Many college and prep school coaches, NHL agents and USA Hockey scouts converged over the weekend on The Rinks at Exeter (N.H.), for the 2019 Seacoast Performance Academy U14 Invitational.
Boston Advantage, Mid Fairfield, North Jersey Avalanche, Shattuck-St. Mary’s and South Shore Kings joined the hosts, Seacoast Spartans in a six-team showcase.
The top team was unquestionably Shattuck-St. Mary’s, a hockey-centric prep school located in Faribault, Minn. The alumni list is impressive, headlined by Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby.
Boston Advantage and South Shore Kings were both missing a couple of players who are competing for their local high school or prep school teams currently. Still, the teams were very good for this level.
Below is a look at some of the standouts from the 2019 Seacoast Performance Academy U14 Invitational:
Andon Cerbone
#17 Mid Fairfield, 4/13/04, C, Left Shot
Cerbone played prep school hockey for Brunswick this winter and had played up a few times last summer. This was his best viewing to date. He’s quick, crafty, and makes a lot of plays. He finds seams in opposing defenses and reads plays well. He should be one of the more coveted forwards in this region and age group.
Ryan Chesley
#4 Shattuck, 2/27/04, D, Right Shot
Chesley is one of the best puck-moving, offensive defensemen in this age group. He played up with the ‘03s on Shattuck’s bantam team last year. Here, he showed a great first touch. His head is always up and he’s constantly looking to push the pace. His skating is very good and he exudes confidence with the puck on his stick.
Ryan Healey
#33 Boston Advantage, 4/1/04, D, Right Shot
Healey is a dynamic, puck-moving defenseman. He made several great passes to show off his vision. There was one pass he made from the right point while on the power play that was particularly impressive. Healey’s dad, Eric Healey, played pro hockey after excelling at RPI.
Ty Henricks
#7 Shattuck, 6/28/05, LW, Right Shot
Henricks is an ‘05 playing up with the ‘04s. While his skating is still a work in progress as he grows into his big frame, he has a good skill set and can really shoot the puck. He scored two goals Saturday morning, both coming off his stick in a hurry.
Isaac Howard
#22 Shattuck, 3/30/04, RW/LW, Left Shot
Howard is an elite skater with terrific speed. He can get to pucks and also break away from opposing defenders. His speed helped him get an assist on a shorthanded, 2-on-1 goal. He scored a highlight reel goal by cutting into the middle and sliding the puck through the goalie’s five hole. His hands are also good, but his skating is what set him apart this past weekend.
Bobby Landry
#19 Boston Advantage, 3/22/04, C, Right Shot
Landry has good size, skates well, and is hard on pucks. He’s very strong on his skates and has the potential to blossom into an elite power forward among this age group.
Michele La Starza
#9 Shattuck, 1/14/04, LW, Left Shot
La Starza hails from Canada is one of the best players in this age group. His skating, puck skills, and hockey sense are all high-end. He has a sneaky, quick release and can make defensemen look foolish with his agility and good hands.
Charlie Leddy
#21 Mid Fairfield, 1/11/04, D, Right Shot
NCAA Commit: Boston College
Leddy has been committed to BC for a while now. He’s a big defenseman for this age group and he has the skill set to go along with it. He made a couple of good physical plays to stop plays on the rush and in zone. If his hockey sense and skating can keep improving over the next year, he’s a New Englander who should be in the mix for a NTDP Camp invite next year.
Cameron Lund
#87 South Shore, 6/7/04, C, Right Shot
Lund is a smart, cerebral, 200-foot player who skates well. He was his team’s top forward this weekend with players missing.
Will McDonough
#20 Boston Advantage, 6/1/05, RW, Right Shot
McDonough is playing up with the ‘04s. He’s a big kid who goes to the net and the puck just seems to follow him. He scored a couple of goals here by just being in the right place at the right time. His hands are above average which allows him to protect pucks and get them into the net.
Shaun McEwen
#21 Seacoast, 1/21/04, D, Left Shot
There’s a lot to like in McEwen’s game as well as his potential upside. He’s a good-sized kid who has strength and a physical presence on the ice. He plays hard and with an edge that is tough to teach. He’s as good in his own zone as he is going forward. He’s the grandson of former BU standout and UMass and Princeton head coach Don ‘Toot’ Cahoon.
Ryan Schelling
#26 North Jersey, 4/9/04, C, Right Shot
NCAA Commit: Providence
Schelling is physically mature, can really shoot it, and is heavy on pucks. He’s already verbally committed to playing for Nate Leaman at Providence.
Eric Vivinetto
#12 North Jersey, 10/8/04, C, Right Shot
Vivinetto does a good job of driving the net and he scored a couple of goals this weekend by doing just that. He’s hard to knock off pucks and plays a heavy game. There’s a lot to like in his overall skill set.
Honorable Mention
Nick Capasso
#2 Mid Fairfield, 1/22/04, RW, Left Shot
Capasso was able to find the score sheet a couple of times here. He’s quick and can cut, using his edges, to get into the scoring areas.
Liam Chapman
#16 Seacoast, 3/11/04, C/D, Left Shot
Chapman is a versatile player who can play defense or center. He’s physically mature and is able to dominate through his strength. He’s got a hard shot and can bull his way to the scoring areas.
Ryan Comishock
#18 Shattuck, 5/13/04, RW, Right Shot, 6-0/208
Comishock played for the Vermont Flames last season. He’s a big-bodied winger with potential, as long as his feet can catch up to him as he’s grown a lot. He can really shoot the puck and he has a good skill set.
Lucas DiChiara
#20 Shattuck, 2/18/04, D, Right Shot
DiChiara is another New England native playing at Shattuck. He’s got good size and wins one-on-one battles. If his skating can improve, he’ll be a solid prospect for colleges.
Braedon Ford
#21 Shattuck, 1/19/04, C, Left Shot
Ford is another burner up front for Shattuck. He’s able to use his speed to his advantage. He scored a shorthanded goal because of it and was noticeable a few other times.
Jason Gallucci
#97 North Jersey, 4/22/04, D, Right Shot
In past viewings, Gallucci has played up front, but he was on defense for at least some of this weekend. He’s on the smaller side, but he was a slick puck mover and he plays with a chip on his shoulder. He made a couple of really nice passes to create offense on the rush.
Perry Gaudreau
#77 South Shore, 9/22/04, RW, Right Shot
Gaudreau has a really good shot and his overall puck skills are there, too. If his skating can improve over the next few years, there’s a lot of upside with his size. He has good family lineage as well with his grandfather Robert Gaudreau playing for Brown and with the U.S. at the Olympics.
William Jones
#3 Shattuck, 3/9/04, D, Right Shot
Jones came to Shattuck by way of the Nashville Jr. Predators. He took part in the Crimson Combine at Harvard last summer. He’s a smaller defenseman with good puck skills and mobility.
Patrick Reilly
#72 North Jersey, 9/27/04, D, Right Shot
Reilly made a couple of really nice looks out of his own zone to start the offense. His first touch was consistently solid and he has good size.
Beanie Richter
#11 Mid Fairfield, LW, Left Shot, 5-7/125
Richter plays a solid, two-way game. He skates well and thinks the game at an advanced level. He’s the son of former New York Rangers star goaltender Mike Richter, who is one of the team’s coaches.
Kazimier Sobieski
#5 Shattuck, 4/12/04, D, Right Shot
Sobieski is a good skater with some upside. Would like to see more of him over the next few years.
Kaden Spaniol
#23 Shattuck, 4/22/04, C/LW, Left Shot
Spaniol was a physical force out on the ice. He ran around looking to make some big hits, and delivered quite a few times.
Connor Welsh
#9 Mid Fairfield, 1/2/04, C, Right Shot
Welsh was around the net, despite being on the smaller side, and showed some good hands and skating ability on several occasions. He scored a nice tip-in goal.
Brodrick Williams
#8 Shattuck, 2/13/04, D, Right Shot
Williams is a big, shutdown defender who just started playing hockey a few years ago. He impressed at the STX 68 this past summer. Keep an eye on him going forward.
Christian Wood
#40 Mid Fairfield, 2/10/04, D, Right Shot
Wood is an athletic defenseman with good size. He has good instincts and could develop into a shutdown defender. He also gets time on the team’s power play unit.
