It's been a busy offseason for New England boys prep hockey head coaching jobs.
As of Thursday, six head coaches won't be returning to their schools next season. Three of those jobs have already been filled, while the other three are still open.
Why each coach left isn't known. But an interesting development I'm hearing more and more from coaches is that they're sick of having to fight to keep — and even recruit — their own players year after year.
There are many options out there. Academies have more hockey. Junior hockey is a higher level where players want to prove themselves. Other prep schools take from other prep schools, often offering more playing time.
And then, of course, Masters Academy International has entered the game. They're an attractive option, too.
Prep coaches becoming sick of all of that is something to keep an eye on over the next 12 to 24 months.
Here are the boys prep coaching changes so far.
BB&N
BB&N's head coaching job was open last spring after Anthony Moccia left. The Knights made wholesale changes, bringing in former Boston University forward Cason Hohmann as head coach. Ed Bourget, the longtime BB&N girls coach, moved into the school's director of hockey operations role, overseeing the boys team.
Hohmann and Bourget are leaving BB&N hockey. The Knights are back to square one.
Hohmann is going to Masters Academy International, while Bourget will continue teaching physical education at BB&N. Bourget's kids are going to school in Duxbury next year. He wasn't able to make it work with the travel and time commitment.
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BB&N had a much better season this past winter. The Knights put up 13 wins, which was the number they had over the previous three seasons combined.
This job is still open.
Brooks
Back in February, Brooks announced Dave Ries won't be returning as head coach next season. Ries started at Brooks in 2006-07 and led the school to a Small School title in 2013 and a Large School title in 2015.
Brooks struggled this winter, amassing only six wins and finding the back of the net 34 times in 27 games (worst in prep).
Still, Ries went 199-257-40 over his career at Brooks.
This job is still open.
Loomis Chaffee
This news may have gotten a bit lost as it came during prep playoff week, but JR Zavisza stepped away from being the head coach at Loomis Chaffee. Days later, the school announced that former UNH forward and longtime pro hockey player Paul Thompson would be elevated to head coach.
Zavisza coached at Loomis for 15 seasons, winning a Large School title in 2014 and going to the Elite 8 in the two seasons after that. His team also won a Large School title in 2019-20. The Lexington, Mass., native was a forward at UMass from 1999 to 2002.
Loomis went 10-10-4 this past winter, missing the playoffs.
Thompson has been an assistant under Zavisza since 2023. That came off 12 seasons mainly as a productive forward in the AHL, but Thompson did get three games with the New Jersey Devils in 2015-16 and 21 with the Florida Panthers in 2016-17.
From Derry, N.H., Thompson played at UNH from 2007-11, breaking out as a junior with 39 points in 39 games before being a top player as a senior with 52 in 39.
Proctor
Back in December, Proctor announced that head coach Mike Walsh would retire after this season.
Walsh began as the Proctor boss in 2002 after eight seasons coaching at Tilton. He won a New England championship in 2003, appeared in the NEPSAC playoffs nine times, won two Lakes Region tournaments in 2008 and 2017, and captured Lakes Region regular season championships in 2003, 2008 and 2017.
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Proctor went 9-19-1 this winter, having Walsh finish his Proctor coaching career with 324 wins.
One of the coolest things for Walsh was coaching his sons, Reilly and Ronan. Reilly played at Proctor from 2013-17 and got picked in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft. Ronan played at Proctor from 2016-20 and went on to play at UNH.
In December, Proctor said in a statement that they "anticipate a widespread search for the next varsity boys hockey coach."
The position is still open.
Tilton
On March 17, Southern New Hampshire University announced it had hired Brooks McQuade, who has been the head coach at Tilton since 2015.
McQuade went 158-115-14 over his 10 seasons at Tilton. The Rams won a Small School in 2018-19 after going 22-8-0, taking down Holderness in the title game.
McQuade, a Manchester, N.H., native, went to Tilton and graduated from the school in 2004.
Earlier this week, Tilton announced that former assistant Connor Hardowa would be taking over as head coach. He has spent the past four seasons at Tilton as an assistant, while also spending some time as the Varsity B team head coach.
Hardowa, a native of Edmonton, played four seasons at UNH from 2009-13. The 6-foot-1 defenseman also spent time in the AHL and ECHL before playing overseas from 2017 to 2022.
Westminster
Around the same time Loomis' head coach changed, Westminster's did, too.
Longtime Westminster head coach Tim Joncas stepped down from his post after 18 seasons. The Martlets immediately promoted assistant Ben Harff.
Joncas finished his time at Westminster, which began in 2007, with 248 wins. During that time, Westminster won the Large School tournament in 2011 and also captured Flood-Marr tournament titles in 2011 and 2015.
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One season after making the Large School tournament final, Westminster went 10-12-3 this winter and missed the playoffs.
Harff was an assistant coach at Millbrook from 2019 to 2024 and joined Joncas' staff this past season. He's also a scout for the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. He played his prep hockey at Berkshire.
