BELMONT, Mass. -- St. Andrew's College of Aurora, Ontario, was clearly superior to the other four teams at the Belmont Hill Jamboree on Saturday at the Jordan Athletic Center.
In addition to the hosts, Proctor, St. Andrew’s College, St. Mark’s, and Winchendon took to the ice in front of a handful of NHL scouts and college coaches from Hockey East, ECAC Hockey and Atlantic Hockey.
St. Andrew’s College was the only team to come out of the day with two wins. The Canadian prep team from was more talented and deeper than any of its four New England counterparts. Also, St. Andrew’s has the advantage of playing quite a few games prior to this weekend as opposed to the NEPSAC teams that are just starting.
Results
Proctor 3, Belmont Hill 1
St. Mark’s 2, Winchendon 1
St. Andrew’s 9, Proctor 0
Belmont Hill 3, Winchendon 2
St. Andrew’s 6, St. Mark’s 3
Below is a quick synopsis on each team as well as a few standout prospects and other notable players who could have an impact on the team’s 2019-20 season.
St. Andrew’s College
The Saints, coached by David Manning, were a notch, or two or three, above the rest of the competition. While the team doesn’t have an obvious 2020 draft prospect, late ‘02 defenseman Jack Bar, committed to Harvard, should be on the radar of NHL scouts for 2021.
‘02 center Mark Hillier and ‘02 left wing Devlin O’Brien are committed to Merrimack and Frankie Carogioiello is committed to Miami.
‘03 LW Justin Ertel had three goals and three assists to pace the way offensively. Hillier had two goals and three assists. ‘02 RW Cole Galata had a goal and five assists. Bar had two goals and two assists. ‘03 LD Matthew Roy had three assists. ‘02 RW Kienan Draper had two goals and an assist. O’Brien had a goal. ‘02 LD Liam Cavan had a goal and two assists. ‘02 C Daniel Baldassarra had three assists.
Ertel was obviously the standout of the day in terms of production. He was heavy on pucks, forced turnovers, saw the ice well, and seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Galata made a lot of really good passes and was around the puck a lot.
Hillier isn’t flashy, but he’s a smart, cerebral center. He sees the ice well and has extremely good vision. His skill and skating are both above average. O’Brien, his fellow Warrior commit, has a ton of speed. He showed that off by beating out icings, bursting by defenders wide, and being impactful on the forecheck.
Bar is a big, rangy defender, who tried to do a little too much at times today. Still, his upside is undeniable. He can skate, he can shoot, he can move pucks, and he can play with a little bit of toughness. On breakouts, his passes are always right on the tape.
Roy is a smooth-skating defenseman who can move pucks. He has skill and his passes are crisp and on the tape, as well. I’d like to see him be a little more assertive, but he’s a player to watch.
Cavan is a smaller, mobile defenseman who made some nice plays. He transitions from defense to offense quickly and he’s strong on gaps with a good stick. Both Cavan and Roy should be coveted by Division I college recruiters.
St. Mark’s
Carl Corazzini’s squad had a few key players missing, but a few newcomers were showcased. One of those prep rookies, ‘02 Trevor O’Brien, scored a goal. Last year’s returning scorer, ‘01 C Danny Ciccarello had two goals. ‘02 defensemen Ian Moore and Tucker Hartmann both had a goal and two assists.
Ciccarello has really good hands and can make some nice moves to beat opposing defenders. Another key forward is ‘02 Brendan Gibbons, a goal scorer whose footwork is somewhat of a concern. He didn’t get too involved in the scoring on Saturday, despite playing on the power play.
Moore was his usual self. He was moving pucks up ice, quarterbacking the power play, and jumping into the offense. The Harvard commit has the speed and stick to recover defensively. He skates well and has a bomb of a shot -- both wrist shot and one-timer.
Hartmann was really good on Saturday. He scored a nice backhander on the power play and made a nice feed to Moore for his one-time goal. Hartmann plays hard and can bring it physically, despite not being overly big. His decision making is the one area of his game that could use more consistency. I still think a school like St. Lawrence or Holy Cross should be all over him. If not, he’d be a heck of a NESCAC player.
‘03 left-shot defenseman Luke Sullivan looked a little overwhelmed by the pace at times, but he got better as the day went along. He’s a mobile, puck-moving defenseman who should contribute. Not known for his physicality, he delivered a big hit on a St. Andrew’s player late in the game. His twin brother, forward Cam Sullivan, is also a newcomer, both coming over from Westborough High School.
The Lions have more depth this season and will be led by Moore, a 2020 NHL Draft prospect. The one concern is the goaltending position. Still, look for St. Mark’s to make a push for a high seed in the Piatelli/Simmons Small School Tournament.
Belmont Hill
This could be another down year for Belmont Hill, formerly one of the region’s top prep school contenders year in and year out. There’s not a lot of depth and goaltending could be a question mark.
‘04 RW Ronan O’Donnell, ‘01 LW Luke Khozozian, ‘02 LW Charlie Cave and ‘03 RW Drew Blackwell were the goal scorers.
The team’s top line appears to be Khozozian at left wing, ‘02 Ryan McGuire at center and ‘01 Zephan Kraus at right wing. McGuire, a Colgate commit, had an assist and sees the ice well and wins face-offs. I’d like to see him be more assertive offensively, but there’s some potential as a defensive forward at the collegiate level.
There are four defensemen worth mentioning. ‘03 Tyler Rubin, a Princeton commit, has great feet and can move pucks north. He’s still a work in progress defensively and needs to be a little wiser on decisions at times. However, his feet are elite and he has the potential to be a breakout machine at the college level.
Another ‘03 defenseman that I think is one of the most underrated players in New England is Will Killoran. He won’t wow you offensively, but he’s solid in his own zone. He’s strong and physical, and plays with a mean streak. He’s very hard to play against and doesn’t get beat very often, if at all. His feet need a little work, but he’s a Division I hockey player.
‘03 Thomas Goguen played the point on the first power play unit. He has good size and has a hard shot, one of which was tipped home for a goal. His vision could use some work, but he’s athletic and has some upside.
Lastly, keep an eye on ‘04 right-shot defenseman Matthew Biotti. He comes from a hockey family and has some physical tools. He’s tall and lanky and skates well. He looked better here than he has in previous viewings, albeit against weaker competition. Regardless, he’s a player that will be on the radar of college coaches in the years to come.
Proctor
Head coach Mike Walsh’s team started the day’s festivities with a 3-1 win over Belmont Hill before getting shellacked by St. Andrew’s. For the Hornets, ‘01 C Nathan Chickering, ‘02 C Grant Porter and ‘02 C Cam Joslin were the goal scorers.
‘02 RW James Tepper showed his physicality, especially in the second game. He needs to toe the line and stay out of the penalty box and improve his hockey sense, but there’s a lot to like in his game in terms of being a bottom six winger.
‘02 RW and Vermont recruit Ronan Walsh, the team’s lone NCAA commit, didn’t get on the score sheet, but he has a hard shot when he got it off a few times. He’ll have to improve his first step and overall skating in order to be an impact player in Hockey East.
A bright spot for Proctor was ‘03 RD Joe Fleming, a newcomer from Wellesley High School. He’s a big, physical defenseman. He’s tough to play against and has better offensive vision than you might think. His feet still have a ways to go, but he has a lot of potential.
He didn’t get much support, but ‘01 goaltender Cole Chingris made a couple of nice saves early before facing a barrage from St. Andrew’s.
Overall, Proctor could be facing an uphill battle in the Lakes Region with Kimball Union, Tilton, Holderness and New Hampton looking like the top four teams.
Winchendon
Winchendon lost twice, but both were one-goal games. While he didn’t find the score sheet today, the Wapitis will likely be led by first line right wing Jake Black, a speedy ‘02 from Pomfret, Conn. He made a couple of plays, had the puck a lot, and used his quickness to separate from opposing defenders.
The goal scorers were ‘02 LW Nolan McDonough, ‘02 LW Anthony DeLorenzo and ‘02 RW Paden Hicks. The team will likely rely heavily on ‘01 senior Max Caoutte. Two newcomers that could make an impact are ‘02 RW Brandon Froio and ‘02 RD Max Cohen. Froio, who played high school hockey at Xaverian, has some size and a hard shot. Cohen, formerly a star defenseman at Austin Prep, should anchor the team’s blue line.
