Finding good goaltenders is one of the biggest challenges for college coaches and NHL scouts. There are fewer players at the position than their counterparts on forward and defense, and it's tough to project goaltenders, due to varying levels of competition and teams protecting the final layer of defense.
New England has had its fair share of elite goaltenders over the years, including Boston College sophomore Spencer Knight (Darien, Conn.), who was the starter for the gold-medal-winning Americans at the recent World Junior Championship. When USA Hockey tries to defend its top billing in 2022, Boston University freshman Drew Commesso (Norwell, Mass.) almost certainly will get the nod.
Tom Barrasso (Stow, Mass.), Brian Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.), Jim Carey (Dorchester, Mass.), Garth Snow (Wrentham, Mass.), Rick DiPietro (Winthrop, Mass.), Jonathan Quick (Milford, Conn.) and Cory Schneider (Marblehead, Mass.) are other local products who stand out in my mind as notable goaltenders to make it to the NHL over the past few decades.
While it’s likely that New England’s three-year run of having the starting goaltender for USA Hockey at world juniors will come to an end after Commesso in 2022, there are some solid prospects coming up the road. The most likely candidate to be the next New Englander to start for USA Hockey at world juniors is ’06 Ryder Shea (Framingham, Mass.) of the Minuteman Flames. While Shea is too young yet to be contacted by college coaches, he shows clear signs of being an elite goaltender.
Below is a look at the top five uncommitted goaltenders from New England, who are eligible as sophomores or older to be recruited by college programs. Following, we’ll take a peak at a few uncommitted goaltenders from elsewhere who are playing inside the region:
New England’s top five uncommitted goaltenders
1. Mason Kucenski
Vermont Academy, 4/8/02, catches left, 6-3/160
Kucenski, from Gill, Mass., has been on my radar since his time with the Junior Bruins 16-U. He spent last season at Vermont Academy and played this fall with the Springfield Rifles 18-U. Kucenski has good size, stays quiet in the net and makes saves look easy. In almost every game you watch Kucenski plays, he makes two or three game-altering saves. Additionally, he is a good puck-handler and can help start the breakout. Another thing I like about Kucenski is he has proven himself on teams that aren’t the strongest in front of him.
2. Jackson Irving
Cushing, 2/3/04, catches left, 6-0/160
Irving is a goaltender who doesn’t have the best size, but he is technically sound and can be very good when he’s locked in. He does a good job of cutting down angles and eating rebounds. From Newbury, Mass., Irving is in his second year at Cushing after playing his freshman season at St. John’s Prep. With prep school hockey on hiatus, Irving played five games this fall with the Islanders Hockey Club in the USPHL NCDC. He went 2-3-0 with a .921 save percentage.
3. Arthur Smith
Selects Academy 16-U, 4/30/04, catches left, 6-3/190
Smith, from Farmington, Conn., has been well-regarded for a few years now. He played for USA Hockey at the Youth Olympic Games last winter and narrowly missed out on a spot at the NTDP. He’s in his second season with South Kent Selects Academy. He had a .936 save percentage last season with the school’s 15-U team and has posted a .905 save percentage in 11 games this season while with the 16-U team. Smith has good size, is athletic and has above-average fundamentals.
4. Connor Bradford
Boston Advantage, 8/28/02, catches left, 6-2/190
Bradford often was overshadowed growing up by Commesso and another ’02 from the region. While he certainly isn’t in the same category as Commesso, he is a solid goaltender who likely will find a home as a second-string goaltender in Hockey East. The Boston Advantage product is not necessarily a goaltender who younger players would want to emulate in terms of his form. However, he’s a competitor who makes saves in an unorthodox way. The Kingston, Mass., native has a .919 save percentage in 22 games in the USPHL NCDC this season.
5. Thomas Kiesewetter
Thayer, 1/2/05, catches left, 6-5/185
Kiesewetter is a young goaltender with potential upside. He’s huge and takes up a lot of net. From Plymouth, Mass., Kiesewetter is still a little raw, even compared to other goaltenders his age. He didn’t always play for the elite teams and in big tournaments, until last year. Kiesewetter had a solid freshman season at BC High and played for the Minuteman Flames. He still has his ups and downs with the Junior Eagles and at Thayer, but there’s intriguing aspects to his game.
Outside goaltenders shining in New England
When discussing goaltenders from outside of New England who are making a name for themselves inside the region, there is one name that stands out as being most notable. That is Tristan Mecenas of Governor’s Academy, a late ’02 birth-year player.
The Mount Airy, Md., native has played in New England since the 2017-18 season when he suited up for Groton School. He spent another year with the Zebras before moving to play for Brian McGuirk’s program at the start of the 2019-20 season.
Mecenas checks a lot of boxes when it comes to looking for a top-notch goaltender. He’s a big goaltender, standing at 6-foot-4. Mecenas moves fairly well, is fundamentally sound, and keeps quiet in the crease. In addition to his time at Governor’s, Mecenas was very good in several games with the Cape Cod Whalers 18-U this fall and winter.
Deerfield sophomore Justin Katz also has earned deserved recognition for his play. The Mont-Royal, Quebec, native has slightly above-average size but is one of the most technically sound goaltenders I’ve seen in the region. He moves very well and looks calm and poised in the crease. He had a great fall for the Cape Cod Whalers 16-U.
Mount Saint Charles is in its second season of having an academy model program with teams at 18-U, 16-U, 15-U and 14-U. The Woonsocket, R.I., program, headed up by Devin Rask and Matt Plante, quickly has become known for producing good forwards and defensemen. Numerous players have committed to college programs over the 18 months the program has been in existence.
Ethan Pearson, last season’s 18-U goaltender at Mount Saint Charles, committed to Princeton and is playing junior hockey in 2020-21. There are three current goaltenders at Mount Saint Charles who have the capability of playing Division 1 college hockey.
’03 Thomas Heaney of the 18-U team is one of them. The Oceanport, N.J., native is an athletic, competitive netminder who has long been known as one of the region’s top backstops. Prior to coming to MSC, he played for Christian Brothers Academy and the New Jersey Rockets.
A pair of ’04s, Jack Spicer and Peter Sterling, split time between the pipes for MSC’s 16-U team. Sterling was the more heralded goaltender coming into the year, mostly due to his large stature. The Washington, D.C., native’s promising season with Team Maryland in 2019-20 earned him a spot at USA Hockey’s NTDP Evaluation Camp. Spicer has shined in several outings over the past 12 months, including the War at the Well last summer. From Rockville, Md., Spicer is also a product of Team Maryland but has been at MSC for two seasons now.
The North American Hockey League has affectionately become known by college coaches and NHL scouts as the league of goaltenders. A couple of NAHL teams in New England have goaltenders who are getting college attention. ’01s Avery Sturtz of the Maine Nordiques and Hugo Haas of the Northeast Generals have had strong seasons. Sturtz has a .918 save percentage in 10 games. It marks a vast improvement from last season when he posted a .871 save percentage in 23 contests. Sturtz, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, previously played for Omaha AAA And Iowa Wild. Haas, from Czech Republic, has a .919 save percentage in 16 appearances in his first season playing on this side of the pond.
