It was an up-and-down year for Frederick Gunn last winter.
The Highlanders won four of their first six games and entered the Christmas break at 5-2-2. However, with a talented roster, they struggled to maintain consistency for the rest of the season, going 4-6-3 down the stretch before falling to Kimball Union in the Small School quarterfinals.
This year's version of Frederick Gunn is deep with new faces sprinkled throughout the lineup. Finding that consistency won't be easy, but it's necessary. Especially given Frederick Gunn's schedule.
"Our schedule is no joke," head coach Craig Badger said. "The good is that it makes the guys better players. It gives them a better experience. It gives them more exposure. The harder part is you truly have to show up every single day. And if you don't, you're going to lose."
Badger regularly brings in strong recruiting classes. This season is no different.
How good can this group be?
Scoring goals
Frederick Gunn is fortunate to return seniors Ryan Tartaglione and Tucker Mears. Tartaglione, an '07, had 22 points last season, good for second-most on the team. Mears, also an '07, led the team in goals with 11.
Mears brings a heavy dose of leadership. This is his second season as a captain.
"He plays a heavy, physical game," Badger said. "As a senior, four years in, I expect that he'll play a really, really good role."
Tartaglione will be counted on to make another offensive jump, as well as increased leadership duties.
"He's a skill guy with a knack for finding the back of the net," Badger said. "He came on as the year went last year and I expect him to be able to take a real leading role from Day 1 this year."
Patrick Cerullo is another returner who should take a leap. The '08 had five goals and 10 points as a sophomore last season.
"He played more of that grinder role last year," Badger said. "I think this year, he'll be able to produce a little bit more."
But the ceiling really gets higher when looking at the recruits.
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Whit Denzin, an '07, is a postgrad. He arrives at Frederick Gunn from Victory Honda's 18U team, where he had 26 points in 67 games.
For '08s, Nathan DeSanto arrives from South Kent. The New York City native had 52 points in 52 games last season for South Kent's 16U team. There's Will Wright, who had 26 points in 33 games for Sarnia-Lambton Jr. Sting's 18U team.
The '09s present quite a bit of upside, too.
That starts with Alex Taylor. The shifty, skilled forward came from the Halton Hurricanes' 16U team, where he had 98 points in 68 games last season. Troy Hamelin (Springfield, Mass.) joins Frederick Gunn after standing out for Pope Francis (MIAA) and a strong fall for the Neponset Valley River Rats' 16U team. Peter Royer (West Hartford, Conn.) stood out for the Yale Junior Bulldogs 15O team last winter. Hudson Kinsler posted nine goals and 26 points in 22 games for Edgewood High (Wisc.) last winter. And there's Carter Davis, who was with Team Maryland last season.
"Those guys were really good against their age group," Badger said. "It's a matter of how quickly can they adjust to the prep game and play against some older guys?"
Preventing goals
Last week, I posted my 24 breakout defensemen candidates to watch this season. Dylan Hall was firmly on the list. The '07 had 13 points last season and has shown significant improvements entering this year.
"He's a stud," Badger said. "He's got a fair amount of Division 1 interest. He even had some pro interest last year. Last year was a real leap forward for him. He's truly an elite athlete. He was a little inconsistent, though, in terms of adjusting to decision-making and all of that last year. But I think this year, he's going to make some real strides forward."
Tyler Clouthier is another senior who should take on major minutes. The Hooksett, N.H., native had five goals and eight points last season. At 6 feet, he brings a nice blend of offense and physicality.
A player who, along with Hall, could break out is Chris Paolone. The 6-foot-1, 176-pound defender had five points last season, but exploded in C.E.M. fall league play with eight goals and 17 points in 19 games. He was picked in the 13th round of the OHL Draft in 2023 by Owen Sound Attack.
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"He played really, really well at Owen Sound's camp this year," Badger said. "He really opened some eyes up there, including a couple of Division 1 schools. I expect that he will be very good this year."
Those three are the veterans who will be looked to to lead. Ryan Collins is a new arrival from the P.A.L. Junior Islanders. Michael Block comes via the Buffalo Junior Sabres. He was at USA Hockey's Select 17 Camp this summer. Both are '08s who should make an impact.
An '09 to keep an eye on is Jack Giamou, who had eight points in 15 C.E.M. games this fall. He arrives from the Toronto Red Wings.
"It's a really, really good group," Badger said.
Frederick Gunn had three seniors in net last season, and all graduated, leaving three open spots. Those were filled by '08s Alex Schnarr and Alex Saga, as well as Ethan Lazdowsky, who is a '10.
Schnarr is 6-foot-1 and arrives via the Carolina Junior Hurricanes, while Saga comes from the Anaheim Junior Ducks.
Lazdowsky, however, carries quite a bit of upside. The Norton, Mass., native was with Hillside School the past two years and had a strong fall for the East Coast Militia.
"Obviously, the older guys have a little bit of an edge just based on age and maturity," Badger said. "But in the end, we want someone to try to win the net. We're going in without any preconceived notion. We have new guys everywhere, but goaltending is obviously going to be the question mark going in. When you don't have anybody back there to fall back to in tougher moments based on experience of having been there before, that's going to be a question.
"I like all three guys. I hope they all play well. I hope they all push to win it."
Setting goals
There are real names on this roster. There are also a plethora of older players who can bring valuable experience and leadership. There's upside.
Still, Frederick Gunn opened as my No. 23 team, which equates to a lower seed in the Small School tournament.
"If we can play to our ability day in and day out, I think we could compete for a championship," Badger said.
Frederick Gunn is fortunate — most of its team played together on two teams in the fall with C.E.M. Teams primarily ran three lines of forwards and four or five defensemen. One team went 4-9-1, while the other went 2-11-2.
READ MORE: 32 breakout forward candidates | 24 breakout defensemen candidates |13 breakout goalie candidates
"Some days, their scores are better than others," Badger said. "But both teams have been very competitive. That's a good sign. I think they played hard. We've got a lot of talent, so once we're able to get them together on one team, I feel good about it."
The Highlanders have played only three scrimmages so far, falling to Westminster, 4-3, in overtime, before losing to Trinity-Pawling, 3-0. Most recently, they took down Elite Hockey Academy, 6-4.
