Before every season, a handful of teams always appear primed to break out.
Count Taft among that group entering 2026-27, especially after the Rhinos took a big step last winter.
After two straight sub-.500 seasons, Taft returned to the postseason as the No. 3 seed in the Large School tournament.
"There were definitely some games where I think some teams thought we were going to be an easier game, and our girls did a really good job of stepping up to the challenge," assistant coach Christopher Adamsons said. "Our compete level was unmatched, and it won us some games and kept us in a lot of close games."
It was a key experience for a roster with nine underclassmen. After graduating just four seniors and adding impact players to an emerging core, Taft has a big opportunity to build on its success from 2025-26.
Zoomed-out view
One factor that could've worked against Taft last season was the size of the roster. The Rhinos had just 14 healthy skaters.
"We had about two-and-a-half lines of forwards," Adamsons said. "That can make it really tough in prep hockey when you're competing against teams that have four very skilled lines."
But Taft more than made the most of it. After a 2-4-0 start to the season, the Rhinos got hot with a five-game winning streak to begin the new year, going 12-6-1 the rest of the way. They eventually fell to Choate in the Large School semifinals.
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"The unity of the group last year — kind of in a smaller rebuild — was amazing," Adamsons said. "It was a very family-like setting, and it wasn't transactional. The girls knew that they had a role on any given day, and their job was to fulfill that role for their teammates. ... I think a lot of that led to the success we had throughout last season."
The last few years
Before last season's playoff run, Taft had finishes of 8-12-3 and 9-14-1 the two prior years. Those followed a 14-10-3 mark and a run to the Large School title game in 2022-23.
The coach
Shannon Turner is entering her fourth season as coach at Taft, compiling a 31-36-5 record over the previous three campaigns. Turner previously coached at Greenwich Country Day and Trinity-Pawling.
During her playing days, the defender put up 24 points (four goals) in 64 games across two seasons with Colgate before posting 53 points (10 goals) in 73 games at Boston University. Turner helped the Terriers to the national championship game in 2013 in addition to Hockey East titles in 2013 and 2015. She then embarked on an eight-year professional career with the NWHL and PHF's Connecticut Whale.
Adamsons (Portland, Conn.) is entering his second season alongside Turner. After his prep career at Taft, he played Division 3 hockey at Connecticut College.
Who will the stars be?
The Rhinos are returning eight of their top-10 leading scorers.
"A lot of them being young just gave us hope for the future," Adamsons said. "We lost really good leadership and role players, but we also have another two or three years with some of these girls. So, it created a lot of excitement."
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Top among the list is junior forward Lindsey Kunzelmann (Avon, Conn.). The Connecticut Polar Bears standout broke out with 21 points (12 goals) in 25 games, after posting four points as a freshman.
There's also '10 sophomore Sophie Um, a 5-foot-9 forward, who made an immediate impact with 17 points (10 goals) as a freshman. Another forward expected to lead the way is '09 sophomore Selkie Brown. Brown was a standout at Greenwich Country Day in 2024-25 before arriving at Taft, and she had 13 points (eight goals) last winter.
"Those girls that did a lot of producing last year, they can play with anyone," Adamsons said. "Whether it's a grind line or a point line, they're going to be producing at both ends of the ice."
Defender Phoebe Weisman, who recently committed to Wesleyan, was one of the Rhinos' top producers last season, breaking out with 11 goals and 14 points. The senior gives Taft a legitimate scoring threat on the back end.
"You don't see that a whole lot in prep hockey," Adamsons said.
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Another key for Taft is the return of junior goalies Anousheh Mohebbi and Alex Tombaugh (New Haven, Conn.). Each saw plenty of action last season and provided quality minutes, as Mohebbi posted a .941 save percentage to Tombaugh's .914.
"We're rocking with two stud goalies that can both make an impact in every single game and will play at the collegiate level," Adamsons said. "If they can keep the puck out of our net, I can promise our team will put the puck in the other team's net more than enough. We're just looking for consistency."
Newcomers
The Rhinos made a pair of key additions to their blue line, bringing in former Frederick Gunn standout Raven Bennett (Morris, Conn.) as well as former MIAA standout Cam Katapodis (Halifax, Mass.).
Bennett, a '10 standing at 5-foot-8, broke out as a sophomore at Gunn last season. She was among the top-scoring defenders in prep with 24 points (13 goals) in 28 games. Bennett has been a longtime Mid Fairfield Stars teammate of sophomore defender Kami Moors (Simsbury, Conn.).
"Raven is a huge addition. She's a good-sized defenseman with speed and a great shot and has the ability to really control the pace of any shift."
Katapodis, meanwhile, was a top defender as an underclassman at Archbishop Williams. The '11 helped the Bishops reach the Division 1 state final. She reached USA Hockey's National 15 camp.
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"She has really good size and an awesome shot," Adamsons said. "She's a little more stay-at-home defenseman, but her presence on the ice, from what I've seen this fall, she has the mindset of just competing and winning. That's going to bring a real edge to practices and games."
Taft is also adding '11 forward Lauren Kim. The former Madison Capitals standout also made National 15 Camp.
"She's a smaller forward with good speed, footwork and an amazing shot, and I think she has some of that Midwestern grit that we don't really see a whole lot of around New England," Adamsons said. "It's going to make a huge impact against teams like Loomis, Berkshire and Choate."
Breakout candidates
Firmly among the list of potential breakout candidates is Moors. The '10 defender had 11 points (three goals) as a freshman, and could be in line to make a much bigger impact in all three zones, especially with the addition of Bennett.
"They've been playing together for a while, so even just seeing them over the summer as a D pair, you can tell their confidence together ignites the pace of the game," Adamsons said. "They completely trust in each other, so one has a little bit more freedom to pinch or make a play, knowing their partner has their back."
There's also '10 forward Sophia Locklear (Madison, Conn.), who had seven points (three goals) as a sophomore, following six points (four goals) the prior year. Locklear's blazing speed and ability to take advantage of open space in the attacking zone helped her stand out at the New England District festival in the spring.
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Another key forward to watch is sophomore Lillie TeVelde (Ellington, Conn.), who missed her freshman season due to injury. Adamsons believes she can be a "secret weapon" for the Rhinos.
"She has that chip on her shoulder," he said. "People saw the name last year, but didn't get to see the impact she's going to make."
The ceiling
New additions, coupled with a strong returning group, will round out a full lineup. Those alone raise the Rhinos' ceiling.
"We're really relying on our returners to lead the way, but seeing all the work they've done this fall with the newcomers, they've set up the team for success," Adamsons said. "A lot of it is just that we added depth."
Now that Taft has gotten a taste of what it takes to make noise in the postseason, the expectations have risen. The Rhinos should be a postseason contender once again, but will they compete for an Elite 8 spot?
"Ultimately, our goal this year is to capitalize on winning that championship," Adamsons said. "We fell just short, losing to Choate in the semis ... so we obviously know what it takes to reach that point."
