Just like always, Harvard is producing future doctors, lawyers and titans of industry. But, in case you haven’t noticed, the school is also churning out top defensemen at an impressive clip.
Adam Fox, John Marino (Easton, Mass.), Jack Rathbone (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Reilly Walsh (Falmouth, Mass.) were Harvard teammates not long ago before moving on to the pro ranks, with Fox winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman in 2021 with the New York Rangers and Marino of the New Jersey Devils establishing himself as a top four NHL defenseman. Rathbone (Vancouver) and Walsh (New Jersey) are in the AHL and looking to break through.
Next up is Henry Thrun.
Harvard’s senior captain is one of the top defensemen in college hockey. He does it all – defends, breaks the puck out of the defensive zone and has 18 points in 19 games so far.
“He plays in every situation. He plays a lot of minutes. Heavy minutes. Important minutes. He’s really been great for us all year,” said coach Ted Donato, whose team is 11th in the Pairwise this week.
Thrun (Southboro, Mass.) typically logs around 27 minutes a game, though he was on the ice for just over 30 minutes against Brown on Saturday.
Donato said Thrun’s compete level is top-notch.
“He’s strong on pucks and wins a lot of one-on-one battles and he’s able to end plays in the defensive zone. And then he does everything hard, whether it’s pass the puck or shoot the puck. He’s willing to take a hit to make a play to get us out of the zone, so he does a lot of good things,” he said.
Asked how he sees himself as a player, Thrun had a ready answer.
“I like to consider myself a prototypical 200-foot, two-way defenseman. Obviously, I take pride in defense first and being able to be someone that’s relied on in penalty kill situations and at the end of games when we’re defending leads. I feel like the offensive side of my game definitely is a strength as well. It’s something I’m always trying to improve on,” he said.
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Thrun grew up playing on a Minuteman Flames team that also featured his Harvard teammates Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) and Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.). In time, Thrun, Farrell and Moore all moved on to the St. Mark’s School, where they played for coach Carl Corazzini.
Corazzini, who was a captain at Boston University and went on to a pro career that included games with the Boston Bruins, helped Thrun during his two years at St. Mark’s.
“Carl might be the most influential person I’ve had in my life, especially at a time like that, where you’re a young teenager in high school. I spent a lot of time with him in my freshman and sophomore year and still continue to talk to him to this day,” said Thrun.
“I think he helped mold me into the person I am right now, both as a player and off the ice. He’s someone who spends a lot of time with his players and is a role model for a lot of players, which I think is cool.”
From St. Mark’s, Thrun joined USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program for two seasons. His NTDP teammates included the likes of Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras and Matt Boldy (Millis, Mass.). After Thrun’s U18 year, he was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth round (No. 101) in 2019.
Thrun, who has pro size at 6-2, 190 pounds, was ready for college hockey from day one.
“He’s a guy that immediately made an impact, which isn’t easy when you’re an 18-year-old freshman. His first year he was one of the leading scorers in the country for freshmen defensemen and really wasn’t a power play guy much for us and was plus-20,” said Donato.
Thrun believes he’s improved his physicality during his time in college, which should be an asset as he moves into pro hockey.
“You watch the NHL today and there’s a lot of high-skill, high-pace forwards. I think that having big defensemen that utilize their body and their frame is valuable. I’ve been trying to emulate that a little bit and use the size that I have to gain some separation on pucks.
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“It’s taken a little bit of time to adapt to that and find the most effective way to do that. I feel that I’ve improved a decent amount and I’m going to try to get better at it,” he said.
Thrun spent a week at Ducks development camp last summer and came away impressed with the direction of the team under general manager Pat Verbeek, who took over late in 2021.
“It was awesome. Obviously, Pat Verbeek coming in and organizing the rebuild there and getting the organization moving in the right direction, I’m a huge believer in him and what he stands for and the way he is conducting that organization from day to day,” Thrun said.
“Camp was very well done. There’s a lot of really good players out there and it was really competitive, which was awesome. The most notable things for me were Pat Verbeek and (director of player development) Jim Johnson and the work that they’re doing trying to turn that organization around. It’s been pretty impressive to see the people they’re bringing in and the standard that they’re setting, both for players and all their staff.”
Thrun could go to free agency this summer if he chooses.
“It’s something I try not to think about a lot. Obviously, I know that there’s options out there. I just try to focus on the day to day within the season and hopefully figure out that stuff towards the end of the year,” he said.
Before he moves on from Harvard, there is some unfinished business – the Beanpot.
“It means everything. I’m pretty open about it, I’ve yet to play in a championship game. It’s something that stings.
“Obviously, growing up around here and watching it every year and having been to a handful of Beanpots, both as a player and as a fan when I was younger, you dream of playing in the championship game on that second Monday. Right now we’re focused on that first week and beating BC.”
After the Beanpot, the focus will shift to the ECAC race and playoffs, and then to the NCAA Tournament.
“We’ve been happy with the season so far, but there’s still a lot of room for growth in our team and we know that there’s another level we can reach. Hopefully, we’ll find that as we go into the playoffs,” Thrun said.
