; Topher Jones, D; Thomas Hamilton, D; Cullen Tully, D; Logan Smith, D; Hunter Dryden, G; Charlie Rodrigue, G
Outlook: The Rhinos should be much improved from a year ago. Rothstein is a high-end playmaker committed to Harvard. Clarizio, Chery and Gannon have been high producers in the C.E.M. fall league. Shannon’s team boasts a deep core on defense, which should be led by Brady Smith. Dryden and Rodrigue were stellar in C.E.M. play this fall and will likely compete for the net throughout the season.
Trinity-Pawling
Coach: Robert FerrarisÂ
Record: 13-10-3; lost to Phillips Andover in quarterfinals of Large School tournamentÂ
Players to watch: Andrew Migliore, F; David Fridman, F; Brayden Reynolds, F; Chase Rose, F; Peter Nicoletta, D; Chase Laramee, D; Zach Martsching, D; Liam Joyce, GÂ
Outlook: It was a great year last winter for Trinity-Pawling. The Pride had one of the best top lines in the region. Only Migliore, who had 23 goals and 51 points, is back. Five of the top six scorers from last season have graduated. Joyce should give Trinity-Pawling an advantage. The '07 is a postgrad after being at Loomis Chaffee the last three seasons, getting valuable experience there.
READ MORE: 32 breakout forward candidates | 24 breakout defensemen candidates |13 breakout goalie candidates
Westminster
Coach: Tim JoncasÂ
Record: 15-11-2; lost to Phillips Andover in championship of Large School tournamentÂ
Players to watch: Timmy Donohue, F; Owen Burke, F; Will Derbyshire, F; Tyler Beaudoin, F; Gus McGarvey, F; Carson Craig, F; John Donohue, D; Michael Rossi, D; George Tsatas, D; Matteo Di Marzo, D; Caden Weichselbaumer, G
Outlook: The Martlets went on a run to the Large School tournament championship game last season. They fell victim to players leaving early for juniors, as star goalie Jack Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.) is with Sioux City in the USHL, and Colgate commit Tommy Coccaro (Fairfield, Conn.) is in the BCHL. Weichselbaumer, a sophomore, will get the promotion and will be the team's X-factor. Older teams tend to have success, and Westminster has 15 seniors. "Depth should be our friend," Westminster assistant Ben Harff said. "Expect to be better than last year, but depends on the jump some of our returners make."
