RinkWise podcast: Here are the storylines to watch in boys prep hockey season

Drew DellaSalla will be important for Brunswick this season. (Dave Arnold/NEHJ)

It’s that time of year again — the boys prep hockey season is right around the corner.

Salisbury finished as the champion last season after winning the Elite 8 tournament. But many other teams made life hard for coach Andrew Will‘s squad and will do so in the new season that begins next week.

The preseason prep hockey rankings were published Monday morning. On the latest RinkWise podcast, host Stephanie Wood and editor Evan Marinofsky discussed the rankings, as well as many other teams that were on the cusp.

They also look at many of the top players in prep hockey this winter and which teams have the best chance at landing a spot in the Elite 8.

On Avon Old Farms…

Marinofsky: “(Coach) John Gardner‘s been there for a long time and they were very successful last year and you’ve got guys like Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.), who is going to Northeastern. People are very high on Connor, as they should — he’s very important to Avon’s offense. Even Nick Capasso (Northford, Conn.) as well. They brought in some other Division 1 commits in Hudson Miller and Ryan Flaherty (Milton, Mass.). That’s a team that’s going to be in the mix. Gardner’s teams are usually in the mix. Mikey Munroe (Hanover, Mass.) is another interesting player.”

On Brunswick…

Marinofsky: “Good returning group. They have five forwards who scored 29 or more points last season … They have senior captain James Shannon (Greenwich, Conn.) and Yale-bound Eli Friedman who both had 40 points last season. One guy I’m looking at a lot this season is Drew DellaSalla…They have a very good team. I expect them to be in the Elite 8. They should be in it. They also have a good 1-2 tandem in net.”