A smile comes across Carl Corazzini’s face.
We’re in a tight office at the front of St. Mark’s Athletic Center and the Framingham, Mass., native is recalling the first time he got a glimpse of Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) on the ice.
During the 2020-21 season, COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the schedule, and prep teams were looking for other opponents. One day midway through that season, St. Mark’s was to play the Junior Bruins at New England Sports Center. Corazzini and his squad arrived early and to kill time, the head coach was watching the game before — Gallant’s Islanders team taking on the Minutemen Flames.
Gallant, an eighth-grader at the time, had six points and was hard to miss. But for Corazzini, it was two instances that stuck out most.
One was how Gallant picked up a puck at full speed. The other was a play where his back was to a defenseman as he was receiving a pass. With a teammate on each side, the ‘07 standout feathered a backhand pass one way to avoid contact, leading to a 2-on-1 and a goal.
“All right,” Corazzini thought to himself, “He’s going to have a chance to make the national team.”
Once Corazzini got Gallant at St. Mark’s, those kinds of plays became common last season — his freshman year.
“Obviously I had high expectations for myself,” Gallant said of his outlook going into freshman year. “I thought I was a good player going in. The first game was tough for us against Dexter, but I really found myself being able to compete with everyone so after that, my expectations rolled and I just kept on rolling with it.”
Gallant didn’t just compete with everyone — he dominated. The 5-foot-11, 161-pound wing posted 16 goals and a whopping 43 points in 24 games. In New England Hockey Journal’s postseason prep poll done in May of this year, the one common theme was just how special Gallant was.
“For a freshman to get 43 points is impressive from my perspective,” said a prep coach.
His elite play scored him a spot in the Boys Select 15 national camp in Amherst, N.Y., this summer. Gallant posted two goals and seven points in four games for Team Columbia Blue.
“He hadn’t played all summer,” Corazzini said of Gallant going into the camp. “I don’t think that’s the thing that people realize about what he did at that U15 national camp this summer…He hadn’t played in an organized event and he does and is the fifth leading scorer at that national camp against the best players.”
Gallant spent most of the summer with a strict diet of training on-ice, off-ice, skating, mobility and shooting. He also dealt with a bruised kidney from lacrosse season at the start of the summer that “went away,” according to Gallant, as well as a stress reaction in his back towards the end of the summer.
THAYER'S NEW COACH: David Hymovitz hired as the next head coach at Thayer Academy
“It was great,” Gallant said of the national camp. “I got to see a bunch of the ‘07s that I don’t get to play against at all anymore. So that was really fun.”
All of this great play has Gallant all over the radar of lots of Division 1 programs.
“He’s going to be able to do whatever he wants,” Corazzini said.
Corazzini is used to helping top players navigate through being recruited to play Division 1 hockey. Typically, his New England players jump at schools that play in the Beanpot.
But with Gallant, things could be different.
“I think Richard kind of wants to explore as many options as he possibly can,” Corazzini said. “Certainly playing in the Beanpot is going to be really important for him, but he’s the first one that I get the sense that might want to take a look at what else is out there. Some of those other big schools have had success both academically and athletically. He’s the one I can’t handicap right now.”
Colleges can’t contact Gallant until Jan. 1. After that, Gallant’s phone will most likely be ringing off the hook with phone calls from top Division 1 programs.
“I’m looking for a college that will develop me even more in my game and as a young man,” Gallant said. “I’m looking for an education and that’s a big part for me — I go to St. Mark’s for a reason. They have a great education. These big schools usually have a great education so that’s always a piece for me.”
And as for where in the United States that might be?
“I’m looking here in New England, that type of area. Out west, down south — anywhere that wants me to play,” Gallant said.
Still, none of this means there can’t be improvements in his sophomore year. The main thing Corazzini is looking for out of his star forward is to shoot more.
“It’s OK to be selfish, it’s OK to look to score,” Corazzini said. “I think Richard’s got to evolve that into his game where he’s going to look to create shots for himself, which he can certainly do. Once you understand that he’s a shot threat, those lanes are going to open up because now they have to honor you.”
Gallant attributes his pass-first attitude last year to being on the ice at the same time as Dominic Murphy (Worcester, Mass.), a Holy Cross commit currently playing for the Prince George Spruce Kings in the BCHL, and Michael Fisher (Westborough, Mass.), who was taken 76th overall by the San Jose Sharks in this summer’s NHL Draft and plays for the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL.
“With those two key pieces gone, I think I’m going to have to take more shots and fill a little bit more of the role that they left behind,” Gallant said.
Gallant considers himself a playmaker, which means it’s no surprise that the NHL players he says he emulates the most are Mathew Barzal, Brayden Point and Mitch Marner.
When Corazzini talks about Gallant, however, he compares him to Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.), a Harvard standout and a St. Mark’s alum. Farrell notched 27 goals and 55 points in 2016-17 for St. Mark’s.
“[Gallant] and Sean are on that same level in a sense that they think the game so much differently,” Corazzini said. “Richard might be a little bit ahead of where Sean was at that age, but it’s really close.”
No matter the comparisons for Gallant, it’s clear his future is bright and it’s moving quickly. He knows these are the days to enjoy.
“I love just showing up every day and having a good time with [my teammates],” Gallant said. “This is some of the best, most fun hockey I’ll have.”
