When I debuted my preseason New England boys prep power rankings last November, Kent opened at No. 5.
And the Lions backed it up at first. They took down teams like Dexter Southfield, New Hampton, Frederick Gunn and Avon Old Farms all before Christmas.
But then star forward Will Schlechtweg left for the USHL, and a slew of injuries hit Kent, derailing the season. Kent only won four games in January and February.
"It was disappointing," head coach Dale Reinhardt said. "We had injuries like I've never had before. We had a ton of talent, but we had a guy break his femur, we had a guy tear his rotator cuff, a guy tore his Achilles, a guy had a concussion that ended his season.
"But we also underperformed."
After Kent played a full-season game of Operation, the Lions ended 10-13-2, finishing under .500 for the first time since 2019-20.
Then came 12 seniors graduating, and Kent will trot out a much different lineup this winter.
For the few who are back, there's a lot to take from last season.
"Part of it is trying to stay positive through adversity," Reinhardt said. "We faced a ton of it last year, and we didn't handle it super well. We felt sorry for ourselves at times. I think that's something that we could definitely manage and do better."
Zoomed-out view
When Kent won the Large School title in 2024, it did so with a core led by seniors Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington, Vt.) and Teddy Mallgrave. DiGiulian, a forward, easily could've skipped his senior year for the USHL; Mallgrave, a defenseman, could've done the same.
Instead, both were top players in prep. DiGiulian left for the USHL's Lincoln Stars after graduating from Kent and posted 51 points in 58 games, leading into a strong freshman year at Cornell.
Mallgrave stepped right into the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks and was a bruising, shutdown defenseman. He was at St. Lawrence last season before transferring to Boston College this year.
"They both decided to come back," Reinhardt said. "They had a great experience and have memories that'll last forever. They got to graduate from Kent with a diploma and stepped right into the USHL and were ready to go. There weren't really growing pains."
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The landscape has changed even since then. Later in 2024, the CHL ruling went into effect, allowing CHL players to become eligible for NCAA Division 1 hockey.
Still, Reinhardt wants players to use that as a roadmap.
"They both went in with the confidence to step in and be an impact player right away," Reinhardt said. "They had the ability, of course, but they were ready to go mentally and physically. And if they were going to face adversity, there wasn't going to be doubt.
"That's something we talk about all the time with our guys: to be ready whenever that step is. And some guys are ready to go early."
The last few years
After winning the Large School championship in 2023-24 after going 18-8-2, the Lions went 13-11-2 in 2024-25 before going 10-13-2 last winter.
The coach
Reinhardt has been Kent's head coach since 2013, going 167-121-27. Before Kent, he was an assistant coach at Canterbury from 2010-13.
He was a productive forward at Holy Cross from 2004-08, before spending parts of two seasons in the ECHL.
Who will the stars be?
The core is most certainly on defense, led by Vermont commit Jason Segal and Dylan Mallgrave (yes, he's Teddy's younger brother).
"I actually think our D core is going to be arguably the best I've ever had," Reinhardt said.
Segal, an '09, was at USA Hockey's Select 17 Camp this past summer, where he had three points in six games. At 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, he's a reliable, two-way defenseman.
Mallgrave is 6-foot-1 and had five assists last winter. The '08 has always gone under the radar.
"He just keeps getting better every year," Reinhardt said of Mallgrave. "He's not flashy. He's not that kid that jumps off the page if you're writing up the list of best players. He's just so steady defensively and reliable."
Kent is also fortunate to return two seniors in net: Cooper Ranawat and Donovan Dunlay. They split time last season, with Ranawat posting a 3.28 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage, while Dunlay notched a 3.77 GAA and an .893 save percentage.
"We'll just go with whatever's working," Reinhardt said. "We'll see if somebody can take the job or if they'll just continue to kind of work together."
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Newcomers
Most of Kent's scoring up will come from newcomers. It starts with two one-year seniors: forward Brendan Matysczak and defenseman Dax Orenstein.
Matysczak had 67 goals and 107 points in 61 games for Seacoast Performance Academy's 16U squad last winter. He's 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds.
Orenstein, at 5-foot-9, is a dynamic offensive presence on the back end. He arrives via the North Jersey Avalanche.
"He's the type of kid that'll run the top of the power play," Reinhardt said of Orenstein. "He's super slick with the puck, sees every play. I'm super excited about him."
While Matysczak and Orenstein are seniors, forward Blake Mello should be someone Kent can build around now and in the future. A '10, Mello arrives via the Los Angeles Junior Kings.
Newcomer forward Trey Mobile should give Kent some size at 6-foot-2 and 172 pounds. He had 59 points in 59 games for the Connecticut Junior Rangers 16U team last winter.
Reinhardt also brought in a slew of new defensemen, too...
- Graham Luskin | Last team: Pingree
- Nick DiMarco | Last team: Woodbridge Wolfpack 15O
- Colin Barrasso | Last team: North Jersey Avalanche 15O
- David Kolaj | Last team: Seacoast Performance Academy 14U
Breakout prospects
Matysczak and Orenstein are prime breakout candidates among the newcomers.
Returning forward Ethan Wang could be primed for a big uptick. The '09 broke his femur last year after four games, tallying five assists.
The same kind of breakouts could come from fellow returning forwards Zach Zusman, who had four points in 17 games last season, and Dylan Rafail, who posted three goals and 11 points in 25 games.
The ceiling
Kent is similar to Frederick Gunn, who I wrote about on Thursday: clear strength on defense and in net, with a whole lot of new faces in new places up front.
BOYS PREP PREVIEWS: Brunswick | Winchendon | Cushing | Salisbury | Kimball Union | Hotchkiss | Williston | Taft | Holderness | Phillips Exeter | Dexter Southfield | St. Paul’s | Nobles | Frederick Gunn
"I think we could be good," Reinhardt said. "I think we could be really good. We need to lean into our identity, with our strength being on the back end. We need to commit to that."
Ultimately, Kent should certainly contend for a spot in the Large School playoffs.
