MARLBORO, Mass. — The Beantown Summer Classic concluded last week at the New England Sports Center with a diverse and talented group of hockey players participating in the annual event.
There were four different divisions of players spanning the 2001-2008 birth years. The largest or “Pro Division” consisted of eight teams from the ’01-’04 age range. The “Futures Division” was comprised of four teams from the ’05 and ’06 birth years. The “Prospects Division” was a pair of teams of ’07 and ’08-born players, while the “Committed Division” consisted of two teams of ’01-’05 players, the majority of whom have already secured commitments to D-1 programs.
New England Hockey Journal watched all of the divisions and teams participating in the event and took note of select performances from players. This particular recap will focus on the Pro Division’s top forwards with future articles taking a closer look at the defensemen and goaltenders from the pro division, plus a comprehensive review of the younger divisions as well.
Zachary Aben, Mount Saint Charles Academy 18-U
12/12/03, shoots left, 5-9/185
Late ’03 helped Mount Saint Charles reach the Tier 1 18-U national championship game last spring and showed a high-energy, gritty game throughout the games we saw. More quick than explosive or fast, he does a good job of getting to the greasy areas of the rink and will take a hit to make the play. The Shavertown, Penn. Native has quick hands to score in tight and is a disruptive forechecker/effective 200-foot player.
Noah Bird, Governor’s Academy (Andover, Mass.)
2/6/03, shoots left, 6-0/172
You noticed him every time he was on the ice because he hustled and played with such a high compete level. A wide-base track skater, he showed good open-ice speed and liked to make things happen off the rush, finishing a nifty give-and-go by going wide up the right side, dishing the puck at the blue line then going right to the net for a rebound. Unselfish player who passed the puck and was good in support.
Cooper Boulanger, Holderness School (Barre, Vt.)
7/8/03, shoots left, 6-0/180
Impressed with his pure speed and skating ability. When he had the puck, he could get around defenders. Without it, he won a lot of foot races to the biscuit. Had one snipe of a goal where he lasered a shot into the upper corner, but also showed some soft hands to finish in tight. His ability to wheel is one thing, but if he can score in prep like he did here, schools will have interest.
Frank D’Ancona, Omaha Lancers
6/2/04, shoots left, 5-10/155
The smallish but slick forward has some real skill and it makes sense that he was able to get a USHL opportunity with Omaha this season after watching him here (and earlier this summer in Foxboro at the pre-draft event). He has very good vision and creativity, but also disrupts as an effective forechecker and isn’t afraid to get to the net or compete on pucks. His hometown was listed as Mont Vernon, N.H. in the program, but he’s a New York product who spent the last two seasons with Mount Saint Charles and was headed to the LI Gulls before he aced Lancers tryout camp.
Ethan Fredericks, Des Moines (Northeastern)
11/22/04, shoots right, 6-2/185
Big rig made quite an impression here, continuing to build on a successful 2020-21 season. He’s highly athletic and moves up and down the ice with a powerful stride. When he gets a full head of steam going and drives the net, there aren’t many at this level who can stop him. He leveraged his success into a commitment to Northeastern later in the week, and will play in the USHL for the Des Moines Buccaneers. As a native of Atlanta, he’s relatively raw in terms of his high level hockey experience, but has the tools and upside to make a high impact going forward.
Donovan Frias, St. George’s School (Hudson, Mass.)
11/9/04, shoots left, 6-3/195
Big, skilled and around the net a lot, this late ’04 is generating momentum with pro teams for his power forward game. He didn’t impact the games we watched as we were used to seeing, but as he improves his foot speed and acceleration, the raw projections will undoubtedly come into focus more.
Julian Frias, St. George’s School (Hudson, Mass.)
11/9/04, shoots right, 6-3/195
Competed hard and made a lot of plays here. His twin brother Donovan gets a lot of attention and deservedly so, but Julian showed some impressive pace and effort. He was effective on the walls and when he went to the net, there was a lot of chaos that ensued. The skating and skills are coming along, too.
Jayden Grier, TBD, (Needham, Mass.)
12/12/03, shoots left, 6-2/220
Has gotten better and better since we first saw him and made a lot of plays here. With his big body and strength, he can power through contract and traffic and get to the net. Superb in the possession game, he shields the puck well and can drop his shoulder and go through defenders, but nimble and agile enough to go around as well. There were times when he was making plays on his backhand when there was time and space to pull it to the forehand to make a higher percentage pass, but the overall progress was noticeable.
Nathaniel Haley, Boston Jr. Bruins Premier (Lowell, Mass.)
6/17/04, shoots right, 6-1/185
Tall, rangy winger competed hard here. He plays a straightforward north-south game but has good size and effort. He’s still pretty young and raw but the physical tools are intriguing and if he can develop his skills and continue to add mass to his frame, is a player to watch.
Andrew Haxton, Nobles (Wakefield, R.I.)
1/12/03, shoots right, 5-9/165
Speed kills, and Haxton has it. A Foxboro summer prep league standout, he flew around the Marlboro ice in similar fashion, creating havoc and making plays on the puck. When on top of his game, he backs up defenders with his ability to drive wide, but also creates matchup challenges with his east-west elusiveness. A good stickhandler, he took pucks to the net and was a handful for opposing defenses. As he continues to round out his game to be effective in all zones, he has a chance to earn a D-1 opportunity.
Matthew Kursonis, St. George’s School (West Boylston, Mass.)
3/5/04, shoots left, 6-2/185
Tall, lanky forward’s stock is on the rise after watching him score a lot here. He skates well and did a good job of creating separation and time/space to finish off chances with a quick, accurate shot. He doesn’t waste much energy getting pucks on net, and with his size and skills, he opened some eyes here. He’s going to be a prep player to watch going forward and his development curve is headed in the right direction.
Jaiden Moriello, Kimball Union Academy (Saugus, Mass.)
5/4/03, shoots right, 6-2/195
Big, rangy forward has a heck of a shot and he used it to score quite a bit here. With his long limbs and a solid motor, he was able to get a lot going below the dots and has a snap release and heavy, accurate drive. His foot speed and skating are the biggest area for improvement, but when he goes hard to the net and has the puck on his stick, there’s a lot to like here.
