BROOKLINE, Mass. — The Brookline Whalers took down the East Coast Militia handily on Saturday afternoon with a 6-0 win.
It was never close, as the Whalers, who are mostly Dexter Southfield players, piled on the Militia and controlled the game.
I had a bit of a different reason for being there. Typically, I'm focused on everyone, and I still was. But I was mainly watching Whalers defenseman Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) and Militia defenseman Kaiden Donia (Townsend, Mass.). Governor's Academy forward Jack Torr is on the Militia's roster and is an NHL Draft prospect, but wasn't there on Saturday.
Brosnan and Donia are players NHL scouts are watching this fall and winter. Both are intriguing in their own ways.
Brosnan will be with Dexter Southfield this winter and has been playing some weekends with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers, while Donia will be at Groton.
I'll have a breakdown on all NHL Draft prospects in fall hockey next week. But here's how both players performed on Saturday.
Kaiden Donia
A couple of things before I dive into Donia's game. For starters, it was a bad day for the Militia. They didn't have their legs and went up against arguably the best team in prep come the winter. Add in the Whalers practicing together all the time and playing together through the winter, as Dexter, and they're a hard matchup. It's also a one-off game on a Saturday in October.
I had Donia on the ice for five of the goals against. There were some plays in which he got beat to the net (the Whalers' first goal) or skated by (the Whalers' fourth goal). There were missed coverages in front of his own net. On one play, he was puck-watching the Whalers forward behind the net and trying to take away passing lanes, but missed the forward coming in from behind him. The puck got to the Whalers forward for a prime scoring chance.
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That said, Donia's puck play was pretty good. He was at his best making the smart play. When he had time with the puck in his own zone, which can often be when the most mistakes happen for players, he would typically skate it for a bit before making a smart, quick first pass. He often made intelligent, small-area passes.
Donia is 6-foot-5 and 183 pounds. He can cover a lot of ground and does so quickly. He's at his best when he's focused on making simple puck plays and tightening up coverage in his own zone.
There's no doubt that NHL scouts will watch with intrigue this winter. Donia just committed to Quinnipiac and is coming off a summer at Hlinka-Gretzky Cup Camp for Team USA. He has real upside. It just comes down to whether or not NHL teams think he can reach his potential. It's a long game that could pay huge dividends if he hits.
Myles Brosnan
Brosnan had a really good day. It started with his calmness and poise with the puck in all situations.
He quarterbacked power plays well, looking for smart passing lanes, and got hard, low shots through from the point. On an early power play, Brosnan's first shot almost went in, while the second went off the end boards and out in front to Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.) for a big chance. There was a sequence later in the period when Brosnan showed his dynamic side in the offensive zone, fending off defenders while bringing the puck around and finishing with a shot from just outside the slot. Brosnan didn't always join the rush or get involved low in the offensive zone, but he picked his spots so well.
In his own zone, Brosnan was physical. Late in the first period, he used his good stick to close off a Militia forward's rush and hit him against the glass, freeing the puck for the Whalers to take the other way, which ended in Kurt Beck (Arlington, Mass.) scoring a goal.
When opposing forwards crossed into the net front, even without the puck, Brosnan was on them quickly with a cross-check or some form of physicality. He locked things down in front of his own net, intercepting passes into the slot and transitioning to offense.
He was a breakout machine as well, using that poise to find forwards to pass to up ice.
At 6-foot-1 and 194 pounds, Brosnan has good size for a defenseman and has become a two-way force, which he certainly showed on Saturday. Sure, defensemen like Donia and Brian McFadden (Holbrook, Mass.) have can't-miss size. But Brosnan rarely makes mistakes, and his game is so complete. There aren't holes.
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He committed to Harvard this summer and looks to be on track for a massive winter with Dexter. Point production and that dominating, two-way game will be Brosnan's keys to being a pick come June.
