New England Hockey Journal published our ranking of the top-10 NCAA players from the year, and now the series continues with an analysis of the best players from the region in juniors over the course of 2021.
Harvard sophomore Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.), who spent the 2020-21 campaign in the USHL with the Chicago Steel while attending online classes, had a historic season to lead the league in scoring and help the Steel capture the franchise’s second Clark Cup championship. He’s off to a fine start to his college hockey career and is shaping up as a promising pro eventually.
Farrell and other New Englanders who played in different junior leagues around North America get some recognition here. Whether currently playing junior hockey or having moved on after strong showings from the first half of the year, these are the players who are on the list, with emphasis on the Tier 1 USHL, plus other Tier 2 leagues where New England natives have made their presence known. Key factors are individual production and collective success, along with progression and potential to advance to the higher levels of the sport.
1. Sean Farrell
Chicago (USHL)/Harvard, LW, 11/2/01, left shot, 5-9/175
There can be no other player at the top of this list, as Farrell’s USHL Player of the Year and USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year awards put him at the head of the class on the strength of a 101-point season in just 53 games. The fourth-round pick of Montreal in 2020 is a dynamic scoring winger who has all of the attributes teams look for in smaller forwards. Speed and skill aside, he’s smart and creative. Because of the pandemic, he was in the USHL a fourth season going back to his first two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, before the Steel made him the top overall pick in the 2019 USHL Entry Draft. That extra seasoning and brilliance at age 19 allowed for him to immediately contribute offensively at Harvard.
2. Mackie Samoskevich (Newtown, Conn.)
Chicago (USHL)/Michigan, RW, 11/15/02, right shot, 5-11/191
Florida made the former Shattuck-St. Mary’s star who combined with Farrell and fellow 2021 first-rounder Matt Coronato (Calgary) in Chicago to be the class of the USHL and junior hockey as an organization in 2020-21. Injuries limited Samoskevich to just 36 games out of 53, but his explosiveness, quick hands and ability to generate instant offense convinced the Panthers to draft him early. Now on a loaded University of Michigan team, he’s been more of a secondary player as a freshman, but his success in juniors a season ago opened the door for him to make the 2022 U.S. World Junior Championship roster. While Team USA’s status is up in the air at present pending the outcome of COVID tests in Red Deer, he’s looked good playing on an all-New England line with Matty Beniers (Hingham, Mass.) and Brett Berard (E. Greenwich, R.I.).
3. Phil Tresca (Newton, Mass.)
Muskegon (USHL), C, 4/10/02, right shot, 6-0/184
Former Rivers School and Boston Jr. Eagles star is having a career year in 2021-22 with Muskegon in his second USHL campaign. Always fast and a talented scoring presence, he broke in slowly as a rookie in 2020-21, surrounded by a forward corps of veterans. Now a top-line center and with Boston University recruit Quinn Hutson as the team’s top scorers, Tresca’s 26 points in as many games currently sitting third on the club. Although the Lumberjacks got off to a sluggish start this season, he has had a strong 2021 overall and will be one of Yale’s prized future pieces to get the program back on track in the ECAC.
4. Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.)
Chicago (USHL)/Harvard, D, 1/4/02, right shot, 6-3/185
St. Mark’s defenseman was another key contributor to Chicago’s wire-to-wire USHL championship. After being drafted by Anaheim 67th overall in 2020, Moore made a seamless transition to juniors, scoring 10 goals and 24 points. Using his speed and ability to move pucks quickly, Moore was third in scoring from the blueline behind Ryan Ufko and Jack Babbage. Additionally, he played a reliable defensive game and logged a lot of minutes on a star-studded team. He’s now on another talent-laden roster at Harvard, and as he gains experience in the NCAA, should be a stalwart soon enough after establishing himself at the top junior level in 2021.
5. Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.)
Dubuque (USHL)/New Hampshire, RW, 8/15/00, right shot, 5-10/187
Led Dubuque in scoring with 28 goals and 53 points in 48 games in 2020-21. He made a huge jump in production after putting up just 8 points the year before as a USHL rookie. Although now at UNH, he made a big impact in the USA’s top junior league as a 20-year-old after finishing up his prep career at the Gunnery. Offense has not been easy to come by for the Wildcats this season, but the extra time in juniors has helped him to come in and play a key role up front right away as a skilled, savvy winger with a natural nose for the net.
6. Jake Black (Pomfret, Conn.)
Johnstown (NAHL)/IHC (NCDC), RW, 3/5/02, right shot, 5-11/155
NCAA commit: UConn
A revelation in the NAHL this season out of the USPHL NCDC with the Islanders Hockey Club as a point-per-game forward last year. Black’s 19 goals and 37 points place him currently in the top-5 for league scoring. It also led to a commitment with his home state UConn Huskies this fall after taking his time and working his way up the junior hockey ladder. Fast and engaged, he’s put it together in a nice fashion this season with the Tomahawks and his development should allow him to make a smooth transition to the Hockey East when he’s brought in.
7. Jack Williams (Biddeford, Me.)
Muskegon (USHL), LW, 3/2/02, right shot, 5-11/170
NCAA commit: Northeastern
In the league since 2018, Williams has been a consistent two-way presence who plays a versatile game for the Lumberjacks. The captain and Northeastern recruit is heavy on pucks and while not an upper-tier point producer, plays with Tresca on the top line and is a reliable winger who is disruptive on the forecheck and brings a lot of experience and polish to the mix. The former Selects Academy star will have more than 150 career games in the USHL by the time he heads to Boston for school, so expect him to be able to play a lower-line checking/energy role right away, adding quality depth. With 22 goals and 57 points in 77 USHL games over the past two seasons, it has been a good 2021 for Williams.
8. Jake Bongo (Ridgefield, Conn.)
Surrey (BCHL)/NJ Rockets (NCDC), RW, 2/4/03, right shot, 5-9/161
NCAA commit: Sacred Heart
With 16 goals in 24 games, Bongo is the top scorer among New England players out west in the BCHL in Canada Tier 2 hockey and the second-leading scorer among American players in that league after Minnesotan Zach Michaelis. He played in the NCDC last year, scoring nearly a point per game, and his quickness and slick hands have allowed him to translate in the fast, offense-oriented BCHL. Sacred Heart landed a quality player who is figuring out how good he can be.
9. Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.)
Green Bay (USHL)/Boston Jr. Bruins (NCDC), C, 6/7/04, right shot, 6-2/185
NCAA commit: Northeastern
The region’s top-ranked 2022 NHL draft-eligible player in the USHL, it took the former Cushing Academy standout some time to get going, but he’s had a stronger couple of months with the Gamblers. With his size, skating and big shot, he’s a threat to score on every shift, and as he has realized playing Tier 1 hockey, with a focus on improving the details in his game, more consistent offense has followed suit. He can back defenders up with his speed and ability to carry pucks through the neutral zone and gain the offensive blue line cleanly. He had a strong year in the USPHL NCDC with the Jr. Bruins, scoring 17 goals in 40 games when the 2020-21 prep season was canceled. He’s a first-round NHL talent, and we will see how teams ultimately view him come July, but with his body and upside, he’s a sure draft pick.
10. Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.)
Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)/New Hampshire, D, 8/12/02, left shot, 6-3/207
Big defender who was passed over in 2020 turned a strong 2020-21 USHL season in Muskegon into a draft call (sixth round) from the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning last July. Mobile for his size and plays with length- he’s not flashy, but is an intriguing long-term project player. Originally brought into the USHL by Cedar Rapids, he was taken by Muskegon in the dispersal draft when Madison and Cedar Rapids had to sit out the 2020-21 USHL season. Gagne led all players on his team with a plus-35 rating. He’s now in the Hockey East, and looks the part of a fixture on the Wildcats back end going forward.
Honorable mentions
Nick Niemo (Middlebury, Vt.), Lone Star (NAHL); 3/28/01, 5-10/175: Smart, determined forward has 29 goals and 81 points in the past two seasons with the Brahmas. He will skate for Bentley next season.
Owen Fowler (Tewksbury, Mass.), Omaha (USHL); 4/4/02, 5-9/188: Future UMass Lowell RiverHawk isn’t the biggest or most skilled, but is a bulldog and agitator who has been a key contributor to Omaha after the Lancers acquired him from Des Moines right before the calendar flipped to 2021. Out of Governor’s, the throwback winger goes hard to the net and gets under opponents’ skin, but needs to pick his spots better.
Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.), Janesville (NAHL); 8/17/02, 5-8/150: New Hampshire recruit has put up big numbers in the NCDC (Islanders Hockey Club) and NAHL with the Jets over the past two seasons. Although not big or a great skater for his size, he makes up for it with his shot and offensive instincts. When the puck is on his stick anywhere near the net, he’s a threat to score and has proven that with 18 goals in 27 games this year.
Jake Dunlap (Windham, N.H.), Northeast (NAHL)/Madison (USHL); 12/5/01, 5-8/158: Former New Hampton product had a productive couple of seasons between the NAHL and USHL, turning it into a commitment to New Hampshire after originally committing to UMass.
Kyle Chauvette (Goffstown, N.H.), Youngstown (USHL); 10/5/01, 6-0/158: Former NH Jr. Monarch and Loomis Chaffee player has already doubled his win totals with the Phantoms from a season ago. Previously committed to Holy Cross, he will now tend the nets at Union College in 2022-23.
