The prep school hockey season doesn’t begin officially until November. While there are still a few months until puck drop, excitement for 2021-22 is picking up, nonetheless.
After the completion of the 12th annual River Rats Jamboree earlier this week, marking the start of the fall split-season campaign, the season is now that much closer to getting underway.
Without a true season in 2020-21, it’s shaping up to be a year unlike any other. Some teams will look drastically different. Others will look relatively the same. Who left and who is coming back? Will the perennial powers of the region continue to dominate or have other teams found ways to reload during the 18-month pause? This series of previews aims to answer some of those questions.
We kick off with a look at Mike Kennedy’s program in Greenwich, Conn. Below is a list of key players and team storylines to keep an eye on at Brunswick in the months leading up to and during the 2021-22 campaign.
A look back
After a 21-8-2 regular season, the Bruins earned the No. 2 seed in the 2020 NEPSAC Martin/Earl (Large) Tournament. They beat Milton in the quarterfinals, but the quest for their second D-1 title (the first came in 2018) came up short as they were bounced by the eventual champion, Loomis Chaffee, in the semifinals.
Like every other prep team in the region, the Bruins had no idea that game in early 2020 would be their last official matchup until late 2021. When the pandemic arrived, an uncertain offseason followed. And while the 2020-21 season never came to fruition, the team made the most of it, Kennedy said, playing 18 exhibition games against anyone that was willing and able.
“We had some pretty talented, Division 1 caliber players, so we were really itching to play some competitive, tournament brand hockey,” said Kennedy, a former D-3 Middlebury College player who’s entering his fourth season at the helm, and 17th with the program. “Obviously when that didn’t happen we tried to make the best of it. Our ice went down earlier than ever, so we were skating from September-March. Our guys got a lot of ice time but we certainly missed the playoff runs and tournaments – the fun, competitive aspects of New England prep hockey.”
Team Overview
In addition to the loss of '04 forwards Beanie Richter (Greenwich, Conn./Yale) and Andon Cerbone (Stamford, Conn./Michigan), who moved on to the BCHL and USHL last fall when it became clear the prep season was not going to happen, the Bruins graduated nine seniors in the spring.
Connor Welsh (Greenwich, Conn./Boston College) stuck with the team throughout the duration of the campaign, but he, too, will not be returning for the coming season. The ‘04 forward is expected to head to Sioux City to take his game to the USHL.
As it currently stands, Brunswick will have two seniors on the roster. It will be a young group, one that relies heavily on its large junior class with a group of sophomores and newcomers mixed in.
Leadership up front
In the wake of those key losses, junior captains Hank Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) and James Shannon (New York, N.Y.) will be central figures leading the team in the right direction up front.
Both are reliable forwards who will play in all situations and put up some points while spearheading the leadership charge in the locker room and on the ice. Both have yet to commit but are starting to draw some college interest.
Stud in the back end
Brunswick’s two seniors, John Burdett (Greenwich, Conn.) and Canadian Max Suave, as well as junior standout Lucas St. Louis, will head the leadership group in the back end.
Fresh off his NCAA commitment to Harvard on Aug. 26, St. Louis, a native of Riverside, Conn., is poised to be one of the top ‘05 blueliners in prep hockey this season.
A mobile, offensive-minded, puck-moving defenseman, St. Louis is a smart, cerebral lefty with a high hockey IQ. He’s a bit undersized but makes up for it with his elusiveness. He has some work to do in the defensive end but is sure to be a major contributor for the Bruins this season before his time at the prep level runs out.
“You can't teach a lot of what he does out there,” Kennedy said. “As he gains more experience, a little more confidence and a little more strength, the sky’s the limit for him.”
Behind St. Louis and the team’s veteran tandem on defense, Brunswick will have two reliable options in net with the return of juniors goaltenders ‘04 Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, Conn.) and ‘05 Will Baker.
Mid Fairfield inbound
While standouts such as Cerbone, Richter and Welsh are no longer with the team, the next wave of young talent is coming down the pipeline from the nearby Mid Fairfield organization.
From the ‘05 group, the Bruins have added several forwards, including Brendan Giles (Ridgefield, Conn.), Sean Gibbons (Southport, Conn.) and New Yorker Eli Friedman, as well as defenseman Sloan Farmer (Old Greenwich, Conn.). From the ‘06 birth year, Drew DellaSalla will be one of the key young newcomers up front. The New York native stuck out in NEHJ’s recent viewings at the Beantown Summer Classic.
With just two seniors and an array of incoming talent, it will be all hands on deck and a next-man-up mentality for the Bruins at Hartong Rink during the 2021-22 campaign.
“I’m excited about our group,” Kennedy said. “Certainly younger guys will have to fill some bigger holes than we're used to but if they can rise to the challenge I think we’ll have a typical season where Brunswick is in the mix.”
Liam Flaherty can be reached at liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com and on Twitter @_LiamFlaherty.
