After examining the forwards available for the 2022 USHL Futures draft yesterday, today we take a closer look at the 2006-born defensemen and goaltenders who are expected to be selected in the draft Monday.
The 10-round event, also known as the Phase I draft (150 total selections), allows the USHL’s 15 member clubs to bolster their organizational depth. The process results in every team securing the rights to ten ’06 prospects they can protect entering the 2022-23 season.
Owen Keefe (Saugus, Mass.) attended U.S. National Team Development Program evaluation camp, but was not offered a position with Team USA. Keefe, along with Holden, Mass. native and Mount Saint Charles 15-only team defender Will Felicio, signed USHL tender agreements with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Madison Capitols respectively. The tenders guarantee that they will both play in the USHL as 16-year-olds in 2022-23.
Even with Keefe and Felicio not available in the draft, there is no shortage of quality area prospects on the blue line, along with several goaltenders who have a chance to be drafted Monday. (New England Hockey Journal will have full analysis of the USHL futures and entry drafts after the players are selected.)
Defensemen
Andrew O’Sullivan (Boston) and Kiernan Poulin (Norwell, Mass.) turned heads with their superb play this season on the Boston Advantage and New England Knights 16-U teams. The duo also competed at the USPHL NCDC Young Guns All-Star Game in February, showing well. Poulin attended NTDP camp in March, and is an elite skater who pushes the pace and confidently carries the puck at top speed. At 5-foot-8, 130 pounds, he lacks the size of other peers, but checks a lot of boxes for a smaller defenseman.
O’Sullivan is rising, and headed to Kimball Union Academy for the 2022-23 season. At 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, he possesses the size, skating, intelligence and work ethic to eventually be a top junior player and is a quality Division 1 college hockey prospect. He’s committed to being a player and comes from a hockey family as the nephew of Stephanie and Chris O’Sullivan (Dorchester, Mass.).
Although they didn’t play together often, when they did, Poulin and O’Sullivan formed an impressive combination with their ability to wheel, defend, move pucks and set up a lethal power play.
Nobles defenseman Joe Mense had a strong first year in prep, impressing with his 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame and a combination of mobility, defensive acumen, plus a willingness to activate and jump up into the play at the right times. He played fall hockey with the Little Bruins 16-U team and played more of a steady, defensive style but was more aggressive with his steps and pinches. Originally from Port Jefferson, N.Y., Mense will participate in the upcoming Mass Hockey Select 16 Festival for the chance to attend July’s National Development Camp in Amherst, N.Y.
From the New England District, Colton Whitfield and Elliott Groenewald played well in Attleboro and were both chosen to attend the National Camp. Whitfield is the son of former pro forward and current Providence Bruins assistant coach Trent Whitfield. At 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, he already has the size to be a physical presence, but he also sees the ice well and moves pucks quickly. He can improve his skating transitions, but has the tools and look of a future pro. The Warwick, R.I., and Bishop Hendricken star was drafted in the WHL by the Seattle Thunderbirds, so it will be interesting to see where USHL teams are willing to draft him, as he could pose a major junior signing risk.
Groenewald, a Bellows Falls, Vt., native, left New England to play Canadian prep hockey in Quebec at Bishop’s College. He was outstanding at the New England District Festival last month, showing off his mobility, puck skills and all-around game to go with a 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame. He hasn’t been seen by a lot of USHL teams by virtue of where he played, but he did attend Chicago Steel tryout camp a year ago. So he’s not a complete unknown.
Milton Academy’s Dylan Hunt (Marlboro, Mass.) is underrated as a mobile, defense-first presence under coach Paul Cannata. The strength of his game is in simplicity: he does his job effectively, moves pucks to the right areas of the ice and is a reliable presence on the back end. He didn’t show much of an offensive presence, but watch for him to break out as his role and minutes load increases in prep.
Caeden Herrington (Manchester, Vt.) impressed at the New England District Select 15 Festival a year ago, and it appears that his game has taken the next steps to be a viable USHL draft selection. The CP Dynamo product is tough to play against, relishing the physical aspects of the game and using an ability to close quickly on the puck carrier to blow up rushes. Like Groenewald, he made the most of his opportunity at the New England Districts in Attleboro.
Goaltenders
Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline, Mass.) had a strong NTDP camp showing, but according to sources, turned down an offer to play for Team USA in favor of staying at Nobles and attending prep school full time. He’s the total package at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds: athletic, able to see and track pucks and compete to keep them out of his net. Bernstein got off to a hot start, winning Flood-Marr Tournament MVP in December but saw a fall-off in his play as the season went on. That, however, should not prevent him from being drafted.
Framingham, Mass., native Ryder Shea showed well with the Little Bruins 16 team in fall play and carried it over at St. George’s, earning an invite to Michigan with Bernstein to try out for Team USA. He’s a fundamentally sound player who has the tools to develop into a solid junior and Division 1 prospect, but will need more time to marinate.
Sleepers/Day 2 options
Liam O’Keeffe, LD, Dexter Southfield; 6-0, 160 (Boston, Mass.)
There isn’t a lot of flash or pizzazz with the Boston Jr. Eagles defender who played up for the 18 team at April’s Tier 1 Nationals on an undermanned roster. He skates and defends well, his mature game translating to a spot on Dexter’s varsity team as an ’06. USHL teams normally are looking for high-ceiling players in the futures draft, but a forward-thinking club would do well to take a flyer on him.
Deke Davidson, LD, Seacoast Performance Academy; 5-10/160 (Newmarket, N.H.)
Like O’Keeffe, the Granite Stater doesn’t possess a lot of point production potential at the next levels, but is a trustworthy, big-minutes type who skates, defends well and keeps things simple. Even if he isn’t drafted, there is plenty of room for continued growth, and like other defensemen of his type, could develop into a legitimate junior draft option in a few years.
Cooper Cleaves, RD, Brunswick/Mid Fairfield 15O; 6-1/175 (Riverside, Conn.)
Younger brother of Brunswick captain and Dartmouth recruit Hank Cleaves has the size, skating and puckhandling to follow along as a college prospect, but is still putting it all together. His hockey sense, especially in the area of making quick decisions, is an area he can address through added experience and a bigger role as he matures.
Kyle Bolduc, G, Springfield Pics 16/Yale Jr. Bulldogs 15; 6-0/155 (Bolton, Conn.)
A long shot for the USHL draft given only a handful of goalies get picked every year due to the longer developmental timeline for the position, he’s worth tracking. He was chosen to represent the New England District at Select 16 National Camp, and has the raw materials/quickness to progress in his development.
Non-natives playing in New England
Jacob Ingstrup, LD, Yale Jr. Bulldogs 15/Kent School; 6-0/190
Chicago-area product left the Windy City for the Nutmeg State and impressed in the fall on a superb Bulldogs defensive corps. He’s mobile, physical and has an improving puck game. He had some ups and downs early in the prep season, but hit his stride as the Lions captured the large school title in March. The OHL’s London Knights drafted him late, but he’ll be a much earlier USHL futures selection.
Tory Pitner, RD, South Kent Selects Academy; 6-0/170
Smooth two-way defender from California can do it all and was at the NTDP evaluation camp. Like Ingstrup, he made a positive impression quickly with his skating and ability to boost his team’s transition game with accurate passes, plus the instincts to read and react to the play. He will be off the USHL draft board pretty early.
Alex Bales, LD, Yale Jr. Bulldogs 15/Kent School; 5-10/170
The Western New Yorker is a mobile, efficient player whom you appreciate more and more as you watch him. Intelligent and engaged, he gets back on pucks and wheels them out of his own zone quickly, getting up the ice at the right times and using his stick effectively to neutralize opposition speed through the neutral zone.
Vinny Ipri, LD, Mount St. Charles 15O; 5-9/146
Small, but athletic and fast Ohio native plays with good pace and effort. He's a respected teammate. Though not a high-end talent, he’s the type of complementary player who makes a strong club even better. He was injured late in the year, but deserves draft consideration for his upside.
Owen Bresson, G, South Kent Selects; 6-2/155
From Quebec, Bresson looks like a player with his tall, lithe frame and ability to move laterally with fluidity and grace. He has the physical attributes, production and upside to be a draft selection and future import goalie in the USHL, but teams will want to do their due diligence on the QMJHL, where he is sure to be drafted as well.
