There is no doubt that Northfield Mount Hermon has a special place in Kevin Czepiel’s heart.
The Holyoke, Mass., native spent three seasons playing there, which helped launch him to a four-year career at UMass. After being the Director of Hockey Operations for the Minutemen from 2014-16, the Northfield Mount Hermon head coaching job opened up and Czepiel felt the pull to return to help fix his alma mater.
NMH went 5-20-2 in 2015-16. Czepiel was tasked with being the one to set the program back on the right track. Within two years of Czepiel stepping behind the bench, Northfield earned the No. 1 seed in the NEPSAC Large School postseason tournament. The next year, NMH was in the Elite 8.
“It took a lot of kids taking a leap of faith on me to come to Northfield,” Czepiel said. “When I took it over, we were not where we are today so it took those first couple of years. Those kids really stuck it out that decided to take a chance on me.”
He’s been in the position for seven years. Until now.
About a one hour and 44 minute-drive southwest of Northfield Mount Hermon sits Berkshire School. Dan Driscoll, who’s coached Berkshire for the last 17 years and also serves as the school’s athletic director, announced to his team at the beginning of the season that the 2022-23 campaign would be his last. Starting next season, he will just serve as the AD.
Czepiel caught wind of it and wanted a shot at the hockey job.
“It’s always been one of those schools that you thought if it opened up, [I’d] love to pursue,” Czepiel said.
And pursue he did. After a long interview process, he got an offer from Berkshire. Opting to leave at season's end from NMH, the place he and his wife call home, was difficult.
“Really tough,” Czepiel said. “It was not an easy decision at all. Even when Berkshire made the offer, it was a couple of sleepless nights.”
BEST OF THE BEST: Top performers from the week of Feb. 8-14 in prep hockey
It’s not the norm for a prep team to hire another prep coach during the season. But Driscoll will still be Berkshire’s athletic director. Not only did he want to leave the team in good hands, but he also wanted to give enough time before the March 10 prep school application deadline for next season’s team to know well in advance that Czepiel will be the boss.
The hardest part? Telling his current NMH team, which at 15-9-1 is in the midst of another good season.
“That was the toughest part of this whole process — having to tell them,” Czepiel said. “We do have a big senior group so of course with the seniors, and with all the players, I said that I’ll always be your coach and going to help you this year, next year and for the next five years. Anything they need.
“For some kids, with NMH being my alma mater and being there for seven years, it was probably out of the blue for them. So it was not enjoyable.”
Czepiel is fortunate to be walking into a better situation than the one he walked into seven years ago.
Berkshire plays a tough schedule and typically produces winning results, although this year’s team sits at 10-15-0.
Driscoll, who has been a prep head coach for 30 years (17 at Berkshire, five at Pomfret, five at Winchendon), knows that because of where prep hockey is headed, he needs a head coach who is just the head coach.
“I think the times have changed,” Driscoll said. “I’ve grown. The program needs somebody that’s singularly focused on the program and it’s time for me to hand it off to a new person.”
So, where exactly is prep hockey going?
Driscoll understands that throughout his time as a head coach, youth sports have become more specialized. Gone are the days of high school-aged kids either playing for their high school or a prep school — there are a lot more options now.
The longtime head coach, along with other coaches around the region, has adapted. One example is strength and conditioning programs offered for hockey players in the fall.
But Berkshire must continue to adapt while not losing sight of the players it wants to recruit.
ELSEWHERE: Standouts from Milton Academy's 6-2 win over Belmont Hill
“I think there’ll always be a group of people that really value the holistic experience that these schools provide in terms of providing really high-level hockey along with a great education,” Driscoll said. “In that regard, I think we’re in a good spot in the marketplace. The challenges will continue to be do we play enough games? Do we have enough time?”
Berkshire is in as good a spot as any to prove to new families that it can develop well on the hockey side. The team plays out of the Jackman L. Stewart Athletic Center, which has two full-size ice rinks. They fit well alongside a fitness center and big locker rooms.
“That was the first thing that drew me in,” Czepiel said of the facilities, which he called “arguably the best facilities in New England.”
The facilities, along with the school itself, will both be strong selling points when Czepiel hits the road to recruit.
“The kids we’re recruiting and the kids I recruit, I really want them to want that academic piece and the residential life and the whole experience,” Czepiel said. “For me, the changing of the prep landscape that I keep hearing a lot about really hasn’t affected me as much. But of course, kids want more and more ice, they want more development.
“For me, that really was a big drive with Berkshire of having the two sheets on campus and to really drive home that development piece and to get our kids ready for the next level, which is what it really is all about — helping kids move on to play at the collegiate level.”
Czepiel admits he will have to change when entering his new gig. Still, he will hold true to the same three components he recruited for at NMH: character, academics and hockey.
“Sometimes you may have to lose out on a little talent,” Czepiel said. “But when you’re picking the right character kids and the kids that are going to do the right thing in the classroom and on campus, in the long run, that leads to a lot more success.”
And as for the success Berkshire could experience under Czepiel?
“I just think the possibilities are endless and never having a rink on campus that had year-round ice [at NMH], for me, that’s really exciting,” Czepiel said. “The sky is the limit with the academic piece and the facility piece there.”
