When people ask me who the best New England boys prep hockey teams will be, I will say a slew of teams that come to mind.
I usually follow that with "And, of course, like every year, Salisbury."Â The Crimson Knights are always a top-10 team in prep, and it's been that way for a long time.
Since Andrew Will took over in 2008-09, Salisbury is 342-76-33. Salisbury won the Elite 8 six times in that span, finishing at the top in 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020 and 2022.
The last three years haven't quite been the same — at least by Salisbury's standards. The Crimson Knights fell in the Large School Title game in 2023, in the Elite 8 semifinals in 2024 and the Elite 8 quarterfinals this past spring.
Champagne problems.
Developing players for the next level is paramount at Salisbury — and the Crimson Knights have done that. But wins, losses and championships matter, too.
It will mostly be a new group this season donning the maroon and white. They will be tasked with keeping Salisbury in Elite 8 contention all winter.
"They're coming together really well," Will said of the new group. "I think we've complemented that small nucleus with some really good skill and IQ. We're going to look a bit more like a traditional Salisbury team."
That's good news for Salisbury. That's bad news for everyone else.
Upping the scoring
Salisbury ranked 28th in New England prep in goals for last season, with 67. That will need to improve.
Will and Co. have four forwards returning. Among those returners, Luca Desjardins, an '09, is expected to pop. He had four points in 21 games last season, but joined midseason and was the youngest player on the team. The 6-foot, 179-pound forward was a star for Seacoast Performance Academy's 14U team in 2023-24 and spent the fall and early winter doing the same for SPA's 15O squad.
READ MORE:Â 8 takeaways from college hockey recruiting over the last month
"It was a big adjustment for him," Will said. "We had an older team last year, and joining us midseason, he did a terrific job. Now that he has that experience under his belt and had a great summer, we're expecting him to really take a jump for us offensively."
Caden Creech is another player Salisbury will rely on. The Princeton lacrosse commit had eight points last winter in his first full season as a forward.
"He's a big, strong kid who skates extremely well," Will said. "Highly athletic kid. He was really effective and good for us last year. We expect him to be a real leader."
As for newbies, Will brought in some '08s and '09s who project to be impactful.
One of those '08s is Angus Proctor, who is 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native played with the Halifax McDonald's U18 team last season with 39 points in 37 games. He was a fifth-round pick by Blainville-Boisbrand Armada in the 2024 QMJHL Draft.
"He's a big, strong, physical kid," Will said. "He's the prototypical power forward. A little bit north-south, but a heavy shot, gets to the net front."
Another '08 to watch is Nate Burlock. The Toronto native played at Ridley College last season and is 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds.
"He has prep school experience under his belt [with Ridley College]," Will said. "He's the type of guy who can come in and hit the ground running."
Grayson Espenshade was brought in as a skilled forward. The '09 was a standout for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights 15O last season.
"He's undersized, but just a dynamic, elite skater and high-IQ player," Will said. "A playmaking forward that is going to add an element up there."
Elliot Bibeau-Rivard should make an impact in Salisbury's forward crew. He played for Saint-Hyacinthe Gaulois in Canada last winter and was picked in the fourth round of the QMJHL Draft by the Sherbrooke Phoenix earlier this year.
"He's a great skater who is going to bring some offensive upside and pace to our lineup," Will said.
The third new '09 who will likely make an impact is Landon Klein, who arrived at Salisbury after posting 68 points in 59 games for the Pittsburgh Predators' 15O squad last winter. The 6-foot-1, 176-pound forward has been at USA Hockey's Select 15 and 16 Camps.
"A really talented player," Will said. "Good IQ and just kind of has a nose for the puck around the ice."
Two other returning forwards to keep an eye on are seniors Luke Walkauskas and Riley Slovis.
Preventing goals
Salisbury is a notoriously strong defensive team. They play structured, stingy hockey. That will continue.
Team captain Zach Gill leads the defensive core. Blainville-Boisbriand drafted him in the fifth round of last year's QMJHL Draft, and he could've made the jump up north but opted to stay at Salisbury.
READ MORE: 7 takeaways from 2026 NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary watch list
"He really saw an opportunity to continue to really develop and grow his game, being an impact guy for us and a leader for us," Will said of Gill, who is also the student body vice president on campus. "Talk about buying into the prep school experience. He's calm, poised and mature. He sees the ice really well."
The Crimson Knights were also fortunate to bring in Quinnipiac commit Tyler Roccas (Fairfield, Conn.) from Hotchkiss. Roccas missed last season due to injury, but the 6-foot-2, 181-pound defender is raring to go. Another prep transfer is Avery Tymus, who switched from Canterbury to Salisbury. Tymus, at 6-foot-2, had 25 points in 30 games for Canterbury last season. Both Roccas and Tymus are '08.
Jack Mazzella, an '08, joins the Crimson Knights from the North Jersey Avalanche. An intriguing '09 added to the fray is Elliott Watson, brother of Deerfield's Nate Watson. Elliott Watson arrives via Cardigan Mountain School. He plays a similar game to his brother — while he's not huge (5-foot-9 and 174 pounds), he has a penchant for offense and can be physical when needed.
In net, Jordan Rittenberg should be the guy. He was the backup last season, but still played a good amount, posting a 2.19 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.
"I thought he was really good and instrumental in stabilizing us last year," Will said. "Helped us get off and running in the second half. He was really good through the Flood-Marr and the GameSheet Prep Cup, and then really helped steady the ship and then had some really good play through the second half."
Rittenberg was the one challenging then-starter Steven Luciano last season. Now, Rittenberg will be challenged by newcomer Christian Capone, a longtime Yale Junior Bulldog.
The CHL ruling's impact on Salisbury
The CHL ruling, which came down last November, allows prospects to play in the CHL and still be eligible for NCAA Division 1 hockey.
Previously, if a Canadian player wanted to eventually play college hockey, they typically came down to a New England prep school. That was usually the first step, and Salisbury benefited from that quite a bit. Now, Canadian players don't necessarily have to do that if they want to play in college.
"The first cycle under the new rules, we had to adjust and adapt," Will said. "I think we spent a little bit more time in the American market than maybe we normally have, but we also got some really good Canadian kids again."
The one difference with Canadian players during this cycle wasn't that they didn't want to come to New England prep, but that it took longer to get a decision.
READ MORE: How players who left prep early adjusted to junior hockey, part 1Â
"The process was slower as they were working through their options," Will said. "Some of them were kids who had already been drafted [in the CHL], and some of the kids were just drafted this year. For them it was to try and understand where they fit in with the organization that they were drafted by, what their goals were as players, as students and as families. We still felt we had some success with the Canadian kids, but the process was a little slower and a little more complex this time around.
"I think it worked out really well. But us, like so many prep and junior programs, we're all trying to figure out how the ripples are going to impact us."
