With the boys prep hockey season right around the corner, it’s time for the preseason rankings.
Salisbury won the Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 championship last season, while Kent took the Martin/Earl Large School championship and Pomfret snagged the Piatelli/Simmons Small School Tournament.
Kimball Union was picked No. 1 in last year’s NEHJ rankings. Salisbury came in second.
The NEHJ preseason coaches’ poll releases next Monday.
1. Cushing
Coach: Paul Pearl
2021-22 record: 17-7-3, lost to Avon Old Farms, 6-0, in quarterfinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Ethan Gardula, F; Landan Resendes, F; Linas Dedinas, F; Emerson Marshall, F; Nikita Belik, F; Jack Costanzo, F; Zach Rizzo, D; Ryan Philbrick, D; Tyler Russo, D; Cooper Rautenstrauch, G
Outlook: The loss of Billy Norcross is big, but Resendes and Gardula are both poised for huge seasons. This team also has a lot more depth up front than it did last year, which gives head coach Paul Pearl four lines that can do damage. Rizzo and Philbrick will be essential on the back end with their experience. Russo is one of the top ’07 defenders in New England. He will provide a major presence on Cushing’s back end. The Penguins lost Jackson Irving in net, but Rautenstrauch looks poised to be a stout successor.
2. Kimball Union
Coach: Tim Whitehead
2021-22 record: 29-3-1, won Lakes Region championship; lost to Salisbury, 2-1 in overtime, in semifinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Jackson Kyrkostas, F; Michael Sullo, F; AJ Noel, C; Malcolm Baar, C; Sam Ledrew, F; Kyle Murray-Smith, F; Jack Sadowski, F; Jack McMinn, D; Ian Ramsay, D; Luke Clarner, D; Andrew O’Sullivan, D; Dan Heroux, G
Outlook: This is not the same KUA team that battled Salisbury to the end in the Elite 8 semis in March. Whitehead calls it “probably the youngest team I’ve had since I’ve been here” and the youth is most evident on defense, which graduated its top four. Heroux brings stability in net and Kyrkostas (RPI commit) leads a group of dangerous forwards. Still the team to beat in the Lakes Region League and a strong candidate to return to the Elite 8.
3. Salisbury
Coach: Andrew Will
2021-22 record: 20-5-0, beat Belmont Hill, 4-1, in Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament final
Players to watch: Ty Creech, F; Seamus Latta, F; Trey Deere, F; Liam Kilfoil, F; Jared Rothman, F; Nicolas Petrut, F; Alex Zakrzewski, D; Sam Hall, D; Quinn McCall D; Anthony Biakabutuka, D; Hudson Gorski, D; Matt Alberti, G; Cooper Flemming, G
Outlook: Sixteen players are gone from the Crimson Knights team that won the Elite 8 championship in March, leaving plenty of room for new and returning players to make an impact. Deere is the team’s top returning scorer with seven goals and 22 points last season, and the Syracuse lacrosse commit should be a key piece to the depth that Salisbury hopes to develop. Brown-bound Zakrzewski leads what Will hopes will be another mobile and skilled defense, while two new goaltenders join the program as upperclassmen.
4. Avon Old Farms
Coach: John Gardner
2021-22 record: 22-3-0, lost to Belmont Hill, 4-2, in semifinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Joe Connor, F; Charles Gollob, F; Nick Capasso, F; Jordin Palmer, D; Hudson Miller, D; Ryan Flaherty, F; Mikey Munroe, F; Stephen Peck, G
Outlook: The Founders League field looks strong again, but Avon always seems to find its way to the top. The Winged Beavers won the league title and were among New England’s final four last year. Gardner returns a solid veteran core — including a pair of double-digit goal scorers in Connor (Northeastern) and Capasso — and has brought in some new recruits who will look to make a difference. Miller (Yale) and Flaherty (Holy Cross) are also Division 1 commits. A USA Hockey National Camp invite, Munroe was NEHJ’s top freshman in Massachusetts high school hockey last season, playing for D-3 champion Hanover.
5. Brunswick
Coach: Mike Kennedy
2021-22 record: 21-8-1, lost to Kent, 4-2, in Martin/Earl Large School tournament final
Players to watch: James Shannon, F; Eli Friedman, F; Drew DellaSalla, F; Brendan Giles, F; Sean Gibbons, F; Sloan Farmer, D; Collin Eschricht, D; Niko Cadoret, D; Cooper Cleaves, D; Brendan Holahan, G; Will Baker, G
Outlook: The Bruins have one of the most experienced offensive cores in New England as five forwards return after scoring 29 or more points a year ago, including a pair of college commits in Friedman (Yale) and DellaSalla (Harvard). Shannon and Friedman were both 40-point scorers last year as Brunswick was the NEPSAC Large finalist. Lucas St. Louis has moved on, but Kennedy has plenty of options capable of stepping up. Cleaves recently committed to Dartmouth. Senior captain Holahan and Baker will both be strong in net.
6. Dexter Southfield
Coach: Dan Donato
2021-22 record: 17-6-3, lost to Salisbury, 3-1, in quarterfinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Nate Porter, F; Cullen Emery, F; Sean Keohane, D; Liam O’Keeffe, D; Jonathan Lanza, D; Max Gatti, G; Paul Dalessio, G Outlook: Dexter is going to be very strong in its own end this season. In net, there’s Gatti and Dalessio, who comes to Dexter after two seasons with BK Selects. Both Gatti and Dalessio will benefit from a strong defensive group featuring Keohane, Lanza and O’Keeffe. There’s also Mick Frechette and Carson Nickulas to provide depth on the back end. Up front, Dexter is young but has promise. Look for Porter and Emery to see a big jump in production from last year.
7. Kent School
Coach: Dale Reinhardt
2021-22 record: 17-8-0, beat Brunswick, 4-2, in Martin/Earl Large School tournament final
Players to watch: Gio DiGiulian, F; Patrick Walsh, F; Alex Bales, D; Jacob Ingstrup, D; Braden Pohlman, D; Teddy Mallgrave, D; Denver Damphousse, D; Aiden Hopewell, G
Outlook: The Lions look to defend their New England Large School championship with the best defense and goaltending corps that Reinhardt has ever coached. Leading the way is Bales, a Providence commit and potential NHL draft pick who played for USA Hockey in the Five Nations Tournament over the summer. The top six scorers from last season are gone, but Walsh and DiGiulian are expected to contribute greatly.
8. Holderness
Coach: Alan Thompson
2021-22 record: 20-4-3, lost to Kimball Union in quarterfinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 tournament
Players to watch: Max Charbonneau, F; Aidan O'Connell, F; Jake Boulanger, F; Caeden Herrington, D; Evan Plunkett, G
Outlook: Holderness graduated 12 seniors off a team that produced one of the best seasons in school history. Its 125 goals scored and 50 goals allowed were the best figures in at least the past two decades of the program. Charbonneau and O’Connell were among the team’s leading scorers last season, and there’s strength in the net, with Plunkett a proven asset, and good depth with juniors Ryan Nolan and Kolin Belliveau. Herrington is a solid addition to a new-look defense.
9. St. Mark's
Coach: Carl Corazzini
2021-22 record: 20-6-2, lost to Pomfret, 1-0, in Piatelli/Simmons Small School semifinals
Players to watch: Richard Gallant, F; Andrew Gibbons, F; Jimmy Lyver, F; Austin Boorgaard, F; Calvin Beard, D
Outlook: The Lions are looking to secure a spot in the Elite 8 this season. According to Corazzini, St. Mark’s is looking to get better as the year progresses, and that will largely hinge on the play of the back end, which will be without star Michael Fisher, who’s now with the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL and was drafted 76th overall in the 2022 NHL draft. This team’s strength will be its offense, which is led by Gallant. As a freshman he ranked third on the team in points with 43.
10. St. Sebastian's
Coach: Sean McCann
2021-22 record: 18-6-1, lost to Belmont Hill, 3-2, in quarterfinals of Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 Tournament
Players to watch: Isaac Mitchell, F; Teddy Mutryn, F; Matt Cataldo, F; Aidan Connors, D; Pelle Russo, G Outlook: St. Sebastian’s looks to be a young team with a big junior class. “Good depth, but we’ll have lots to prove,” St. Sebastian’s head coach Sean McCann said. “Great opportunity for lots of kids either returning or trying out for the first time.” St. Sebastian’s will have to fill some big roles from last year, as 2021-22 ISL MVP Brendan Gorman, Mike Callow and Nolan Joyce all departed in the offseason.
