The first round of pre-Christmas holiday tournaments have come to a close around the region, and New England Hockey Journal went to the majority of the major events, including the Avon Old Farms 38th Annual Christmas Classic, 56th Annual Flood-Marr Hockey Tournament, St. Sebastian’s School Mutch Cup Hockey Tournament and 47th Annual Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament.
Kent School captured the Avon title with an overtime victory over the host Winged Beavers. Auburn, N.H. native Jordin Palmer played a strong two-way game against St. Paul's on the tournament's first day. Dexter Southfield ran the table against opposition at the Groton/Lawrence event, while Northwood School and Brunswick battled to a 2-2 tie that saw an undecided overtime period result in Northwood taking the shootout and the Mutch Cup.
The Flood-Marr co-hosts battled in a close game, but Nobles prevailed over Milton to capture the trophy by a 2-1 score. A late, sharp-angle goal by Roman Tacelli (Needham, Mass.) beat Milton goaltender Jake Cardonick with less than five minutes in regulation to break a 1-1 tie on goals from Ben MacDonald (Weston, Mass.) and Mikka Kelechian.
It was a lot to take in, but the players eligible for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft represent a solid class of value players who should interest teams in the middle-to-latter rounds. Players born Sep. 16, 2003, through Sep. 15, 2004, are able to be chosen in the NHL draft for the first time at the end of the season, while any player born in 2002 and 2003 is also eligible to be selected.
While this breakdown is not a comprehensive list of every player who is worthy of draft consideration, the focus is on several from each of the events with live viewings who are raising their draft stock or have put themselves on the radar after the heavy weekend slate of games.
We will return soon with a separate, focused post of NHL draft prospects who participated in the Flood-Marr tournament as a follow-up to the Avon, Lawrence/Groton, and Mutch Cup events.
Avon Christmas Classic
Summary: Attended Thursday’s slate of games, and the first three contests weren’t all that competitive, with Frederick Gunn, Kent and Avon all coming away with blowout victories with six or more goals scored for the winning team in each. Tabor Academy and Berkshire battled to a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime before the Seawolves prevailed in the shootout.
Brennan Ali
Avon, F, 2/9/04, left shot, 6-1/200
NCAA commit: Notre Dame
Chicago-area native looks and acts the part of a solid NHL draft prospect. He’s big with a thick, durable build. He skates well and backs defenders up with a long, powerful stride that he uses to attack the middle of the ice. He embraces the physical aspect, finishing hits and taking on opponents with open-ice contact. There isn’t an abundance of offensive skill that projects to a scoring role at the higher levels, but he’s a smart, reliable 200-foot player who can set up plays and brings potential for a solid role player who can have an extended pro career because of his habits and physicality.
Jordin Palmer (Auburn, N.H.)
Avon, D, 1/6/04, left shot, 6-1/175
Palmer’s size, skating and defense will give him a shot at being chosen by one of the NHL’s 32 teams, but he’ll be a dark horse option in the later rounds. He has a tall, lanky frame that provides him with the reach and mobility to hold his gaps and aggressively poke pucks off the sticks of onrushing forwards. There is not a great deal of puck skill or offensive upside with him at present, and that could lead to him being skipped in favor of other players who come in flashier packages. Palmer did find the back of the net early in the second period on a point shot with eyes that got through traffic. Here’s the thing, though: what Palmer does well, he excels at. He can skate pucks out of danger and beat an aggressive forecheck with his feet or good, efficient outlet passes. He places a priority on his physical, sound defensive play, and keeps things simple. He knows what he is, and provides a reliable presence on the back end. His puck game isn’t all that advanced, but he can play a lot of minutes in myriad situations. Expect a D-1 commitment at some point soon: teams win with players like Palmer.
Matt DiMarsico
Avon, F, 1/7/04, left shot, 6-0/180
NCAA commit: Penn. State
Pittsburgh native was a skilled scorer coming out of the Penguins Elite midget program and looked the part by using his speed and quick hands to gain the offensive zone cleanly. He’s slick and creative, able to find soft seams and can thread the needle pretty well. There are times when he looks like more flash over substance, and he needs to address the details in his game. However, when he turns the wheel and uses his quickness and offensive instincts to get to the net, he has the look of a future pro. The inconsistency will give teams pause, but he helped himself with a lot of NHL teams in attendance.
Jack Brandt
Tabor, F, 6/14/04, left shot, 5-11/170
Listed on Central Scouting’s preliminary watch list, the Ohio product has showed some crafty playmaking ability in fall play with the Neponset Valley River Rats and carried it over to start the prep season with the Seawolves. Like the others here, he’s not a sure draft bet but does bring the kind of vision, hockey IQ and scoring that will earn some positive reports from team evaluators. He showed some good chemistry with ’06 Josh Itri (Sandwich, Mass.) and currently leads the team in scoring. He’ll need to round out his game and show a more assertive presence over all 200 feet of the surface, but he showed some positive traits at Avon.
Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament
Summary: Observing Friday’s Dexter-Lawrence and Thayer-Cushing games, it was readily apparent that after some early missteps, Dan Donato’s Dexter team was out to make a statement. They pulled away from the Spartans in the second and third periods, earning a decisive 8-3 victory, with Grayson Badger (Hyde Park, Mass.) scoring twice, including a skill play where he turned a defender inside-out, then went bar-down to thrill the crowd in attendance. Cushing put a lot of pressure on Thayer, but goaltender Beau Lane held the fort well, helping the Tigers to overtime before Cushing broke through for the victory. Cameron Ferraz continued his strong play from the back end, scoring the game’s first goal and showing some assertiveness for the Penguins.
Grayson Badger
Dexter, F, 5/9/04, right shot, 6-1/185
NCAA commit: Northeastern
Tenacity and want-to is always in play with Badger, but he had the offense going on all cylinders in this one. His first goal of the game happened later in the second period by going hard to the net. He finished hits and was engaged in all three zones. His third period tally to close out the scoring put an exclamation point on Dexter’s dominance in this one, but also showed his pure athletic ability and grace to beat the defender 1-on-1, then roof a shot just under the crossbar. It was the kind of statement goal that a hard skill player like Badger needed to make.
Mason Kesselring (Center Barnstead, N.H.)
Cushing, F, 3/15/04, left shot, 6-3/180
Although still pretty raw, the Granite Stater has the physical tools to be a long-term pro and is off to a strong start offensively. He can really fire the puck, using his thick core and natural strength to rip shots at the net, but he’s also shown a deft passing touch and the vision to find teammates open for quality scoring opportunities. He’s strong along the walls, and protects the puck well. As he continues to fill out and add mass to his big frame, he will create 1-on-1 matchup nightmares for opposing defensemen. His small area game and quickness has room to improve, but he’s an intriguing player to watch. We can see gaining some draft traction if he continues his upward trend.
CJ Foley (Hanover, Mass.)
Thayer, D, 2/11/04, right shot, 5-11/165
NCAA commit: Holy Cross
Athletic defender likes to get up the ice and join the offense. He’s an excellent skater who can move pucks quickly and support the attack well, bringing a confidence and attacking mindset. He’s not the first name to come up when talking about locals for draft discussion, but each time we see him, he plays with the kind of requisite pace needed to make a positive impression. His defense is fine, and should only get better as he grows and gains experience. His lack of ideal size hurts him a bit as a prep player, but he showed well in this one.
Mick Frechette (Weston, Mass.)
Dexter, D, 10/27/03, left shot, 6-2/200
Rugged, defense-first type is a throwback who loves to play with physicality and force. He skates well, getting up to speed with power in his stride from a thick lower trunk. There’s not a lot of offense to his game, but he holds his gaps, uses an active stick and is tough to play against. As a late ’03, expecting to be drafted could be a bridge too far, but we’ve liked Frechette’s play going back to the fall with the Tier 1 national championship-bound Jr. Eagles 18 squad. He’s not overly instinctive, but when he plays within himself, opposing players need to account for him when he’s on the ice.
St. Sebastian’s Mutch Cup
Summary: Only caught two games here on Saturday, but they were good ones. Brunswick defeated host St. Sebastian’s in overtime on a goal by Sean Gibbons (Fairfield, Conn.). Hank Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) continued his impressive play going back to the fall, using his size and speed well, scoring one of the Bruins regulation goals. Michael Callow (South Boston, Mass.) is an NHL draft talent for sure; we’d like to see him address his play away from the puck when he isn’t scoring for the Arrows.  He had a quiet game against Brunswick. Northwood and St. Andrew’s College featured a matchup of strong teams, with goaltender Jan Korec (late ’04) whitewashing SAC, by a 2-0 score.
Matthew Morden
St. Andrew’s, D, 7/29/04, left shot, 6-4/200
NCAA commit: Harvard
Canadian two-way defender has a lot of raw NHL potential: big body, can skate and move well in all directions and has a refined puck game. He likes to join the rush and create offensive chances at the other end. While not a top-level defender at this stage of his development, he does use his footwork and agility plus long stick to gap up and keep opposing forwards to the outside. He’ll need to become more of a sound positional player at the next level and beyond, but he does the things you can’t teach and looks like a draft bet come July.
Luke Devlin
St. Andrew’s, F, 3/12/04, left shot, 6-3/185
NCAA commit: Cornell
Dual citizen is a power center who is the quintessential Big Red recruit with his combination of size, skating and power. Although not overly skilled to project as a scorer in the pro ranks, he looks like a solid bet to be taken in the NHL after the fourth round. He’s strong on his skates, rolls off of contact and does honest work in the dirty areas of the ice. SAC was shut out in this one, so we didn’t get to see him provide the kind of gritty offense that we’ve seen from him in the past by going to the net and finding ways to get to loose pucks, but he showed well here.
Hank Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.)
Brunswick, F, 12/25/03, left shot, 6-4/180
NCAA commit: Dartmouth
We’ve written about the Nutmeg State native multiple times, but Cleaves just keeps looking strong in our viewings. He got off on the right foot against St. Sebastian’s with a nifty pass in the first half, which showed off a creative side that we had not previously seen. He can rip pucks and skates well for one so tall. It’s his pace/effort that is really starting to bring him into legitimate consideration for the draft because he’s playing a classic power forward role.
Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, Conn.)
Brunswick, G, 6/15/04, catches left, 6-3/180
Solid, unspectacular game from another player we’ve had time for in past games. He was good enough to get the win in this one, and that matters: he used his size to block the net and made some athletic stops on the dangerous Arrows top line, forcing them to get scoring from secondary sources. Having said that, he was overly active and scambly at times, ending up on the ice and out of position. He wasn’t burned by it but needs to employ more economy of motion in his game to maximize his size/talent combination.
