NHL scouts and college coaches have been making the rounds to all the various prep school hockey holiday tournaments throughout New England this weekend in search of star players and diamonds in the rough.
Many of the players scouts and coaches have their eyes on are already well-known commodities. A lot of eyes are on St. Sebastian’s junior defenseman Jayden Struble, a Northeastern recruit from Cumberland, R.I. who is expected to be selected in the third or fourth round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Boston University commit Cade Webber returned from a lower body injury to take the ice for Rivers in the St. Sebastian’s Tournament. The Milford, Mass., native is expected to be selected as high as the second round due to his size and skating ability. Two 2019 NHL prospects, Dexter center John Farinacci and Berkshire defenseman Cade Alami, have missed their respective team’s holiday tournaments due to injury.
However, a few prospects have jumped up and grabbed some spotlight over the past couple of days. These are players who are generating significant buzz from NHL scouts and college coaches.
Henry Wilder
#31 Hotchkiss, 3/19/01, G, Catches Left
In this observer’s mind, the Needham, Mass., native has always been wildly underrated. However, after he blanked Milton for his third shutout in four games, the spotlight is shining brightly. Wilder has allowed just one goal in his first four starts and that came against powerhouse Salisbury. Wilder isn’t overly big for modern era goaltending standards, but he’s technically sound and makes a lot of really good saves. He’s been the unquestioned star for Hotchkiss. He’s now drawing significant interest from Big Ten, Hockey East and ECAC Hockey schools as well as a couple of NHL organizations.
Brendan Bowie
#29 St. Andrew’s College, 4/18/01, RW, Right Shot
Bowie picked up the first two wins in his team’s emphatic win over Rivers at the St. Sebastian’s Tournament. The second goal was somewhat of a fluke, but the first goal was a brilliant move where he rushed into the zone down the left wing and made a nice backhand finish. His skating is an issue for some coaches, but his hands and scoring touch are elite. He will have a college commitment very soon.
Robert Cronin
#19 Gunnery, 8/15/00, C, Right Shot
Cronin received significant interest from several college coaches who were in attendance Thursday night at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic. He assisted on the second and fourth goals of Gunnery’s 4-3 win over Trinity-Pawling. On the second goal, he found a pinching defenseman, Cornell commit Jimmy Rayhill, at the backdoor for an easy score. On the game-winning goal, Cronin won a draw and slipped around the opposing center before feeding Riley Brennan for a goal. Cronin is in his first year of playing prep hockey after skating with the Boston Bandits previously.
