Our Best of New England series rolls on, ranking the region's Top 50 girls hockey prospects by birth year.
We started with the '07s earlier this week, followed by the '08s. Now it's time for the '09s. We'll wrap up with a watchlist for the '10s later this week.
The same guidelines apply. New England natives were eligible, as well as players from outside the region who play for local preps, academies and clubs. We ranked players based on both current form and how they project.
I've been watching the '09s for three seasons now. Some of the below '09s are already some of the very best at their level. Others still have things to prove. Some are already committed, while some rising juniors and seniors figure to be popular in the upcoming recruiting cycle. Most have made it to USA Hockey select camps.
I initially thought ranking the '08s and '09s would be easier than the '07s. It turned out to be far from the case.
Like the first two rankings, sorting through the very top was the easy part. Things were quite difficult outside of that group. Regardless, it was a blast taking stock of all the young talent in the region. I think I might've been able to do a Top 75 or even 100 with the '09s. It's a deep group.
Let's dive into our Top 50 '09s.
Top 10
1. Jane Daley
Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's
Position: F
NCAA: Ohio State
Hometown: Medfield, Mass.
2. Chyna Taylor
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: D
NCAA: Wisconsin
Hometown: Louisville, KY
3. Annabelle Lovell
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F/D
NCAA: Minnesota
Hometown: Hingham, Mass.
4. Bella Freitas
Team: Cushing/East Coast Wizards
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Everett, Mass.
5. Lily Bromley
Team: Nobles/Boston Americans
Position: F
NCAA: Princeton
Hometown: Carlisle, Mass.
6. Sydney Stoughton
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F
NCAA: Minnesota
Hometown: Mason, OH
7. Brooke Schlutter
Team: Williston Northampton/Connecticut Polar Bears
Position: F
NCAA: Cornell
Hometown: Ladera Ranch, Calif.
8. Catherine McCool
Team: Nobles/Boston Americans
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: West Roxbury, Mass.
9. Mirella Martinelli
Team: Tabor/East Coast Wizards
Position: D
NCAA: Providence
Hometown: North Providence, R.I.
10. Paisley Meyer
Team: Phillips Exeter/East Coast Wizards
Position: F
NCAA: Yale
Hometown: Greenland, N.H.
Top 10 notes:Â You got an hour or two to talk about the top of this group? You'd be hard-pressed to find a better collection of prospects. There's a lot to be excited about.
Daley has an effortless release and high-end speed. She earned MVP and broke the tournament goals record at the U18 Women's Worlds this winter. Taylor and Lovell have also stood out on the international stage. Both have produced at high levels. Taylor has high-end vision in transition to go along with blazing speed. Lovell is an elite skater with versatility. Freitas, meanwhile, has been a top goal-scorer in the NEPSAC as a freshman and sophomore. Bromley's stock has gone up in the last year-plus, and she's a player who impacts play whenever she's on the ice.
BEST OF NEW ENGLAND: ’07 girls Top 50 | '08 girls Top 50
Stoughton is effective in all situations and has a knack for making winning plays. Meanwhile, Schlutter has been ascending at Williston. She's a dynamic presence with a quick release. McCool, like Bromley, is a hard-nosed player who has produced since her eighth-grade year at Nobles. Martinelli, meanwhile, is highly effective in transition. Meyer had a massive season at Phillips Exeter, leading prep in goals and finishing second in scoring. McCool and Freitas will be eligible to commit this summer.
Nos. 11-20
11. Aubryn Monter
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F
NCAA: Penn State
Hometown: North Ridgeville, OH
12. Mia Daley
Team: Williston Northampton/East Coast Wizards
Position: F
NCAA: Yale
Hometown: Lynnfield, Mass.
13. Maddy Call
Team: Thayer/Boston Americans
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
14. Alexa Georgantas
Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Foxboro, Mass.
15. Nora Shea
Team: Nobles/East Coast Wizards
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
16. Simone Burns
Team: Rivers/Boston Americans
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
17. Tatum Friedholm
Team: Groton/Boston Americans
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Sudbury, Mass.
18. Moira Landsverk
Team: Frederick Gunn/Connecticut Polar Bears
Position: G
NCAA: New Hampshire
Hometown: Seattle, Wash.
19. Remi Karsh
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F
NCAA: Yale
Hometown: Parker, Colo.
20. Reese Engel
Team: Nobles/Boston Americans
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Westwood, Mass.
11-20 notes:Â There's still plenty of depth and high-end skill in this next group. Several players had cases to make for the top 10.
Monter's speed and compete help her create mismatches all over the ice, while Daley has made an impact in all three zones for Williston since setting foot on campus as a freshman. Call has a lot of the same traits as Bromley and McCool, and she was one of prep's top producers as a sophomore. Georgantas, meanwhile, was one of the top scorers in prep at Nobles a season ago. The speedy forward is coming off her first season at Shattuck-St. Mary's. Defenders Shea and Friedholm have boosted their stock quite a bit in the last year. Shea broke out from a production standpoint, while Friedholm, a rising senior, was a three-zone force for Groton.
BEST OF NEW ENGLAND: ’07 boys Top 50 | '08 boys Top 50 | '09 boys Top 50
Burns has gotten better and better in each of her prep seasons, thanks to her vision and skating. Landsverk, our first goalie on the list, stood out at Lovell Academy a season ago before a stellar debut prep season at Frederick Gunn. Karsh was productive at Winchendon before moving over to Lovell, where she has continued to put up strong numbers. She has a strong shot and uses her strength to her advantage in the offensive zone. Engel projects well as she gets older and stronger with her compete and frame. She can be hard to play against defensively.
Nos. 21-30
21. Caroline Clark
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F
NCAA: Syracuse
Hometown: York, Maine
22. Mia MacDonald
Team: Rivers/Boston Americans
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Walpole, Mass.
23. Sienna Glass
Team: Phillips Andover/East Coast Wizards
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Andover, Mass.
24. Nicole Sciarretta
Team: Deerfield/Boston Junior Eagles
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Dix Hills, N.Y.
25. Megan Carlson
Team: Governor's/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
26. Maria Gilshannon
Team: Frederick Gunn/Mid Fairfield Stars
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Fairfield, Conn.
27. Emily Hosman
Team: Loomis Chaffee/Mid Fairfield Stars
Position: G
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Mich.
28. Maddy Allen
Team: St. Paul's/Boston Junior Eagles
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
29. Brooke Carlson
Team: Governor's/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
30. Allie Sauls
Team: St. Mark's/Boston Junior Eagles
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.
21-30 notes:Â For me, this is where the depth of the '09s really starts to shine, as many of these players are top-of-the-lineup caliber.
Clark has put up back-to-back 30-goal, 80-point seasons with Lovell Academy. She's strong on the power play, making herself available and finding lanes to pass and shoot. MacDonald and Megan Carlson have similar profiles as puck-movers, unafraid to take chances and lead the rush. Glass has also improved a ton in the last 12 months with her decision-making and ability to facilitate regroups. She tripled her previous career-high for points this past season. Sciaretta's strong offensive instincts helped her make an impact right away at Deerfield.
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Gilshannon and Brooke Carlson have produced against older competition in prep the past two seasons. Both create offense in middle ice. Hosman profiles as a strong prospect in the crease with her size (5-foot-10). She's shown well in smaller samples at Loomis Chaffee and will have a chance to shine next season. Allen, meanwhile, is a strong forward who took a big step at St. Paul's this season. She more than doubled her previous career bests. Sauls' vision and playmaking have helped her generate chances in her first two seasons at St. Mark's, and it paid off with a big breakout year this past winter.
Nos. 31-40
31. Gia Orizotti
Team: Winchendon
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Vancouver, Wash.
32. Lana Hardin
Team: Governor's/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Tyngsboro, Mass.
33. Barbara Ma
Team: BB&N/Bay State Breakers
Position: G
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
34. Gabby Ogunnupe
Team: Berkshire/Connecticut Polar Bears
Position: D
NCAA: Brown
Hometown: St. Albert, AB
35. Caroline Harrington
Team: Cushing/Assabet Valley
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Minturn, Colo.
36. Dominique Reiher
Team: Phillips Exeter/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Menona, Wis.
37. Lexi Drevitch
Team: NAHA
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Middleboro, Mass.
38. Abby Waara
Team: Winchendon
Position: D
NCAA: Northeastern
Hometown: Sheboygan, Wis.
39. Emily Macaulay
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Queensbury, N.Y.
40. Anne Gilbertson
Team: NAHA
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Green Bay, Wis.
31-40 notes:Â Orizotti has put up big numbers at Winchendon with over 200 points during her time there. She has a heavy shot and is an opportunistic offensive presence. Teammate Waara has also put up big-time numbers on the back end for Winchendon. Hardin's game has always stood out to me with her offensive awareness. The rising senior at Gov's has had solid numbers throughout her three seasons in prep. Ma was fantastic in the starting role for BB&N this season, helping a young team reach the NEPSAC Large School semis.
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Drevitch is a slick skater. She was NAHA Red's Defender of the Year. She and Wright make plays in transition and jump into the offense. Macaulay also took a huge step from last season to now, more than doubling her goal and point totals. She's strong along the boards and effective in all three zones. Reiher missed some time with injury this season but still beat her freshman year totals. She has some shiftiness to go along with her 5-foot-7 frame. Gilbertson features a big-time shot, which resulted in a big spike in production. She had 70 points and 46 goals this season. Harrington, meanwhile, has a solid frame, makes good reads and anticipates. Ogunnupe uses her size effectively to win battles and create space for herself. She has shown some offensive upside through two seasons at Berkshire.
Nos. 41-50
41. Nora Swaim
Team: Rivers/East Coast Wizards
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Concord, Mass.
42. Nora Wilson
Team: Groton/East Coast Wizards
Position: G
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Weybridge, Vt.
43. Jocelyn Gray
Team: St. Mark's/Boston Junior Eagles
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Hanover, Mass.
44. Liza Demain
Team: St. Paul's/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Wolfeboro, N.H.
45 Kari McKay
Team: Lovell Academy
Position: D
NCAA: Union
Hometown: Anchorage, Ala.
46. Jadin Bingham
Team: Stanstead College
Position: F
NCAA: Merrimack
Hometown: Newport, Vt.
47. K. Reagan Brown
Team: Lawrenceville/East Coast Valkyries
Position: D
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Greenwich, Conn.
48. Natasha Godfrey
Team: Brooks/Valley Junior Warriors
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Scarborough, Maine
49. Kaidence Wright
Team: Northwood School
Position: D
NCAA: Lindenwood
Hometown: Kent, Conn.
50. Brooke Fallon
Team: Cushing/East Coast Wizards
Position: F
NCAA: Uncommitted
Hometown: Bedford, N.H.
41-50 notes:Â I thought Fallon was in line for a massive junior season at Cushing, but the rising senior was out for the year with an injury. Her speed makes her an effective puck carrier in transition and allows her to create pressure on the forecheck. Kunzelmann took off as a sophomore at Taft. Her confidence with the puck on her stick helped her drive transition. McKay's strength and defensive ability helped her stand out for Lovell Academy, defending hard in front of the net and killing plays with her reach. Demain is a massive presence at 5-foot-10 and can make an impact at both ends. She should continue to ascend for SPS. Brown has good strength in defensive battles to go along with some two-way upside.
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Wilson is one of the top uncommitted goalies in prep for me. The rising senior has carded two strong seasons as the starter at Groton, and she was practically unbeatable in this year's Small School title run. Swaim took big strides as a play-driver for Rivers, while Godfrey's speed and scoring touch helped her make an immediate impact in her first year at Brooks. Gray didn't miss a beat after standing out in the MIAA, scoring nearly a point per game at St. Mark's and shining in the postseason. Bingham has been a powerful scorer at Stanstead, and she has shown a knack for making heads-up passes. Wright is coming off a solid first season with Northwood, in which she had 50 points in 93 games on defense.
