Carl Corazzini took a moment when asked to describe his first impressions of defenseman Ian Moore.
The word that the St. Mark’s School coach ultimately settled on was deferential.
Understandable, given that Moore had yet to reach his full 6-foot-3 and was skating on the Minuteman Flames with stars Henry Thrun, Patrick Moynihan, Sean Farrell and Liam Connors.
Of more concern to Corazzini was the way scouts saw Moore’s game when he was competing in showcases that offseason, one word in particular:
Vanilla.
Technically, not a four-letter word. But it may as well have been.
“You kind of gauged him against his age group and how he played at the festivals,” said Corazzini (Framingham, Mass.). “The first couple years he was kind of an afterthought — nice player, does everything well, but nothing that stands out. Maybe not even a Division 1 college prospect.”
The last 18 months have seen Moore (Concord, Mass.) take that first impression and set it on its ear.
Now a St. Mark’s junior, coming off a 16-goal, 20-assist season, with a booming shot and great skating ability, his flavor is a lot more dazzling.
“If he’s not the best player in New England,” said Corazzini, “he’ll certainly be one of them.”
After winning 19 games last year and reaching the semifinals of the Piatelli/Simmons (NEPSAC small-school) tournament, St. Mark’s has set its sights even higher this winter.
Under Corazzini, the former Boston University standout, the Lions recently have been one of the best teams in the Eberhart Division of the Independent School League as well as one of the best small-school prep teams in New England.
They’ve been selected for the Piatelli/Simmons tournament in four of the past five years, winning it in 2015 and ’16. At the outset, the talk in the Eberhart starts with St. Mark’s and a very good team from Rivers.
“Both are extremely talented and have great depth,” said Middlesex coach Joe Mallen.
The Lions look to be as deep as they’ve been. Moore is joined on defense by another productive player, Tucker Hartmann, who finished last season with five goals and 32 assists.
Up front, senior Danny Ciccarello (31-20-51) and juniors Brendan Gibbons (15-17-32) and Jackson Coutu (12-15-27) lead the attack, though the goaltending situation is still shaking out.
“St. Mark’s may have the most talented team of Carl’s tenure,” said Brooks coach Dave Ries.
“It’s interesting,” said Corazzini. “You have conversations with some of our kids — ‘Where does this piece fit?’ This will be the most depth I’ve had at forward in my six years, by far. We’ve got kids who played on the second line [last year] that might be on the third line, and so on. … We have kids on our fifth line who’d produce at other schools.”
The style of play is a fun one, noted Moore, with an emphasis on skill, speed and creativity.
“He lets us play,” he said.
“Possession of the puck will be a strength of ours,” said Corazzini. “The kids are really unselfish and move it to the open player. This makes it easier both 5-on-5 and on the power play.
“We’re going to lean on Ian for offensive production from the back end for us to play at that [top] level.”
What Moore always has done well is skate. He attributes much of that to working with the same teacher — Dena Taylor — since he was 3 years old. Taylor also has taught Thrun, Moynihan and Farrell.
“She’s been great,” said Moore. “She’s taught me everything about skating. I think it’s one of the strongest parts of my game.”
Moore didn’t get to show off his full game during his freshman season at St. Mark’s. During a game at St. Paul’s right before the holiday break, he got checked against the boards on a breakout, with his elbow hitting just under the stanchion, suffering a break.
That sidelined him for two months and effectively took away the meat of his season. But it got better when fall rolled around. His confidence grew during a stint playing for the U-16 Cape Cod Whalers, and when the new season at St. Mark’s began, he was paired on defense with his older brother, Nolan, a team captain.
“It was pretty special to play with my brother on a ‘D’ pairing,” said Ian. “I think we’re pretty similar players. He’s really underrated and he made it really easy to play with him. His hockey sense is just off the charts.”
The two combined to produce 57 points from the blue line, with Nolan chipping in 21.
Ian recognizes that he needs to continue to work on his defensive positioning and his play without the puck. Jeff Cox, who evaluates prep players for this site, ranked Moore the region’s No. 3 prospect for the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and echoed those thoughts in a recent post.
“His reads and defensive positioning are areas that could improve, but overall, he’s the prep player with the highest ceiling entering 2019-20,” wrote Cox.
Filling out is another aim. Moore checks in at just over 6-foot-3, but at 165 pounds, knows he needs to beef up and get stronger, especially if he gets a chance to play in a few USHL games after his prep season is complete.
“He says he eats,” said Corazzini, “but who knows?”
What makes hockey fun for Moore, he said, is the camaraderie. He experienced it with the Flames — “We all played for each other. Nobody cared if they were the one scoring, and that’s what it’s all about,” he said — and is enjoying the same type of vibe at St. Mark’s.
Just before Thanksgiving, Moore changed his college commitment from Princeton to Harvard, where he’ll develop under coach Ted Donato (Dedham, Mass.). “It’s a lot closer to home, obviously,” Moore said. “It’s a better chance to play in front of family and friends, which I guess is something I took for granted playing at St. Mark’s.”
He credits the coaching he’s received, from guys like his dad and Tom Connors with the Flames, Bob Beniers with the Whalers and Corazzini. It’s all added up to a development that has taken off like a rocket this last year and a half.
“The last 18 months, I’ve grown a little bit, gotten a little bit stronger and continued to work at my skating,” he said. “I’ve become that much faster and able to separate.”
He said he models his game after one of his former teammates — Thrun, whom he played with for eight years on the Flames and who now stars as a freshman at Harvard, averaging a point a game and leading the Crimson, who were unbeaten in late November, in plus/minus.
“He’s a great teammate. He puts the team first,” said Moore. “He’s the guy I wanted to play my game like. Look at him at Harvard — he looks like a senior out there.”
Corazzini looks at the two players and notes that Moore still has ground to cover before he matches Thrun in terms of day-in, day-out consistency. But one thing’s for sure:
Nobody’s calling him vanilla anymore.
“A product of us being a small school is kids have a chance to play right away and play in a lot of situations,” said Corazzini. “It was like, ‘Hey, take risks.’ Now, all the skills that he had are coming out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone 6-foot-3 skate that well and have the hands that he does.”
This story is from the December issue of the New England Hockey Journal. Subscribe here.
@MikeZhe603
