Just over two dozen players from New England competed in the United States Hockey League during the 2019-20 season.
The USHL is far and away the best league when it comes to preparing players for college hockey. It also has become one of the top feeders for the NHL. At the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, 52 active players from the USHL were selected, while a handful more were on league affiliate lists or previously had played in the league.
While New England represents a very small percentage of players on USHL rosters, some of the top players in the league this past season hailed from the region. Below is a look at the top 25 players from New England who competed in the 2019-20 USHL season:
New England’s top USHL players
Sam Colangelo
Chicago Steel, 12/26/01, RW, right shot, 6-2/205
NCAA commit: Northeastern
Colangelo finished third in the USHL in goals with 28 and third in points with 58 in 2019-20, his first full season of junior hockey. The Stoneham, Mass., native and Lawrence Academy alum is a sharpshooter who sees the ice well. He was ranked by NHL Central Scouting as the 31st-best North American skater for the 2020 NHL draft.
Sean Farrell
Chicago Steel, 11/2/01, LW, left shot, 5-9/155
NCAA commit: Harvard
As a late ’01, Farrell played this season in Chicago after spending the previous two with USA Hockey’s NTDP. He had 15 goals and 41 assists in 44 games. The Hopkinton, Mass., native is a gifted playmaker who sees the ice well and has the skill to thread the needle on passes. Prior to his time with the NTDP, he played for Carl Corazzini at St. Mark’s.
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine
Chicago Steel, 9/16/00, LW, left shot, 5-9/174
NCAA commit: Northeastern
Fontaine is a little undersized so he often gets overlooked. However, he keeps producing and had a terrific final season in the USHL. The East Greenwich, R.I., native potted 26 goals and 31 assists in 45 games. He finished his USHL career with 100 points in 105 games. Fontaine is very good at creating offense on the rush. The Lawrence Academy alum will join his sister, Skylar, as a student-athlete for the Huskies in the fall.
Braden Doyle
Dubuque Fighting Saints, 8/24/01, D, left shot, 5-11/167
NCAA commit: Boston University
NHL rights: LA Kings (2019, 6th round, 157th overall)
Only five defensemen had more points in the USHL than Doyle did in his first season of junior hockey. The BU commit and Los Angeles Kings prospect had seven goals and 25 assists in 48 games for Dubuque. Another Lawrence Academy alum, Doyle proved his vision and puck skills were good enough to make a big impact in junior hockey. The Lynnfield, Mass., native will be joining the Terriers in the fall.
Ben Meehan
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 4/20/01, D, left shot, 6-0/178
NCAA commit: UMass Lowell
Meehan had his one and only season in the USHL cut short due to an injury. In 25 games, the Walpole, Mass., native had eight goals and 10 assists. Never known for his offensive prowess while at Dexter Southfield, Meehan turned heads in his limited time in the USHL, including scoring a hat trick in one early season game. Even away from the puck, he proved he can play hard and with a good stick, as he did in prep hockey. He’ll follow in his father’s footsteps by heading to play college hockey for the River Hawks in the fall.
Mackie Samoskevich
Chicago Steel, 11/15/02, RW, right shot, 5-10/168
NCAA commit: Michigan
Samoskevich was a little overshadowed by all the productive forwards ahead of him on the Steel depth chart, but he put together a great first USHL season. The Shattuck-St. Mary’s product had 13 goals and 21 assists in 47 games. Hailing from Newtown, Conn., Samoskevich uses his elite speed to beat defenders wide. A late ’02, he’ll be back with the Steel and will be on NHL scouts’ radars ahead of the 2021 draft.
Nick Capone
Tri-City Storm, 12/17/01, RW, right shot, 6-2/210
NCAA commit: Connecticut
After a somewhat slow start, Capone began to increase his production in his first full year in the USHL. The Salisbury product and East Haven, Conn., native had seven goals and 12 assists in 34 games for the Storm. The big winger provides a physical presence, racking up 96 penalty minutes. Formerly committed to Maine, he’s slated to join the Huskies this fall.
Timmy Lovell
Des Moines Buccaneers, 2/8/02, D, left shot, 5-5/124
NCAA commit: Boston College
In 31 games in the USHL this season, Lovell had five goals and 12 assists. On the smaller side, the Hingham, Mass., native checks boxes for his skill, vision and skating. While he’s still a work in progress defensively, he should be a weapon for the Eagles while on the power play and transitioning from defense to offense. A former Ohio State commit, Lovell is a product of the Boston Advantage youth organization.
Joseph Dunlap
Fargo Force, 11/30/99, C/RW, right shot, 6-0/176
NCAA commit: Ohio State
Dunlap had 11 goals and 17 assists in 48 games this season, his first with the Force after spending last season with the now-defunct Central Illinois Flying Aces. The Windham, N.H., native and New Hampton alum switched his commitment from Holy Cross to the Buckeyes.
Brian Carrabes
Sioux City Musketeers, 8/1/01, RW, right shot, 5-8/155
NCAA commit: Boston University
Carrabes scored eight goals and added 19 assists in 42 games with Sioux Falls before being traded to Sioux City for the final four games of the season. The North Andover, Mass., native always has been a speedy, skilled player, but he exceeded expectations in his first year of junior hockey. Prior to the USHL, Carrabes played at St. John’s Prep and Kimball Union.
Jack Williams
Muskegon Lumberjacks, 3/2/02, RW, right shot, 5-11/160
NCAA commit: Northeastern
Williams had a couple of bumps in the road during his first full season of junior hockey. The power forward had six goals and seven assists in 44 games. The Biddeford, Maine, native likely will have a more productive 2020-21 before joining Northeastern the following fall. He played Midget hockey for South Kent Selects Academy.
Jayson Dobay
Youngstown Phantoms, 7/27/99, D, left shot, 5-11/160
Dobay, from Weymouth, Mass., is the best uncommitted USHL player from the region. The former BC High and Thayer star had six goals and 16 assists in 48 games for the Phantoms. He’s aging out of junior hockey so he’ll be playing college hockey somewhere in the fall. He previously was committed to UMass but now is on the open market. Whatever school lands him will receive an offensive defenseman with a hard shot and 104 games of USHL experience.
Derek Mullahy
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 3/20/01, G, catches left, 6-0/178
NCAA commit: Harvard
Mullahy went 10-13-3-1 in 30 appearances this winter for Mark Carlson’s team. The Scituate, Mass., native and Dexter Southfield alum posted an .896 save percentage during his first year of junior hockey. Mullahy, who previously played for Shattuck-St. Mary’s, will be matriculating to Harvard in the fall.
Alex Gagne
Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, 8/26/02, D, left shot, 6-3/196
NCAA commit: New Hampshire
Gagne had a quick rise from little-known prospect to being on some NHL scouts’ radars back in the summer and beginning of the season. In 38 games, he had two goals and six assists. There is upside for the big blueliner from Bedford, N.H.
Garrett Sundquist
Cedar Rapids Rough Riders, 7/17/01, D, left shot, 6-3/220
Sundquist, a South Kent Selects Academy product, had a goal and five assists from the blue line in his first season of junior hockey. The South Glastonbury, Conn., native is a big defenseman who exceeded expectations by making the team and proving he belonged after not getting drafted last May. He's committed to Providence, where his father, Erik Sundquist, played.
Ian Murphy
Tri-City Storm, 4/6/99, LW, right shot, 6-0/180
NCAA commit: Princeton
Murphy just finished his second and final season of junior hockey with Tri-City. In 40 games, he had four goals and five assists. From Scituate, Mass., Murphy is a good story of perseverance. Originally committed to Division 3 Williams College, he opted to play in the USHL in pursuit of a Division 1 offer. His skating impressed Princeton’s coaches, who offered him a commit last season. Prior to the USHL, Murphy was a standout performer at BC High and Dexter Southfield.
Linden Alger
Youngstown Phantoms, 4/9/00, D, left shot, 6-3/193
NCAA commit: UMass
After a couple of seasons with the USPHL’s Boston Bandits, Alger made the jump to the USHL. In 48 games, he had two goals and four assists. The Centerville, Mass., native earned a commit to UMass with his performance this past season. His father is Rich Alger, a former player at BU who is now an amateur scout for the Washington Capitals.
Liam Devlin
Chicago Steel, 1/7/01, C/LW, left shot, 5-11/181
NCAA commit: New Hampshire
Devlin, a St. Sebastian’s product, had six goals and two assists in 36 games for the Steel. The undersized winger always impresses with his ability to keep his feet moving. From Needham, Mass., he’ll end up playing college hockey for the Wildcats.
Caleb Price
Youngstown Phantoms, 4/4/00, D, left shot, 5-8/155
NCAA commit: Arizona State
Price has played with four different organizations during his two seasons in the USHL. In 2019-20, he had two goals and four assists in 42 combined games split between the Lincoln Stars and Youngstown Phantoms. Price is a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who hails from Hooksett, N.H. Prior to the USHL, he played for the USPHL’s Northern Cyclones.
Kyle Haskins
Waterloo Black Hawks, 2/16/00, C, left shot, 5-10/180
NCAA commit: Michigan State
Haskins just finished his second season in the USHL, both with Waterloo. In 48 games this season, he had 11 goals and seven assists. From Huntington, Vt., Haskins played previously at South Kent Selects Academy.
Jake Dunlap
Fargo Force, 12/5/01, C/LW, left shot, 5-9/175
NCAA commit: UMass
Dunlap spent the first 28 games of the season with Janesville in the NAHL but made his way up to Fargo for the final 12 contests. He had a goal and two assists during that 12-game stint in the USHL. From Windham, N.H., Dunlap played last season for New Hampton.
Harry Roy
Des Moines Buccaneers, 1/17/00, RW/C, right shot, 6-0/170
NCAA commit: Boston College
Roy spent three seasons in the USHL with four different organizations. In 2019-20, he had five goals and six assists in 29 games between Des Moines and Muskegon. The Lakeville, Mass., native brings length, skating and intriguing physical tools to BC. Roy is a product of Loomis Chaffee.
Cameron Boudreau
Sioux Falls Stampede, 11/27/99, D, left shot, 6-1/185
After playing 17 games for Quinnipiac during the second half of the 2018-19 season, Boudreau left the school halfway through this season. In 29 games with the Stampede, he had a goal and two assists. The Salem, N.H., native played prep hockey with Governor’s and junior hockey with the Junior Bruins before heading to QU. He won’t be eligible until January, but he’ll likely be picked up by another Division 1 program.
Stephen Davis
Madison Capitols, 1/9/02, D, right shot, 5-11/208
NCAA commit: Boston College
After playing Midget hockey for the Boston Advantage, Davis went out to Madison for the 2019-20 season. In 45 games, he had a goal and six assists. The Hingham, Mass., native has a physical presence to his game that he’ll bring to BC.
Robert Cronin
Dubuque Fighting Saints, 8/3/00, C/RW, right shot, 5-10/185
NCAA commit: New Hampshire
Cronin earned his commitment to UNH during the 2018-19 while with Gunnery. After graduating, the Plymouth, Mass., native made his way to the USHL for this season. It took him some time to adjust, but he finished with two goals and six assists in 44 games.
