HUDSON, N.H. — The Boston Junior Blues won the 2005 division at the Blue Line Elite Prep Cup that took place over the weekend in southern New Hampshire.
The Junior Blues, coached by Boston College junior forward Marc McLaughlin, captured the championship with wins over Boston Hockey Club and New England Crows in the semifinals and final, respectively, at Cyclones Arena.
The talent in the ’05 division was probably the deepest of any of the four age groups that were on display at the Prep Cup. There was a good contingent of prep school coaches, including Kimball Union’s Tim Whitehead and New Hampton’s Connor Gorman, in attendance to watch aspiring prep players compete.
Half of the teams in this division didn’t submit rosters, which is unfortunate when a major objective of this event was to showcase players in front of prep coaches. Players and their families are paying good money to play in these events and deserve to get recognized in the program. Hopefully, all coaches will be better about providing rosters going forward.
Dexter Southfield and Junior Eagles right wing Will Vote was the clear standout of the ’05 division. Below is a look at the 2005-born standouts at the 2020 Prep Cup. Teams listed are mostly 2020-21 full-season, but as mentioned, rosters were missing or not adequately filled out so 2019-20 full-season teams are listed for some players.
Prep Cup ’05 Division – Top prospects
Forwards
Will Vote
#27 New England Crows, Dexter Southfield, 2/22/05, right shot
Vote was the best player in the entire tournament, regardless of birth year. He was noticeable every shift due to his skating, skill, hockey sense and compete level. He had the puck a lot. He’s shifty and able to juke opposing defenders and get good looks at the net. His agility in small areas allows him to maintain possession and find open teammates once defenders are drawn to him. He has a hard shot and good hands to stickhandle. His vision and awareness of the ice are good. He’s on the right side of the puck more often than not and is steady away from the puck. It’s rare to find a player with his skill who works as hard as he does, but he keeps his feet moving, recovers pucks in hard areas, and engages in his own zone. Vote should get serious consideration for making the USA Hockey NTDP U-17 team in 2021-22.
Owen Leahy
#19 New England Crows, Bishop Hendricken, 2/11/05, left shot
This was one of the best viewings of Leahy, a player I’ve always liked. He’s a smart, cerebral forward who makes his linemates better. He does a lot of the little things, including backchecking and fighting for loose pucks in corners. He did a good job on the penalty kill a few times, even scoring a shorthanded goal on a nice backhand finish through the five hole.
Ryan Shaw
#16 Boston Junior Blues, Pope Francis, 1/29/05, left shot
Shaw was oftentimes overshadowed by linemate Ryan Leonard during the high school season with Pope Francis. However, he was able to display his skill and tenacity in this tournament. He has really good hands, and his agility allows him to succeed in small areas. He was strong on puck pursuit and scored a couple of key goals throughout the weekend.
Ryan Rutley
#17 Boston Junior Blues, Northwood, 7/15/05, right shot
Rutley is a dual citizen who previously played in Canada. He grew on me as the weekend moved along. He had the puck on his stick a lot, did a good job of protecting it, and played hard. He scored a nice goal in the final as he was being hauled down on a breakaway.
Joe DiMartino
#12 Boston Junior Blues, Boston Advantage, 5/16/05, right shot
DiMartino doesn’t always jump right off the ice at you when watching, but he consistently finds the back of the net. He scored a goal in every game I watched Saturday and Sunday. He has some power to his game and isn’t afraid to lower his shoulder and get to the scoring areas. He scored the overtime game-winner in the semifinals on an absolute laser of a wrist shot into the top corner of the net.
Eli Chilicki
#7 New Hampshire Knights, Minuteman Flames, 7/25/05, left shot
Chilicki is a player who is just starting to come into his own. He’s not overly big, but he competes and is hard to knock off pucks. He can score goals and he is able to impact the game positively without the puck as well.
Ben Jarosz
#5 Boston Hockey Club, Franklin, 1/1/05, right shot
Jarosz is another player who is developing nicely. He started the high school season on the JV team but moved his way up to varsity. He’s heavy on pucks and made quite a few good plays cycling below the dots. One sequence I noted was a good pass from below the goal line that turned into a goal for a linemate.
Jackson Burke
#40 New Hampshire Knights, Goffstown, 1/1/05, right shot
Burke is a goal scorer who protects pucks, drives the net and wins battles along the walls and below the dots.
Jimmy O’Keefe
#13 Boston Junior Blues, Cardigan Mountain, 1/13/05, left shot
O’Keefe was around the puck a lot and displayed good vision.
Andrew Gibbons
#9 New England Crows, St. Mark’s, 6/2/05, right shot
Gibbons is a goal scorer who shoots the puck hard and can cycle the puck below the dots.
Brett Stone
#11 New England Crows, Woburn, 2/1/05, left shot
Stone looks like he’s gotten a little bigger and quicker since I last saw him during the high school season. He was involved in the play and made a couple of nice passes over the course of the weekend.
Michael Ranaldi
#25 New Hampshire Knights, Seacoast Spartans, 7/27/05, left shot
Ranaldi is a power forward who wasn’t afraid to shoot it from anywhere. One of his hard shots from a nearly impossible angle found its way to the back of the net in the playoffs.
Henry Butte
#2 Boston Hockey Club, Seacoast Spartans, 3/23/05, left shot
Butte is a hard-nosed forward. He did a good job of cycling and creating offense in zone situations.
Colin Gorman
#10 Boston Hockey Club, St. Sebastian’s, 5/18/05, left shot
Gorman has good size and strength. He scored a nice goal on a two-on-one and had a couple of other pluses next to his name throughout the tournament.
Sam Neville
#16 New Hampshire Knights, New Hampshire Avalanche, 6/11/05, left shot
Neville is a physically mature winger who has the potential to develop into a power forward.
Brian Hall
#10 New England Crows, Providence HC, 4/16/05, right shot
Hall has a hard shot that found the back of the net a couple of times this past weekend.
Brennan Cail
#11 Boston Junior Blues, Connecticut Junior Huskies, 5/1/05, right shot
Cail is a big winger who was able to get time and space for his linemates by drawing defenders his way.
Davin Nichols
#44 New England Crows, Minuteman Flames, 1/8/05, left shot
Nichols was listed on his team’s line chart as a defenseman but played forward in all the action I watched. While he didn’t have the puck much, he delivered four or five of the biggest hits I saw in the tournament.
Adam Quinn
#22 New England Crows, Providence HC, 11/23/05, left shot
Quinn was around the puck a decent amount and scored a go-ahead goal late in the game during the playoffs.
Tedy O’Keefe
#14 Boston Junior Blues, Cardigan Mountain, 3/17/05, right shot
O’Keefe made a couple of good passes and is a player to watch.
Mark Anstiss
#42 New Hampshire Knights, East Coast Wizards, 4/13/05, right shot
Anstiss was another big power forward on Casey Kesselring’s squad.
Henry Trimpi
#27 New Hampshire Knights, Vermont Flames, 3/4/05, left shot
Trimpi looked to have some potential as a bigger forward with a knack for the puck and a nose for the net.
Defensemen
Tommy Rose
#4 Boston Junior Blues, Junior Bruins, 8/31/05, right shot
Rose was the best defenseman here. He gapped well and used his stick to defend on the rush and quickly transition back to offense. He’s a smooth skater who plays a mature game. He doesn’t get caught up ice and he picks his spots wisely when choosing to rush the puck. His breakout passes were all right on the tape of the wingers he was moving the puck to up ice.
Jackson Powers
#4 New England Crows, Woburn, 2/28/05, left shot
Powers was listed as a forward but played defense for most of the tournament. He’s a player who I’ve seen play both positions over the past 12 months. Powers is a smart, tough player, regardless of position. He knocked down opposing players and stood his ground, despite not being the biggest player on the ice. He uses his stick and makes life tough for opposing players.
Jake Freelove
#7 Boston Junior Blues, Winchendon, 1/4/05, right shot
Freelove is a confident, smooth skater who has a good stick.
Will Longfield
#23 New Hampshire Knights, St. Paul’s, 11/11/05, right shot
Longfield has some potential as a shutdown defender who can grind it out. He was big and athletic with above-average mobility.
Harrison Kinne
#6 Boston Junior Blues, St. Mary’s, 6/12/05, right shot
Kinne is an above-average skater with skill to make good outlet passes and run the point on the power play and other attacking-zone sequences.
Matt Cox
#46 New England Crows, BC High, 2/4/05, left shot
Cox is a big, rangy defender with upside. He’s still raw and his decision making is an issue at times. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his game take off over the coming years.
Nick Perniola
#5 Boston Junior Blues, BC High, 4/19/05, right shot
Perniola is skilled and is a good skater who isn’t afraid to push the pace.
Cam Caponigro
#5 New Hampshire Knights, Newburyport, 1/23/05, right shot
Caponigro was solid on breakouts and had a good active stick in the defensive zone.
Leo Owens
#15 Boston Hockey Club, Canton, 1/21/05, left shot
Owens jumped into the rush a few times and found the back of the net once during my viewing of Boston Hockey Club.
Goaltenders
Sam Scopa
#31 Boston Hockey Club, Belmont Hill, 1/10/05
Scopa kept his team in a couple of games this weekend. He’s got good size, moves well laterally, and did a good job preventing rebounds.
Ryan Nolan
#1 New Hampshire Knights, Boston Imperials, 8/17/05
Nolan is an athletic goaltender who challenges shooters. He made a couple of clutch saves.
Griffin Davis
#30 Boston Junior Blues, Minuteman Flames, 11/21/05
Davis has good size, eats pucks, and challenges shooters on top of the crease.
