In our New England boys prep hockey coaches postseason survey conducted this past spring, one of the questions was about which team would be a surprising contender next season.
The overwhelming answer from coaches, who were granted anonymity, was Winchendon.
"They have a very strong incoming class and return some talent," one coach said.
That's true. They do have a strong incoming class and most of their talent from last season is back. It's also Mike Busconi's third year in charge. Three is typically the magic number for coaches.
The Wapitis have improved every year under Busconi. After a 10-win season in 2022-23, Busconi got them to 11 in his first year. That number jumped to 15 last winter, as they narrowly missed the postseason.
Making the playoffs was the expectation last year. That hasn't changed.
"Our expectation is to be in the playoffs," Busconi said. "We'll go from there."
Depth up front
Having a Division 1 college commit in your top six usually helps. Winchendon has three.
Merrimack commit Ben Short (Lunenburg, Mass.), Cornell commit Charlie Puglisi and Vermont commit Jackson Smail (Milton, Vt.), a newbie from Seacoast Performance Academy, are headliners on offense and will be looked upon for scoring.
Steven Khonroo led the team in points last season with 23, and he's back. Kaidan Sahajpal, who had 22 points last season, Jake West (Billerica, Mass.) and Kaden Kern (Lincoln, R.I.), who both had 21, and Cooper Ludwar (Chelmsford, Mass.), who had 20, will also be primary producers.
"You're looking for leadership in the locker room and on the ice and just setting an example," Busconi said. "But at the end of the day, they have to produce if the team wants to have success."
At Seacoast Performance Academy, Smail was a consistent producer from 14U through his 16U year. At 5-foot-8 and 165, he's a shifty, crafty winger who brings a high dosage of skill.
Short committed to Merrimack soon after Aug. 1 last year and had 23 points last season. Everything seems to be coming up Puglisi, as he committed to Cornell right after the Neponset Valley River Rats Jamboree and got a "W" rating on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary watch list, which came out on Monday.
Winchendon ranked 29th in the region in scoring last season with 100 goals in 31 games. Busconi's team also struggled to score at the beginning of the season, putting up only 15 goals in nine December games.
The players listed above should help ensure that's not a problem this season. Someone else who should take a step this winter is Drew Short (Lunenburg, Mass.), Ben's younger brother.
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The 2010-born player has been having a strong fall with the River Rats 15O squad.
"He didn't really play a ton last year, and he was 14 years old, so it was hard," Busconi said. "We're excited about what he can do."
Preventing opposing goals
The CHL ruling hasn't wreaked too much havoc on prep hockey. But Winchendon is one of the teams that has felt its effects.
Brady Murnane, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound defenseman, was slated to be a senior at Winchendon this season. Murnane even got rated a "W" in NHL Central Scouting's preliminary watch list.
Scouts will watch the Clifton Park, N.Y., native in the OHL with the Oshawa Generals instead of in prep this winter. Murnane was invited to a free agent camp and then was brought back for training camp.
"You can fall in love with him in two seconds," Busconi said. "It stinks to lose him on Sept. 1. But it's obviously good for him at the end of the day. The program has to embrace it and promote it. It's good for the program to move kids on to that level."
Winchendon will have a mix of newcomers and returners on defense. Anthony Pomarico (Brentwood, N.H.), an '07, is back as a postgraduate. He had 15 points last season. Jack Ducharme (Winchendon, Mass.) and RJ Grace (Dracut, Mass.), two '09s, are back. Ducharme is 6-foot-2, while Grace is 6-foot-1. Both are expected to take the next step.
The newcomers are intriguing. Jacob Turcotte (South Berwick, Maine) and Matthew MacInnis (Stratham, N.H.) arrived via Seacoast Performance Academy. Turcotte is an '09 and had 26 points in 55 games for the 15O team last winter and was at USA Hockey's Select 16 Camp this summer. MacInnis had 27 points for SPA's 16U squad last winter. Busconi also brought in Danny Maglathin, an '08, from the New Jersey Rockets.
Like with Short up front, Tyler Poti (Sandwich, Mass.) projects to be an impactful '10 in back. He's 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds.
"We have some younger D," Busconi said. "But the defense is good and we're excited about it."
In net, senior Brady Knode is back. The 6-foot-2 netminder took hold of the starting job last year and posted a 2.73 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. That alone should stabilize things enough to put Winchendon in postseason range.
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Busconi is also fortunate to have sophomore Jack Connole (Dudley, Mass.), an '09, back.
"He'll push Brady to play," Busconi said. "Jack's a good goalie. He's a little bit younger. But Brady's back this year and he's been great in the fall, so we'll see what he can do."
