Another prep season is upon us. Can Salisbury and Kimball Union be dethroned? Salisbury and Kimball Union have won every NEPSAC Elite 8 trophy handed out since 2017. The two powerhouses have won eight of the last 10 prep school championships.
Only Frederick Gunn (2016) and Lawrence (2012) have been able to keep Salisbury and Kimball Union from winning it all over the last decade. Can another school jump up and knock off the behemoths of the sport or will the two familiar schools keep their stranglehold on the rest of prep hockey?
Two-time defending champion Salisbury doesn’t have the high-end talent it has possessed in past years, but it’s tough to argue against a team coached by Andrew Will, whose resume is unmatched.
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I’ve watched a number of preseason scrimmages and have come up with my preseason top 10, based on that and viewings of players throughout the years and teams from recent history.
1. Salisbury
As mentioned above, Salisbury is king until proven otherwise. Defense wins championships and Salisbury starts the year with three Division 1 commits patrolling the blue line and two more forecasted to join them in the future. Newcomer Hudson Gorski, a Cornell recruit, gives Salisbury a legit No. 1 defenseman.
Will has proven to be the best coach in prep school hockey with an argument to be made for Kimball Union’s Tim Whitehead. Even at the Berkshire Jamboree, it’s easy to tell why Will has garnered so much respect. His teams play with structure and discipline. Habits are ingrained early in the season and his teams typically peak at the right time.
Why won’t Salisbury win it all? This version of the Crimson Knights isn't as talented as previous renditions. Outside of young ’07 forward Liam Kilfoil, Salisbury is missing a true superstar or a handful of older, committed forwards. Replacing Northeastern commits Dylan Hryckowian and Ben Poitras will be no easy task. The goaltending is also a question mark.
2. Cushing
There won’t be many nights where the Penguins will get off the bus, enter the rink and not have the more talented roster. It probably won’t happen. That’s a lot of pressure on second-year head coach Paul Pearl (Wakefield, Mass.).
Led up front by wings Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.) and Landan Resendes (Hudson, Mass.), the Penguins have a ton of firepower. Daniel Markevych, Linas Dedinas, Emerson Marshall, and AJ Sacco (Middleton, Mass.) are some of the secondary scoring options.
The defense is solid, with New Hampshire commit Ryan Philbrick (Concord, N.H.) and Zach Rizzo the names to watch. Goaltender Cooper Rautenstrauch is a newcomer from the Buffalo Junior Sabres. He has some big skates to fill with Jackson Irving (Newbury, Mass.) departing for the USHL.
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On paper, Cushing should run away with the championship. Pearl is a good coach in his own right and will have this team looking toward the ultimate trophy, but I’ll start the boys in purple in second.
3. Avon Old Farms
Fielding talented teams has never been John Gardner’s problem. Winning when it counts has eluded his program over the past decade. Will this year be different?
Northeastern commit Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.) and ’07 sniper Mikey Munroe (Hanover, Mass.) give the Winged Beavers plenty of firepower up front. To start the year, they’ll flank senior center Charlie Gollob, who is a true leader who gets the most out of his ability.
The blue line is a little thin but is led by Jordin Palmer (Auburn, N.H.) and Yale commit Hudson Miller. The goaltending duties fall upon first-year senior Stephen Peck, who comes in well-regarded.
4. Kimball Union
The Wildcats have shared much of the time atop the throne with Salisbury over the past decade. Under Whitehead, Kimball Union and winning have become synonymous. One significant difference between this year’s team and many of the ones that came before it is the youth.
There are a lot of young players who will be counted upon heavily, including defenseman Andrew O’Sullivan (Norwell, Mass.) and New Hampshire commit and left wing Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.). There aren’t a lot of veterans on the team, but '04 forward Jackson Kyrkostas (Windham, N.H.) and '05 goaltender Daniel Heroux are two of them. Committed to RPI and Vermont, respectively, they’ll be keys to the team’s success.
It will be fun to watch the youthful players on this team mature as the season progresses. Talent-wise, there’s no shortage of it in Meriden, but whether or not the team is old enough to compete with the top three teams is up for debate.
5. Nobles
It’s been said a number of times that defense and goaltending wins championships. I’m not convinced Nobles will win the Elite 8, but Brian Day’s club has the necessary ingredients to win a lot of games.
Sophomore Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline, Mass.) gives the Bulldogs one of the best goaltenders in prep hockey and junior backup Tyler Bloomfield (Hudson, Mass.) is more than capable of winning games.
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The defense doesn’t have star-studded names, but it’s a veteran group with size. Will Brophy (Worcester, Mass.), Matt Tully (Foxboro, Mass.) and Brian Grant (Mansfield, Mass.), all '04s, fit the bill on the blue line.
Up front, Nobles has a lot of good young prospects who are future Division 1 players, including Billy and Teddy MacAusland (Weston, Mass.) who came over from Dexter Southfield. The only real veteran forward of note is Austin Tasca (Hope, R.I.).
6. Dexter Southfield
Dexter Southfield is another team with a solid blue line that will have to lead the way for Danny Donato, who is a good coach in his own right. This version of Dexter Southfield will look significantly different and will rely on defense and a blue-collar mentality. Donato’s team graduated a lot of talented forwards and he’s sought to bring in a grittier group.
The defense is headed by Harvard commit and the top 2023 NHL draft prospect in prep hockey, Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.). Jonathan Lanza (Winthrop, Mass.) and Liam O’Keeffe (Boston, Mass.) are committed to Yale and Holy Cross, respectively. Co-captain Mick Frechette will be one of the better '03s and will round out the top four. The last line of defense will be new goaltender Paul Dalessio (Burlington, Mass.) who comes to the school after winning a USA Hockey National Championship at Bishop Kearney Selects.
Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) and Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) will be counted on to step up and increase their production from a year ago. Connor Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.) is a gritty leader who brings plenty of intangibles to the forward group.
7. Holderness
The Bulls shocked the prep school world by going 20-4-3 and earning an Elite 8 bid. Three of the four losses came against Kimball Union, including in the Lakes Region final and Elite 8 quarterfinals.
Alan Thompson has brought in another talented recruiting class, including Vermont commit Caeden Herrington on defense. Senior left wing Max Charbonneau and goaltender Evan Plunkett will be key players with prep experience.
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There’s no sugarcoating it. Outside of KUA, the Bulls won’t have as difficult of a schedule as many other Elite 8 contenders. Still, this is a good group with depth that should make a run for a second straight trip to the big dance.
8. Brunswick
The Bruins have become very respectable over the past few years under the leadership of Mike Kennedy and Ron VanBelle. This year’s team will be no different with plenty of talented players donning the brown sweaters.
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The top two lines will be the drivers for Brunswick. Led by Drew DellaSalla and Eli Friedman, the offense will have to be the catalyst for the Bruins. The defense will be young and lack the depth needed to make a true run. A couple of solid goaltenders, Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, Conn.) and Will Baker (Norwalk, Conn.) will help bail out the defense on some nights.
9. Kent
Losing as much offensive firepower as Kent did is tough to replace. Dale Reinhardt and his staff have done a great job of recruiting over the years and the cupboard is certainly not bare, but there will be some bumps in the road.
The team’s superstar is defenseman Alex Bales, who is committed to Providence. He, Jacob Ingstrup, Teddy Mallgrave, Denver Damphousse, and Braden Pohlman make up a solid nucleus on the blue line. The goaltending duo of captain Harrison Fogel and Aidan Hopewell is one of the better ones in prep hockey.
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Juniors Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington, Vt.) and Patrick Walsh will provide much of the spark up front. One youngster, '07 Stefano Pietrantonio, will jump right into the top six.
10. Belmont Hill
Last year’s Elite 8 runner-up Belmont Hill lost a lot of big-time players, including most importantly goaltender Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.), who left early for the USHL. Also gone are Northeastern commit and Columbus Blue Jackets pick James Fisher (Wilmington, Mass.) and NTDP forward Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.).
This year’s team won’t be as talented by any means, but Brian Phinney has proven to be a great coach. He’ll get the most out of this group. He learned from Will at Salisbury and it shows with Belmont Hill’s commitment to team defense and habits.
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Keagin Wilson (Hingham, Mass.) and JJ Thibodeau (Waltham, Mass.) are good young goaltenders, but can they hold up to the barrage they’ll face from the top prep teams? Harvard commit Matthew Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.) leads the way on the blue line. Up front, Yale commit Ronan O’Donnell (Fairfield, Conn.) is the driver.
Potential sleeper
Holderness was the team that popped up out of nowhere and made the Elite 8 tournament last winter. Even Belmont Hill’s success was somewhat of a surprise, given the school’s recent struggles before Phinney took over for Jeremiah McCarthy.
Who could jump up and make the Elite 8 field in 2022-23?
My sleeper is Phillips Andover, coached by Paul Tortorella. The Big Blue has three solid defensemen, Robert Corkery (Providence, R.I.), Rory Booth and Colby commit Bobby Falvey (Hingham, Mass.). Senior Joey Zheng and Nolan Roche (Duxbury, Mass.) provide some senior leadership up front. One of the best young players in prep hockey is '07 Grayden Robertson-Palmer. The two goaltenders are lesser-known names to prep hockey, but not short on talent. Ben Skowronek and Chase Anderson (Marblehead, Mass.) are capable of stealing some games.
I think the Big Blue end up on the outside looking in but don’t be surprised if Tortorella’s squad makes a run in the Large School Tournament.
