The Winchendon School is getting ready to disrupt the status quo in the world of prep school hockey.
Head coach Jeff Pellegrini is moving ahead with a plan for the school’s girls team to leave NEPSAC competition and embark on a full-season 16U and 19U model starting in the next school year.
It’s a path that Pellegrini, who previously coached at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota — one of the most successful full-season schools in the country — was uniquely qualified to lead.
“When I came to Winchendon this was not a thought or idea but watching the trends and growth of the girls’ game and seeing what the girls were provided and needed it became the right move,” said Pellegrini, who has been at Winchendon since August 2021.
The idea was brought up in August and after a meeting in early September, the administration asked for a lot of data to support the move to an extended season. The data and feedback from parents and players supported the decision to move forward.
“The full-season model to go along with our strong academics, our brick-and-mortar structure, our facilities. This is what we saw and thought was needed and something our administration and school were very supportive of,” Pellegrini said.
The full season will allow Winchendon players — who play under the school's umbrella during the winter season but fan out on various other teams at other times — the ability to play under one umbrella and not have to be spread out on various teams during the fall and summer.
“Every Friday the girls’ have to sign out of school and go to multiple different places, parents having to drive from all over to just get to Winchendon then drive to the different arenas for practices and games. Then having to make sure the girls are back on campus for dorm check-in was asking a lot of the student-athlete and parent. This new model was something our current players, incoming players and their families wanted," Pellegrini said.
So why make the move with the girls team now and not the boys program?
“We have seen the girls’ game and our school’s female population rise dramatically. We felt this would be best going forward to meet the needs of our current and incoming students of the girls’ program right now, but we feel the boys’ program has a strong schedule right now with a lot of exposure," Pellegrini said. "But if the girls’ program is successful there could be a conversation about the boys’ program down the road.”
Pellegrini and coach Dean Jackson have been working with the girls to implement the model and have seen positive results.
“We have done some special things with our players already and they see that our skill development and player development model is really panning out and the girls are really excited that this can happen as a full-season program,” said Pellegrini.
What will next year look like and the goals for the program?
“What we have done in putting our schedule together is that myself and coach Jackson have used our years of college coaching and contacts to get a list of all the major tournaments and showcases they attend for scouting and recruiting and events for next year and schedule accordingly," Pellegrini said. "We want our student-athletes to be seen on a regular and consistent schedule."
“We are not attempting to qualify for the USA Nationals, we are not playing a USA Hockey schedule — we are playing an independent schedule next year. We will play Shattuck, Little Caesars, Chicago Mission and hope to play Selects Academy, to name a few, multiple times. It will be a 55- to 60-game schedule from September to March and then look to play in some summer showcases and host summer hockey camps,” said Pellegrini.
Pellegrini hopes that other NEPSAC schools will look at his program and perhaps follow suit in the future.
“There has been positive feedback from a number of NEPSAC schools," Pellegrini said. "I have received several calls about how this will look and some coaches have already asked for more information to bring to their administrations. So yes, a lot of positive reactions.”
One of the benefits Winchendon hopes to extract from the extended season model is more than just hockey — it is academics. In recent years, prep schools have seen players leave to play at hockey academies, at perhaps the expense of their education and social lives.
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“Under this model umbrella, we are going to be able to work with our players from day one to develop good habits and details. But we think it is important for the girls to be able to play spring sports as well. Get off the skates and be well-rounded,” Pellegrini said.
What does Pellegrini ultimately hope for under the extended season model for the girls at Winchendon?
“Our goals are to play for scholarships and to represent your country on the international level," he said.
