Belmont Hill's James Fisher always knew he wanted to play college hockey at one of the four Beanpot schools, it was just a matter of when and where.
Out of 59 Division 1 NCAA programs in the country entering the 2021-22 season, that narrowed down the list of potential suitors rather quickly.
This summer, going into his junior year at the Belmont, Mass., prep school as one of the top uncommitted 2004 prospects in the region, it came time to narrow that list even further.
After making his official visit to Northeastern to see the Huntington Ave. campus and meet with the coaching staff in person, right away he knew it was the place for him. He didn’t even have to visit the other three schools.
Unlike most local players of his caliber, Fisher didn’t make his commitment on the first day of the annual recruiting sweepstakes – August 1 marks the first day that colleges can begin verbally committing rising high school juniors – but it didn’t take long. On Friday, the 17-year-old Wilmington, Mass., native made it official when he took to social media to pledge his future services to Jerry Keefe (Billerica, Mass.) and the Huskies in Hockey East, where he is slated to arrive in fall 2024.
Fisher joins fellow prep standout Dexter Southfield's Grayson Badger (Hyde Park, Mass.), as well as former Cushing prep stars Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Jackson Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.), as Northeastern commits for the future.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was little to win a Beanpot and have a chance to play for a national championship,” Fisher told New England Hockey Journal on Tuesday. “The coaching staff (at Northeastern) of coach Keefe, (Mike) Levine and (Mike) McLaughlin is just awesome. They’re great guys. Once I got there, I could really tell they loved my game and wanted me there.”
“Sitting down with them and going through the systems of how they play with that fast, guys losing their defenseman, one-timer, shooter mentality, things that fit my game perfectly, that was definitely a huge part of it. And, obviously, their success. They have won the past three Beanpots, which stands out a lot to me.”
A lot of work went in over the past 18 months for Fisher to get to this point. He really began to turn a corner last fall while playing on the top line for the East Coast Wizards 16-U following his freshman year at Belmont Hill.
“I think I took a huge jump from the previous season,” the 6-foot-2, 170-pound right-shot power forward said. “I played really well and began to like strike interest in a lot of colleges, and then I brought that same kind of fire into the Belmont Hill season, except it was a little different, not knowing when the next game was going to be, just going day by day.
“So, the preparation was a little different, but we got a lot more games than most other schools and I thought I performed pretty well. I was a bit more than a point per game, which was good, but I think I definitely could have been better.”
It didn’t take long for him to kick it up a notch. He really began to heat up when he joined the Pandemic Hockey League, created in February 2021 by former NHL defenseman Ian Moran to give the prep and high school players in the area, who lost most of their seasons due to COVID-19, a chance to play meaningful games.
“That was awesome for a bunch of guys just to get on the ice and have a real season,” Fisher said. “I think I was top-four in goals and top-three or -four in points which, for me, was really good with all the high-skill guys in that league. It was just a ton of fun to get out there with all my friends and play against some really good competition.”
That elevation in his play came as a result of the work he put in the summer prior, getting faster and stronger in the weight room. Even more so, however, was the bump in confidence that gave him the push he needed to take his game to the next level.
“I always had the skill but never really had the balls to go out there and do whatever I wanted,” he said. “Once I went out there like I was the best guy on the ice and had that mentality of attacking every defenseman and thinking I was better than everyone, that really gave me the confidence to be better and not shy away from anything, which I think I struggled with in my U-14 year and through U-15 year.”
He credited his dad, Tim Fisher, as someone that’s played a key role in helping him get to this point.
“He’s on my ass a lot, which can be frustrating at times but it's knowing he cares and that he’s there for me. He lets me know when I have a bad game, which is always good because you don't want anyone to embellish anything and say, ‘Oh it wasn't that bad.’ If I play badly, he’s going to be straight-up with me, and I think that's a huge part of it. It makes me angry at times, but it gets me fired up for the next one and then I can't let it happen again.”
Another figure he credited for his success is former Belmont Hill assistant coach, now head coach, Brian Phinney who’s going into his first season at the helm after taking on an interim role when former bench boss Jeremiah McCarthy (Boston, Mass.) went remote for most of last year’s unprecedented campaign.
“I think him knowing how to fire me up and get me going was a huge part of my success this past year,” Fisher said. “I definitely have him to thank a lot (for that).”
For his part in growing his game, Fisher’s familiarity with Phinney will help him take the next step as he sets out to take the ISL by storm during the highly anticipated 2021-22 prep campaign.
“He has such great tools,” said Phinney, a native of Ripton, Vt. “He can skate, he can fire the puck, he can play physical, and he’s got the size, as well. I think he's going to give us a lot of pop. With those tools and his mindset, there’s a really great opportunity for him to step in and have a big impact on every game we play.”
Belmont Hill hasn’t been to the New England playoffs in either year of Fisher's two-year prep hockey carer – the team sat around .500 his freshman year and the tournaments were not held in 2021 – so the duo is eager to qualify in 2022.
“I’m super pumped,” Fisher said. “We have a bunch of guys coming in and good returners, so I think we’re going to have a really good team. I think it can really take a turn, especially with Phinney taking over as head coach. I think he is going to be a big part of our success.”
With the commitment under his belt, Fisher knows it’s only the beginning of a long journey to get to where he wants to be a few years down the line – donning the red and black at TD Garden on the first two Monday nights of February.
“Now that I got it, there are going to be a lot of people watching to see what I'm all about,” he said. “A lot of critics are going to come with it, people who want to knock my game and say, ‘This kid’s not good enough for this or wherever,’ and that just puts a chip on your shoulders to say ‘Hey, I want to prove all of these people wrong.’
“I’m fired up, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
