As Thanksgiving approaches and a break in the Division 1 men’s college season nears in just a couple of weeks, the prep school hockey calendar is beginning to fill up.
Many of the region’s best Division 1 players today enjoyed a stop in the competitive prep ranks before embarking on their collegiate careers.
Others have gotten a first taste of our rich hockey culture in prep school and caught the eyes of college coaches from the region.
Here’s a look at 12 former New England prep schoolers who are shining at Division 1 colleges in the region this season.
Alex Jefferies and Matt Copponi, Merrimack
Jefferies' prep school: Frederick Gunn
Copponi's prep school: Dexter SouthfieldÂ
Jefferies, a senior from Lunenburg, Mass., and Copponi, a junior from Mansfield, have more in common than being linemates and two of the top point producers in Hockey East. They both joined coach Scott Borek (Swampscott, Mass.) and the Warriors straight out of the prep ranks a year apart.
Since helping The Gunnery win the NEPSAC Small School title while posting 2.16 points per game as a senior, Jefferies has climbed the college charts since his COVID-shortened freshman season in 2020-21. The reigning All-American and Hockey East All-Star has been on a tear with six goals and nine points in six games this season since returning from injury.
Copponi was one of Hockey East’s most improved players last season, potting 14 goals and 29 points as a sophomore. The former Dexter Southfield captain and 2021 winner of the Boston Bruins’ John Carlton Memorial Trophy is making his mark at center again and making plays at a rate of 10 assists and a team-leading 13 points in 11 games.
Ben MacDonald, Harvard
Prep school: NoblesÂ
MacDonald has been thrust into a top-six role of a new-look Harvard lineup after spending just a season in the BCHL following the conclusion of his prep career at Nobles. The Boston native has made his mark on the scoresheet in the early going for the Crimson, scoring his first career goal in a game-tying scenario last weekend against Colgate and adding three assists across the first five games. Though the Crimson’s season is young, it hasn’t taken the former Bulldog and 2022 third-round draft pick of the Seattle Kraken long to adjust to a new level.
Will Smith, Boston College
Prep school: St. Sebastian's
The Lexington, Mass., native’s path to BC included time at nearby St. Sebastian’s before heading to the U.S. National Team Development Program and becoming the highest draft pick in program history when he was selected fourth overall by the San Jose Sharks this past summer. Smith, who is centering a line with fellow first-round picks Gabe Perreault and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.), is the second-leading scorer on the Eagles with 16 points, including 10 assists, and has marked the scoresheet in six straight games.
Justin Hryckowian, Northeastern
Prep school: SalisburyÂ
Hryckowian has been part of the list of injury-riddled Huskies so far this season, and the re-emergence of their junior captain and top center will be crucial if they want to find a way out of an 0-7-0 hole in league play. After netting 15 goals and being named Hockey East Best Defensive Forward last season, the former Salisbury standout has scored goals in each of the last two weekends. Hryckowian’s freshman brother, Dylan, is also a product of longtime coach Andrew Will’s Crimson Knights.
Riley Duran, Providence
Prep school: Lawrence AcademyÂ
A Woburn, Mass., native, Lawrence Academy product and Bruins draft pick, Duran is New England hockey through and through. The winger has been an everyday player for a Friars team that has stormed out of the gates this season, going on a nine-game unbeaten streak that was just snapped this past weekend. He netted three of his four goals and five of his six points over the first four games, which included wins over ranked Michigan and Denver. Duran capped his prep career as the ISL’s top player in 2019-20 before spending a year in the USHL, at the end of which he was drafted.
Lucas Mercuri, Massachusetts
Prep school: SalisburyÂ
Mercuri was no stranger to New England upon arriving at UMass, having spent two years at Salisbury and leading the Crimson Knights in scoring for a NEPSAC Elite Eight title-winning team his senior year. The power forward from Montreal is well on his way to a career-best season with 10 points in 12 games as a junior, which includes scoring two of his three goals over the last two weekends. The Minutemen have won four of their last five games and just swept ranked Providence, winning Thursday on Mercuri’s last-minute goal in the third period.
Andon Cerbone, Quinnipiac
Prep school: BrunswickÂ
Part of an outstanding freshman class for the top team in the PairWise Rankings, Cerbone (Stamford, Conn.) has had no trouble adjusting to the college game. The former Brunswick star is listed on the Bobcats’ second line which includes a fellow top-flight freshman in Mason Marcellus and plays on the power play. He has logged all 11 of his points over the last 10 games and scored two of his goals during Quinnipiac’s current five-game win streak. Last season, Cerbone scored the game-winning and series-clinching goal as the Youngstown Phantoms won the USHL’s Clark Cup.
Marcus Joughin, Sacred Heart
Prep school: New HamptonÂ
A two-time All-Lakes Region honoree who had 118 points during his prep career at New Hampton, Joughin is looking to follow up his Atlantic Hockey All-Rookie Team honor of a year ago while skating as the Pioneers’ top center. The Ontario native has logged four goals and seven points across 10 games for SHU, which is off to a 5-2 start in league play. Last season, he was fourth on the team in scoring with 24 points and shot 17.8 percent. He will be a key part of growing the program.
Lucas Gustafsson, Boston College
Prep school: CushingÂ
A three-year player and former captain of Cushing’s Penguins, Gustafsson arrived in New England from Alpharetta, Ga., and hasn’t needed to produce nearly as many points as he did as a freshman at BC. He has settled into a reliable role on the blue line. That element is still in his game, however, as he ranked fifth on last year's Eagles team with 16 assists, took more than two shots per game — a mark he has reached again for the current 9-2-1 club — and finished with a plus-4 mark last season.
Shane Lachance, Boston University
Prep school: TaborÂ
Before captaining the Clark Cup champs during his second year in Youngstown, Lachance (Andover, Mass.) spent two years at Tabor Academy, posting a 22-point season before being set to wear the ‘C’ for the Seawolves in the canceled COVID season. These days, the 6-foot-5 winger has carved out a regular role on the Terriers’ strong fourth line, posting eight points — including his third goal of the year against Maine this past weekend — across 12 games. One of his linemates is a fellow freshman and former local prep standout in Dexter Southfield’s Doug Grimes (Brookline, Mass.).
Jake Flynn, Connecticut
Prep school: ThayerÂ
The Bridgewater, Mass., native has been a steady presence on the blue line over his career at UConn, which has extended into a fifth year following two COVID-impacted seasons at the beginning. The former All-ISL standout at Thayer logged a career-high four goals and 14 points while racking up 66 shots on net last season for the Huskies and just netted his first goal of this year in a Friday setback to Boston College. He is serving as a co-captain for Mike Cavanaugh’s (North Andover, Mass.) club.
