After a great regular season with a record of 28-3-1 and 14-0 in the Lakes Region, Kimball Union earned the No. 1 seed in the NEPSAC Stuart/Corkery (Open) bracket where they lost to eventual champion Salisbury, 2-1, in overtime in the semifinals.
How might things look this season for coach Tim Whitehead's team?
Team Overview
Kimball Union saw 11 seniors leave, including six Division 1 commits.
“I was really proud of last year’s team,” head coach Tim Whitehead said “But we lost those seniors and we do not have a ton of returning players. This is probably the youngest we have been since I have been here, but I think it is going to be a lot of fun and I like our guys.”
Key Returning Forwards
A key leader up front will be Jackson Kyrkostas. An ‘04 from Windham, New Hampshire, he's a right shot forward and RPI commit who has already been named one of the team’s captains. “A great kid, great student athlete, a great leader with a ton of upside”, said Whitehead. “Jackson was a top-six forward for us last year and our leading returning scorer.” Kyrkostas finished with 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points in 28 games.
Senior Mike Sullo, also an ‘04 from Freehold, New Jersey, will be counted on as well as Sullo is looking to move up to be a top-six forward this year. “Mike is a dynamic and fast forward who played on our third line last year and we think will really emerge as a top-six guy this year,” according to Whitehead. Sullo had 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points in 33 games last season.
Junior forward ‘05 Kyle Murray-Smith (South Strafford, Vt.) is looking to have a breakout season on the ice after already being pursued by several Division 1 lacrosse programs. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound power forward is considered a rising player and plays a physical game. He is a very good skater for his size and has a tremendous shot. He finished with two goals and 10 points in 30 games.
AJ Noel, a senior from Maynard, Mass., and the younger brother of 2020 graduate Andy Noel, who's now at Ferris State, will be looked upon for leadership in the locker room. Noel put up seven goals and 11 points in 33 games.
Key Returners on Defense
There could be some growing pains, as the top four defensemen all left, but coming back are seniors Tom Valentin-Lagarde, an ‘03 from France, Matej Svoboda, an ‘04 from Czechia, and junior Luke Clarner, an ‘05 from East Burke, Vt.
In the net is where Kimball Union should be strongest, as the Wildcats will be led by senior ‘05 Dan Heroux from Montreal, a Vermont commit. Heroux had a goals against average of 2.06 in 25 games along with a .930 save percentage. Backing him up will be Colby Boyce from Hartford, Vt., an ‘04 who has reclassified as a junior this season. Boyce has a GAA of 1.63 and .927 save percentage in 10 games.
Incoming Talent
Jack Sadowski, an ‘06 junior forward from Arlington, Mass., and a New Hampshire commit, will be “a real nice addition to the team," according to Whitehead. Another key new forward will be Sam LeDrew, an ‘05 from Stillwater, Nova Scotia, who was one of the top scorers for the Halifax McDonalds.
Also at forward is junior Malcolm Baar, an ‘06 from Ottawa who lives in Washington D.C., and played for Team Maryland. He is expected to have an immediate impact.
A key defenseman, also from the Halifax McDonalds, is Jack McMinn, an ‘06 left shot whom Whitehead describes as “a smooth skating offensive defenseman." Andrew O’Sullivan, an’ 06 who was born in Boston but spent several years in Mission Viejo, Calif., playing for the Anaheim Junior Ducks, returns to the East Coast. The sophomore comes from a big hockey family as his uncle, Chris O’Sullivan, played at BU from 1992-96 and the NHL, and father Tom played at Norwich. Whitehead describes O’Sullivan as “a strong, two-way defenseman with really good hockey sense and vision."
Ian Ramsay, an ‘06 left-shot defenseman from Belnan, Nova Scotia, rounds out the incoming defensemen. Ramsay is the younger brother of last year’s captain, Duncan Ramsay, who is a Vermont commit and is playing for the Chilliwack Chiefs this year.
The Wildcats will be young this year but there will be a lot of opportunities for guys to step up and lead.
“We know we have a bullseye on our back like every year, and a little bit of an underdog mentality and will have growing pains, because we are so young," said Whitehead. “But we will still play a competitive schedule and will look to our seniors who have already done a good job pulling the guys together, and track how we want to carry ourselves day to day.”
