There will be no shortage of players with New England connections when 42 of the top 2019 NHL Draft prospects take the ice for the 2018 USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game. USA Hockey announced, on Friday afternoon, the roster for the game.
The annual game showcases the top American prospects for the upcoming 2019 NHL Draft. This year’s game will take place Sept. 19 at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The last two years were hosted at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Many of the players selected for the USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game were mentioned as likely prospects for the 2019 NHL Draft in a New England Hockey Journal post from the 2018 NHL Draft in Dallas.
Boston College recruit Spencer Knight is the only goaltender with ties to the region. The Darien, Conn., native is entering his second season with USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program after playing his sophomore season at Avon Old Farms. Knight, 6-foot-3, athletic and fundamentally sound, is projected to be the first goaltender selected at the 2019 NHL Draft.
Three defensemen from New England – Braden Doyle (Lynnfield, Mass.), Jayden Struble (Cumberland, R.I.), and Henry Thrun (Soutborough, Mass.) – were all selected to participate.
Doyle is a senior at Lawrence Academy and is committed to play college hockey at Boston University. He’s an athletic, puck-moving defenseman who likes to jump into the rush. Doyle’s biggest area of concern is his propensity for turnovers.
Struble, a Northeastern recruit, plays a similar style to Doyle, but might be a little more flashy. His body language and ability to defend on a consistent basis are in question. The St. Sebastian’s multi-sport athlete first found fame by being a star player on the Cumberland, R.I. team that advanced to the Little League World Series in 2014.
Thrun is a Harvard commit who plays for the NTDP after thriving at St. Mark’s. Thrun is a solid, two-way defenseman who is known for having terrific character.
Seven more defensemen have ties of varying degrees to New England. Drew Helleson and Cam York, both of the NTDP, are committed to Boston College. Their teammates, Alex Vlasic, Case McCarthy, and Cade Webber are all committed to Commonwealth Ave. rival Boston University. Another teammate, Marshall Warren, is committed Harvard, another Beanpot school.
Former Selects Academy defenseman Zac Jones, an undersized, offensive blueliner, is committed to UMass.
Just one New England forward, Matt Boldy, made the roster, but many with ties to the region are slated to play in the game.
Boldy, from Millis, Mass., played at Dexter School before leaving for the NTDP. The Boston College recruit has seen his draft stock rise dramatically over the past year. He has tremendous hockey sense and is a strong skater with above average skill.
Harvard recruit John Farinacci, who plays at Dexter, is one of the notable forwards from outside of New England. Others include Boston College recruit Danny Weight and Boston University recruits Robert Mastrosimone and Trevor Zegras, the latter of whom played for Avon Old Farms before moving onto the NTDP. Johnny Beecher, a NTDP forward who previously competed for Salisbury, is a Michigan recruit headed to St. Paul for the game.
A full roster of players for the 2018 USA Hockey All-American Prospects Game can be found here.
