Way back at the start of the National Collegiate Development Conference season, the South Shore Kings’ eyes were set on the ultimate prize: Another championship.
They had won it in 2024, and now they’ve won it again, having brought the Dineen Cup back to New England after beating the Grand Junction River Hawks in the NCDC final.
“I think having success after grinding as a team for eight months made going out on top that much more special,” said Brendan Keaveney (Westwood, Mass.), a Babson commit who was the team’s top New England native, registering 48 points across 50 regular-season games.
The Kings were dominant en route to hoisting the Cup.
After winning their second straight Founders Cup (best regular-season record in the 33-team league, 44-7-1-2) and the New England Conference title, the Kings finished off a 13-1 postseason run with four straight wins to emerge from the four-team, double-elimination bracket in Idaho Falls, Idaho.
The Kings suffered an opening loss to the Idaho Falls Spud Kings, but bounced back to eliminate the P.A.L. Junior Islanders and beat the tournament hosts in a rematch in front of over 3,000 fans to reach the final round. There, they took down the previously unbeaten River Hawks on back-to-back nights.
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Third-year King Jake Kavanagh, who prepped at Choate, scored the overtime game-winner to propel South Shore to a 1-0, championship-clinching win on April 28.
“I tell the players at the start of every year that if you have the opportunity to play meaningful games in March and through April, it’s a lot of fun and it’s something you’ll remember for the rest of your life,” Kings coach Tyler Holske said. “Looking back on it now, it was an awesome group, a really competitive group, and just a remarkable run.”
The formula that has helped the Kings sustain success year after year while developing players for college is quite rare within today’s changing hockey landscape.
Of course, there are quality facilities (Foxboro Sports Center) and coaching staff to help the players maximize their on-ice performance, but Holske emphasizes building a strong team culture. If recent history is any guide, it appears to be a separating factor for winning at a level where players are often focused on their individual success rather than that of the team.
That focus has led to consistent results and player development, as 12 players on the championship roster had committed to NCAA programs by season’s end. Headlining that list is Harvard-bound 6-foot-3 center Eli Heinze, a Governor’s Academy product who posted a team-leading 26 goals and 53 points this season.
“There’s a lot of unknown for these kids, and it’s really hard to get to college hockey now. You have to be a really, really good player,” Holske said. “For us, it starts with a winning culture. Everybody wants to win. … Our success speaks for itself, and I’m a believer that we have everything under one roof (to help players get to the next level).”
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Former New England prep players litter this roster.
Over 80 percent of the team — including co-captains Kavanagh and Jacob Owens (Hotchkiss) and assistant captains Alec Babineau (Governor’s) and Eli Velepec (Loomis Chaffee) — spent time on the prep circuit before joining the Kings.
Holske has plenty of experience in the prep realm as both a scout and an assistant coach for six years under Paul Cannata at Milton Academy, and he believes that the academic-focused and close-knit team environment of his players’ past plays a key role in building a strong team of his own.
“These guys are coming from similar backgrounds and structure, and when you do that, good things can happen. They’re good players and good students,” Holske said. “Every game (at that level) is meaningful, and it’s always tight. … I watch a lot of games, and I’m very familiar with the type of kids that those schools attract. (Recruiting from prep) just makes sense for us, to help build a strong team here year after year.”
The players noticed the benefit of that recruiting strategy right away as well.
“So many of us coming from a similar place and going through juniors, it makes the process so much easier,” Keaveney said. “Juniors is not easy, especially since guys are coming in looking for (commitments). Your career’s on the line, basically. And to have guys that are coming from the same route, it gives you some confidence and gives you guys to go through it with you.”
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It’s no different from a cultural standpoint, either.
“Just having that pride for the logo, it transitions from (prep) school to juniors, for sure. We’re all in this together,” Heinze said. “We all have the same goals, we’re all trying to get to the same schools. That makes the team environment really fun to be a part of.”
As Holske said, the team will never forget it — and it will be an experience to bank on as careers advance.
“This season taught me lessons about how to be a winning player, and that will pay dividends in college, right? It’s a completely different level, but I think winning is still the same. You have to buy in, you have to compete,” Heinze said. “(Future players) are going to realize that by playing for the Kings, you get to be recruited by these amazing schools — and that you get to be a winner.”
