Lucas St. Louis decided not to follow in the footsteps of his father, Marty, or his brother, Ryan, when deciding which college hockey program he’d play for in a couple of years.
The '05 from Riverside, Conn., committed to Harvard, it was announced Thursday. Lucas’ father played at Vermont before his legendary NHL career and his older brother is a freshman at Northeastern.
The younger St. Louis had quite a few options of his own, but chose Ted Donato’s program. St. Louis is a mobile, offensive-minded, puck-moving defenseman. He can push the pace in transition and make plays while walking the blue line. St. Louis made the NTDP Evaluation Camp, but fell short of making the team. This summer, he represented the red, white and blue at the Five Nations Tournament, helping the Americans win Gold.
St. Louis will spend the 2021-22 season playing for Mid Fairfield 16-U and Brunswick. A second round pick of the Dubuque Fighting Saints, he’ll likely head to the USHL for the following season. St. Louis becomes the third member of his 2020-21 Mid Fairfield team to commit to Harvard, joining forwards Salvatore Guzzo and Logan Renkowski.
Maine stays busy on recruiting trail
Maine continued its torrent pace on the recruiting trail by adding three new commits over the past week, including defenseman Liam Lesakowski, who played for Salisbury and Rochester Coalition last season.
Lesakowski, a late '03 from Buffalo, N.Y., is a good-sized defender whose development is on an upward trajectory. He had three assists in two games for Salisbury in 2020-21 while skating in 32 games for Kyle Quick’s Rochester Coalition team that won the USA Hockey 18-U Tier 1 National Championship. He’s projected to spend the 2021-22 season with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Wichita Falls center Thomas Weis and St. Michael’s Buzzers center Jared Coccimiglio are the other two new recruits for the Black Bears. Weis, an `02 from Madison, Wis., spent the 2020-21 season in the NAHL with Wichita, scoring 23 goals and 28 assists in 58 games. Weis is on the 30-man roster of the USHL’s Fargo Force for the 2021-22 campaign.
Coccimiglio is expected to play in the OJHL with St. Michael’s this season. The `04 from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., is a well-respected talent from north of the border. On the smaller side, he’s known for gifted hands and a goal-scoring touch. Since Ben Barr took over the program in Orono earlier this offseason, Maine has committed 10 players.
Close, but no cigar
Former Kimball Union center Adam Fantilli committed to Michigan, it was announced last week. The 2021 USHL Clark Cup MVP had interest from numerous top programs across the country, including a few in New England. Ultimately, he decided to follow his brother, `02 defenseman Luca, in going to play for the Wolverines. The late `04 is considered a lock to be a first round pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
William Whitelaw, a center with the Youngstown Phantoms, committed to Wisconsin last week. The `05 from Rosemount, Minn., spent the past couple of seasons at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. The first overall pick in the 2021 USHL Phase I draft, Whitelaw put up monster numbers at the Five Nations Tournament this August. He scored six goals and five assists in four games. Boston University was thought to be the other finalist to land Whitelaw.
