Ben Poitras and Dylan Hryckowian have a lot in common.
They are both forwards, they both hail from Canada and they're both playing split season with the Buffalo Regals this fall.
Another thing the duo has in common, aside from the fact that they’re both committed to Northeastern, is their shared outlook to be high-impact performers for Andrew Will’s team at Salisbury (2020 NEPSAC Elite 8 champions) this season.
Poitras, an ‘05 center from Toronto, Ontario, plays with the Regals 16-U split team, while Hryckowian, an ‘04 from Ile-Blizard, Quebec, is on the 18-U squad.
Without an official prep season in 2020-21, Poitras played 23 games for Rochester Coalition 16-U, the Midget team formerly coached by Kyle Quick, a Salisbury and Brown alum from western New York.
This season, his second at the Salisbury, Conn., prep school after coming up through the Mississauga Rebels ranks, Poitras will be a junior. In fall hockey, he has 24 points (13G, 11A) in 17 games with the 16-U team, once again coached by Quick.
A smart, two-way forward, Poitras, 16, played on Salisbury’s top line last season alongside senior forwards, Dean Bauchiero (Southington, Conn./Sioux City/Brown) and David Chen (Cedar Rapids/Yale), who now play in the USHL.
“High IQ, really good in the offensive zone, possesses pucks well,” Quick said of Poitras, a 2021 fifth-round pick of the OHL's Saginaw Spirit and ninth-round pick of the USHL's Youngstown Phantoms. “He’s a good player, a good kid and a leader -- he's our captain -- so all-around he's just really good.”
With 15 games under his belt from last year’s partial campaign, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder has more experience than most '05s heading into 2021-22.
“Technically, he’s still young for prep, but he’s going to be one of their high-impact guys,” Quick said. “He’s a good player -- very cerebral.”
The other Canadian product, Hryckowian, will be in his first year of prep after playing Bantam and Midget in the Montreal-based Lac-St Louis Lions organization. He will be a senior.
An all-around skilled forward, Hryckowian skates well and has good offensive instincts. At 5-foot-9, 155 pounds, he isn’t overly big but has great hands. He has shined a few times over the years in local showcases.
Most notably at the 2021 River Rats Jamboree, where his play led him to commit to Northeastern on Aug. 31. Hryckowian's older brother, Justin, is a freshman at NU.
Poitras, who impressed at the annual summer event as well, followed shortly after. He announced his commitment to the Huskies, led by Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and Mike Levine (Sandwich, Mass.), four days later on Sept. 3.
“Both of those guys (Keefe and Levine) just have really good brains when it comes to recruiting,” said Quick, who was recruited to Brown by Keefe when the now-NU head coach was an assistant from 2009-11. "Their biggest thing is probably hockey IQ, and Dylan and Ben are prime examples of that.”
As their prep coach, Will was glad to see the duo secure Division 1 commitments, joining Salisbury '03 forward Ryan Walsh and incoming '04 defenseman Alex Zakrzewski, who are both committed to Brown.
“They’re both talented players and Northeastern is a terrific program and excellent school, so it’s a great fit. It’s nice when you can get that commitment in the fall and know where you're going to college so that your focus and your efforts really are on development and the year ahead of you, as opposed to having it in the background," said Will, a Toronto area native who's been at Salisbury since 2008.
"It alleviates a little bit of pressure, gives them some confidence and it gives our team confidence knowing that we’ve got guys who are going to be able to make a really significant impact for us. They’re two of many from this year’s team who are going to have opportunities to play college hockey, but I’m really excited for them that they were able to lock in their commitment and that they’ll be teammates this year and in college, as well."
In 14 games with the Regals 18-U, Hryckowian, 17, has 26 points on 10 goals and 16 assists.
“He’s an offensive machine. His feet are really high-end and he has a very good brain," Quick said. "I think the next level for him is just figuring out the defensive zone stuff, but I think his ceiling is really high because his feet are unbelievable."
Although his defensive play needs some work, Salisbury is the perfect place for Hryckowian to focus on developing his game.
“It just gives him the ability to thrive in an environment versus working on something and trying to survive. It’s a really good stepping stone for him to junior to round out his game and then be more efficient in college when he steps into the lineup," Quick said.
After playing the majority of his youth hockey north of the border, transitioning to New England has been a bit of an adjustment for Hryckowian, whose USHL rights were nabbed by Cedar Rapids in 2020.
“In Canada, I think he can go out and just be the skill guy, but for the long term, as his game becomes more rounded, he’s going to do really well if he figures that part out. If he does that, his ceiling is really high,” Quick said.
With the loss of Bauchiero, Chen and San Diego native Sam Deckhut (Sioux City/St. Lawrence), among others, Poitras and Hryckowian are expected to step in and play key roles at Salisbury up front.
“Coach Will does a good job with retooling; he always finds a way. You look at the top programs in prep and that’s what they do well. They're similar to college in that they retool their cabinets pretty quickly and always find guys who fit their needs very well," Quick said.
“I think both of them will be solid all year. Ben had an adjustment to make last year and Dylan will go through it this year, but I think they’re both going to do well."
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
