There are few people that trust the process more than St. Sebastian’s School boys hockey coach Sean McCann.
Entering his 12th season at the helm of the Needham, Mass., prep school, which competes in the Keller Division of the ever-rigorous Independent School League, the process rarely has failed him.
Unlike many of the region’s perennial prep contenders that revamp every summer by bringing in top talent and upperclassmen transfers, McCann’s process is a bit different. Instead, the 48-year-old prefers sticking to the blueprint, investing more into players coming out of his own pipeline.
“I'm not saying we haven't added some sophomores and juniors, because we have, but it's more of having the opportunity or need,” McCann, a North York, Ont., native, said. “I don't go out there and watch sophomores at different schools and say, ‘Hey, I'm going to take a close look and bring you in.’ We want kids to come in for seventh, eighth and ninth (grade) and develop, and I think one of the reasons we've done well is families have realized this place is a family more than anything.”
The results of that bottom-up, family-oriented approach speak for themselves at St. Sebastian’s, as the Arrows have been consistent contenders on the New England prep scene each year since McCann’s arrival in 2009. In the past 10 years, they’ve been to the NEPSAC playoffs eight times.
“The environment we get at our games and all throughout the school is amazing because all these kids have been here for four to six years,” McCann added. “They really are a part of the fabric of the school. They’re not just coming here to do two years of hockey and then go off. They’re coming here to be part of this school. And at the same time, they're going to get a great hockey program. I think it makes my job easier, because these kids really want to play for each other. That culture we have here, we have to develop it as coaches, but it's always been really strong.”
Once the roster is set, McCann takes a fairly simple approach when it comes time to take the ice.
“At this level, I think the biggest thing is just teaching them,” he said. “I mean, we have systems we put in place, but the main focus is for them to have a better understanding of how to play and have a better feel for the game. That’s what I really think about, how you play together as a group. We have parameters and what we want to do as a team, but there's a lot of freedom and a lot of flexibility to explore, use their skill-sets and attempt to do things in different ways.”
Aside from individual skills work, McCann believes decision making is the most important area of growth within a prep player’s game. With the help of assistant coaches Jed Doherty and Corey Ronan, a former UConn forward and 2014 alumnus, it’s become the focal point of his coaching.
“We want you to have the puck, possess the puck and make plays all while understanding what you're being confronting with at that point,” McCann said. “All of those things, that as they develop, they start to learn and understand better, so I think a hockey IQ is the biggest thing.”
Since the inception of the program in 1976, St. Sebastian’s has won five league championships, as well as a pair or New England titles in 2001 and 2002, narrowly missing a threepeat in 2003.
St. Sebastian’s hockey alumni include current NHLers Brian Boyle (Florida Panthers) and Noah Hanifin (Calgary Flames); former NHL winger and now New Jersey Devils assistant coach Mike Grier; and current Northeastern sophomore defenseman Jayden Struble, a 2019 Montreal Canadiens second-round draft pick.
A look back, 2019-20: Return to Martin/Earl
It didn’t take long for the Arrows to show they were due for another strong campaign in 2019-20. Against a slew of ISL opponents, they got off to a 9-1 start after going 6-0 in the first two weeks.
They stumbled a bit coming out of the second half, dropping back-to-back games against Nobles and Belmont Hill, before going 6-3-1 in their next 10 games. With the regular season winding down, they dropped three in a row before ousting rival Thayer Academy in the season finale.
The Arrows finished the regular season with an 16-9-1 record, good for third in the Keller Division behind two Elite 8 contenders, Lawrence Academy and Nobles.
Due to its late-season skid, St. Sebastian’s didn’t qualify for the Elite 8 bracket as it did the year before. Instead, it was back in the Martin/Earl large-school tournament as the No. 4 seed. First up on the playoff docket? A familiar foe in a rematch of season finale, Thayer.
At home for the second straight meeting against the Tigers (the pair split the regular-season series), senior winger Connor Joyce (Boston College commit) got the Arrows started four minutes in with a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, fellow senior winger Liam Connors (Boston University commit) doubled the first period lead, one that St. Sebastian’s would not yield.
“It's hard to beat a really good team twice in a row, but I think our guys bought in to what we wanted to do, and we had some key performances by some of our older guys, guys that really propelled themselves,” McCann said. “They just pushed us in the right direction to really limit Thayer’s opportunities, really shut down their potent offensive attack, and we just capitalized on our opportunities. It was a great game. It was nice to see the way the guys played together.”
With the 2-0 win, the Arrows were off to the semifinals, matched up with top-seeded Cushing Academy, which was coming off an 8-3 thumping of Kent School in the quarterfinal round.
St. Sebastian’s vaulted ahead 1-0 early but the Penguins’ relentless attack was too much to handle, as Cushing beat the Arrows, 4-2, ending St. Seb’s bid for a large-school title.
“We jumped on them on the first shift and got that early lead, but they kept coming,” McCann said. “They had big, strong forwards and they kept coming and coming and coming. It was a great battle. I thought they edged us in play, but it was a great game all around.”
Although the run stopped short of the ultimate prize, it was yet another successful season for St. Sebastian’s in Needham. For the seniors, it marked the end of four years that saw the team make the playoffs each time. The defeat marked the end of the road for the veteran duo of Connors and Joyce, who finished the season with 41 and 33 points, respectively. At the end of their prep hockey careers, they are a testament to the success of McCann’s slow-grind development approach.
“Those two guys were great,” McCann said. “I’ve been very fortunate to have some outstanding leaders and talented players here and, again, I think it goes back to how we develop the players that play for us as freshmen. By the time they become seniors, they become the leaders and the captains of this team. They understand the culture and the way things are supposed to be done.”
Both Connors and Joyce are set to play a year in the BCHL before matriculating to Hockey East.
A look ahead, 2020-21: Trusting the process
With only seven seniors departing the group, the Arrows are primed to keep it rolling in 2020-21.
Last season, only two of their top five scorers were seniors. This season, an already-solid cast of young returners up front should only see a rise in production as they continue to climb the ladder.
Senior captain and last year’s leading goal scorer, Brendan Dumas (North Attleboro, Mass.) will be tasked with taking over the main offensive reins. Juniors Tim Delay (Hingham, Mass.; Boston College commit) and Brendan Gorman (Arlington, Mass.) will help Dumas fill the scoring void.
On defense, senior blueliner Thomas Messineo (Westwood, Mass.) will be St. Sebastian’s leader on the back end.
“He just had a phenomenal year,” McCann said. “He’ll be the other captain on our team. Last year I thought he was one of the best defensemen in the ISL for sure, if not all of prep hockey.
“All of these guys are developing and getting better, so I think they’re ready for the challenge. I think they’re ready to take control a bit more and fill the shoes of the guys that we've lost over the past couple years, which have been some great players. I think they're ready to play that ice time and take those minutes and kind of propel themselves and this team into a better situation.”
Due to the graduation of Luke Garrity and Christopher Cataldo, the Arrows are bringing in former Dexter Southfield goaltender Ryan Kazmouz (Nashua, N.H.).
“He knew a lot of kids here because he played with a bunch of them growing up,” McCann said, “so I think he felt comfortable with it. I'm excited to see where he can go. He's a smaller goalie but he’s very athletic, so it'll be a great opportunity for him to compete for ice time and make his statement of what he wants to do as a player and how he can help the team.”
The 2020-21 roster won’t be complete until final tryouts commence later this fall, McCann said. It’s all part of the cyclical blueprint he’s used, and will continue to use for years, to run his team.
Eleven years into his St. Sebastian’s career, it’s safe to say it’s worked out pretty well thus far.
“We’ll see where guys come in, but we have a really good group of ninth-graders that are going to push for ice time and for spots on this team,” McCann said. “I think the whole opportunity for them is going to be great. We’ll just have to see if they're ready to play at the varsity level and, if so, what kind of roles we’re willing to give them. We still have a really good core returning here and those are always the guys that every year I expect to take a step forward and be more prominent as players and, again, take the role that they're hoping for and run with it.”
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
