Next week, USA Hockey Nationals begin.
Games start on April 2 and run to April 7. Throughout that time, the 15O division will compete in Fargo, N.D., while the 14U players battle for a national title in Plymouth, Mich.
Seacoast Performance Academy recently won the New England District (which excludes Massachusetts) playoffs, as it secured an automatic bid to nationals. The Neponset Valley River Rats won the 15O championship for Massachusetts in November.
The 14Us in both Massachusetts and the New England District both played their playoffs recently. The Jr. Eagles took home the hardware for Massachusetts, while Mount St. Charles proved to be the king of the New England District.
Various other teams earned at-large bids as well.
We already took a look at the players to watch in the 18U and 16U divisions. Let's dive into the 15O and 14U groups.
15O
The New England District and Massachusetts will be represented heavily at the 15O level.
Seacoast Performance Academy has had a very strong season, and it will have an advantage over some of the other teams at nationals because the Spartans are a full-season squad.
Leading the Spartans up front is Timothy Kazda, who has a whopping 49 goals and 78 points in 63 games. Along with him, other vital pieces of the offense have been Danick St. Pierre (North Hampton, N.H.), Garrit Turcotte (South Berwick, Maine), Blake Cash (Hampton Falls, N.H.), Sean Millen and Jackson Small. On defense, Sullivan Martin is an interesting prospect. At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Martin has nine goals and 41 points in 63 games. Simon Suranyi has also posted a great season with seven goals and 36 points.
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In net, Parker Stockseth and Filip Vavro both have save percentages north of .920.
The River Rats have intriguing prospects on its roster, too. Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Chase Field (Centerville, Mass.) were both big producers back in the fall. MacPherson is coming off a 30-point season as a freshman with St. Mark's. Field spent the winter with Barnstable (Mass.) High School. He led the team in points with 25. Michael Federico is also an interesting prospect. The Hanover, Mass., native made the move to Thayer this winter, posting eight goals and 15 points in 28 games. Alex Theodore, another River Rats forward, had 11 goals and 17 points for Phillips Andover this winter. Also keep an eye on Timothy Donohue (North Haven, Conn.) and Stephen Rousell (Norwood, Mass.).
On defense, Kris Soja (Ludlow, Mass.) is the big name to know. He's dynamic, can jump into the offense at any time and just finished up his freshman season playing big minutes for Nobles. Tommy Broderick (Norwood, Mass.), who plays at Dexter Southfield, brings a lot of physicality. Vincenzo D'Urso (Andover, Mass.) and Cody Hew are both 5-foot-9 in net, but can get the job done.
It's no surprise that Mount St. Charles, the Boston Jr. Eagles and Mid Fairfield scored at-large bids. All three teams sent players to U.S. NTDP's Evaluation Camp.
Mount has some heavy-hitters on offense. Jamie Glance (West Newbury, Mass.) and Will Bent (Dover, Mass.) both went to Plymouth, Mich., for evaluation camp. Both are having outstanding seasons. Glance hit 50 goals and 100 points, while Bent ranks behind him with 45 and 79. Other standouts have been Easton Walos, Matthew Krayer (Concord, Mass.), Nico Ciardiello (Guilford, Conn.) and Chance Adams.
Luke Schairer is the undisputed leader on defense. At 6-foot-3, the two-way force has six goals and 32 points in 44 games this season, earning a spot at Evaluation Camp. Gavin Callahan (Lexington, Mass.) has also been a strong presence on the back end. In net, both Carson Mertz (Coventry, R.I.) and Max Broduer have had terrific seasons.
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The Boston Jr. Eagles also boast a team full of prospects. Forwards Spencer Thornborough (Boxford, Mass.) and David Bosco (Winchester, Mass.) both got invited to evaluation camp. Thornborough won a gold medal with Team USA at the Winter Youth Olympics, while Bosco was a force for Belmont Hill, posting 18 goals and 37 points in 31 games. Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.) is another top prospect, coming off a 30-point season for Dexter Southfield. Some other interesting names to keep an eye on are Ty Hymovitz (Needham, Mass.), Luke Allen and Andrew Giguere (Georgetown, Mass.).
On defense, Brady Sloper (North Andover, Mass.) is fresh off playing a big role for Belmont Hill, while Gavin Holland, Lance Toland (Burlington, Mass.) and Nolan Nassar (North Andover, Mass.) will all be vital for their team in North Dakota. Thomas Saulnier (Medfield, Mass.) holds down the net.
For the Mid Fairfield Rangers, Jacoby Weiner (Riverside, Conn.) is the name to know. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound netminder was at Evaluation Camp. He catches with his right hand and could be a massive X-factor for the Rangers in this tournament. On defense, Oskar Drabczynski has high upside. So, too, does forward Joseph Salandra.
14U
The Boston Jr. Eagles and Mount St. Charles enter as champions of their respective districts. Both boast rosters full of players you will hear quite a bit about in the next few years.
The Jr. Eagles, a split-season team, are led by forwards Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.), Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.) and Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.). All three spent the winter succeeding at playing up a few weight classes at Rivers. Meyer led the team in points with 39, while Sears ranked third with 34 and Pandolfo tallied 25. Chase Warsofsky (Northborough, Mass.) is fresh off a strong winter with St. John's Shrewsbury. Both Keith Olympia (Sudbury, Mass.) and Joseph Covelluzzi (Wakefield, Mass.) are intriguing prospects as well.
On defense, Jacoby Palmer has high upside. I caught a fair amount of Colin Yandle (Dorchester, Mass.) at Catholic Memorial, JP Montgomery at Winchester High and Eben Alden (Dover, Mass.) at Rivers throughout the winter. All three made big strides in their game playing against older competition. In net is Justin Lee (Newton, Mass.) and Daryn Szabo.
Mount St. Charles, however, is a full-season squad. The Saints have forward Rocco Pelosi, who has dominated this winter. The Sewell, N.J., native has 80 goals and 153 points in 58 games this season. Along with Pelosi, Braiden Scuderi has been a huge producer with 51 goals and 123 points. Paulo Gualberto (Mendon, Mass.) and Stephen Cover have also been standouts this season. Gualberto has 94 points, while Cover has 89.
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Maksim Yakub has been a force on defense with 12 goals and 69 points, while Brody Berard (Cumberland, R.I.) and Caleb Adams have high upside, too, with 43 points. In net, Nate Chizik and Quinn Beumer have been outstanding with GAAs below 2.00 and save percentages over .915.
On Mid Fairfield, some names to watch are forwards Ryan Kaczynski and Braydon Sisco, as well as defenders Cam Minella and Ethan Hung.
