Eleven players from New England were listed by NHL Central Scouting when the organization released its preliminary players to watch list on Tuesday.
Headlining the group were two ‘A’ rated players, NTDP forwards and Boston College commits Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) and Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.). Both Leonard, a right wing, and Smith, a center, are projected to be first-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The purpose of NHL Central Scouting is to give teams and fans an idea of who might be selected in the upcoming draft. The list is always excessively long, meaning a great number of players rated won’t hear their names called in Nashville next June.
Harvard led the way in terms of representation on the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List with eight recruits. Boston College was next with seven, including Smith and Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.). Boston University also had seven, but were all ‘C’ rated players, except one who was given limited viewing distinction. UMass and Northeastern both had five players make the grade.
The only local program with more than one current player listed was Mount Saint Charles. The Woonsocket, R.I., based program had two wings, Blake Montgomery and Chase Pirtle, get the honor. UConn, including ‘A’ rated prospect Matthew Wood, and Merrimack, with Mansfield, Mass., native Matt Copponi, were the only area colleges with a current player on the list.
New England Natives
‘A’ Rated
- Ryan Leonard, RW, Amherst, Mass./NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- William Smith, C, Lexington, Mass./NTDP U18 (Boston College)
‘C’ Rated
- Matt Copponi, C, Mansfield, Mass./Merrimack
- Donovan Frias, LW, Hudson, Mass./Cranbrook (Yale)
- Ethan Gardula, LW, Princeton, Mass./Cushing (UConn)
- Sean Keohane, D, Milton, Mass./Dexter Southfield (Harvard)
- Thomas Kiesewetter, G, Plymouth, Mass./Corpus Christi (Princeton)
- Will McDonough, RW, Sioux Falls (Harvard)
- Cam Russo, RW, Governor’s (Brown)
- Lucas St. Louis, D, Greenwich, Conn./Dubuque (Harvard)
- William Vote, RW, Arlington, Mass./NTDP U18 (Harvard)
New England Connections
‘A’ Rated
- Adam Fantilli, C, Michigan (Kimball Union alum)
- Michael Hrabal, G, Omaha (UMass)
- Matthew Wood, RW, UConn
‘B’ Rated
- Tanner Adams, RW, Tri-City (Providence)
- Drew Fortescue, D, NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- Aram Minnetian, D, NTDP U18 (Boston College)
- Bradley Nadeau, LW, Penticton (Maine)
‘C Rated’
- Aiden Celebrini, D, Brooks (Boston University)
- Dylan Compton, D, Vernon (Northeastern)
- Ryan Fine, C, NTDP U18 (Harvard)
- Kevin Fitzgerald, D, Sioux City (UConn)
- Jacob Fowler, G, Youngstown (South Kent alum) (Clarkson)
- Ethan Fredericks, RW, Des Moines (Northeastern)
- Salvatore Guzzo, RW, NTDP U18 (Harvard)
- Michael Hagens, D, Chicago (Mount Saint Charles alum) (Harvard)
- Dan Harkimo, RW, South Kent U18
- Jack Harvey, C, Chicago (Boston University)
- Daniel Heroux, G, Kimball Union (Vermont)
- Kai Janvirya, D, NTDP U18 (Boston University)
- Cameron Johnson, C, Chicago (Harvard)
- Larry Keenan, D, Culver (UMass)
- Jan Korec, G, Des Moines (Boston College)
- Giacomo Martino, LW, St. Michael's (Northeastern)
- Gavin McCarthy, D, Muskegon (Boston University)
- Blake Montgomery, LW, Mount Saint Charles U18
- Chris Pelosi, C, Janesville (Mount Saint Charles alum) (Quinnipiac)
- Chase Pirtle, RW, Mount Saint Charles U18 (Cornell)
- Ben Poitras, C, Sioux City (Salisbury alum) (Northeastern)
- Carter Richardson, G, Salmon Arm (Boston Hockey Academy alum)
- Brady Smith, D, Trail (UConn)
- Aydar Suniev, LW, Penticton (UMass)
- Brandon Svoboda, C, Youngstown (Boston University)
- Nathan Tobey, D, NTDP U18 (Quinnipiac)
- Nicholas Vantassell, RW, Green Bay (UMass)
Limited Viewing
- Michael Chambre, G, NTDP U18 (Boston University)
- Dylan Silverstein, G, (Dexter Southfield alum)
