Twenty-eight New England natives will take part in the 2022 USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp that starts Thursday at the Northtown Center in Amherst, N.Y., a suburb of Buffalo.
It’s a big event for the 2005 birth year as it begins the draft eligibility season for all but those born after September 15. The field of players at Select 17s were chosen from district festivals, including Massachusetts and New England, which consists of the other five states in the region.
Players on the USA Hockey NTDP are precluded from the national camps with the reason being that they’re already been given an abundance of exposure in international competition and USHL play during their two seasons with the program in Plymouth, Mich. For that reason, three top '05s from Massachusetts, Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.), Will Vote (Arlington, Mass.) and Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.), won’t be in Amherst this week.
Not only is this a significant few days for 2023 NHL draft consideration, USA Hockey uses this event to choose the participants on the national team that will compete in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup this July August. In addition, of the 28 New Englanders, only defenseman Lucas St. Louis (Riverside, Conn.) and goaltender Thomas Kiesewetter (Plymouth, Mass.) are committed. The rest are looking to have impressive showings in a setting that brings together multiple coaches from every college hockey program in the country.
Outside of the 28 local players in attendance, there are 19 skaters present who play for a prep school or midget program in the region or who are committed to a college within the New England borders.
Locals with best shot at Hlinka-Gretzky Cup
There are three local players who I see as having the best shot at making the U.S. Under-18 Select Team that will compete in the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup from July 31-August 6 in Red Deer, Alberta.
Right wing Will McDonough (Duxbury, Mass.), St. Louis, and goaltender Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.) are the three locals with the best shot heading into the week.
After the Select 17 portion of the event closes on Sunday, two all-star teams will be put together on Monday to compete Tuesday and Wednesday in the Hlinak-Gretzky Cup selection process. Those three games will also be at the Northtown Center.
McDonough is a big, strong power forward who can score goals. He can possess pucks, drive the net, come off the wall with power, and crash the net for rebounds and tips. His skating is the one area of concern when picking an elite team such as this. Another question mark is his health, as he missed a few months with an injury suffered while playing for Sioux Falls in the USHL. He missed a portion of Select 16s last July with an illness. Regardless, he’s well known to USA Hockey officials as he was at last May’s NTDP Evaluation Camp.
St. Louis, also a 40-man camp invitee last spring, is a mobile, puck-moving blue liner. The Brunswick and Mid Fairfield star will play for Dubuque in the USHL next season. He’s the son of legendary NHL player Martin St. Louis, now the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. He’s an offensive defenseman whose decision-making and defensive zone play will be scrutinized heavily by the USA Hockey brass making the final decision. I’m penciling him in for making the team.
Scopa had a call-up with USA Hockey when the NTDP U17 team needed a goaltender late in the season. The longtime Junior Eagles standout isn’t overly big, but he checks in at 6 feet tall, which is the magic number for goaltenders. He’s technically sound and has earned rave reviews from USA Hockey brass over the past 12 months. Scopa is leaving Belmont Hill to vie for the starting job with the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
Uncommitted players look to make impression
There will be a number of uncommitted players from the region who are hoping to shine on the big stage in front of a significant number of college coaches. While there are many good uncommitted '05s in the region, a few have a little bit more at stake this week.
Outside of Scopa and McDonough, Avon Old Farms center Joe Connor, Cushing left wing Ethan Gardula, Mount Saint Charles right wing Patrick Murphy, and Cushing right wing Landan Resendes are the rising juniors generating the most buzz with August 1 right around the corner. For those unaware, NCAA legislation passed in May 2019 prohibits players from committing before August 1 of their junior year.
Committed players to watch from outside of New England
Players with junior hockey experience have a leg up this week. For that reason, look for strong showings from a few committed players from outside of the region with local schools’ logos next to their names on the line chart. Tri-City Storm right wing Tanner Adams (Providence), Dubuque Fighting Saints center Mikey Burchill (UMass), Youngstown Phantoms left wing Braiden Clark (Providence), and Muskegon Lumberjacks defenseman Gavin McCarthy (Boston University) are all certainly favorites to make the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup team.
Pittsburgh Penguins Elite center Brandon Svoboda (Boston University), Long Island Gulls left wing Logan Renkowski (Harvard), New Jersey Rockets center Thomas Klochkov (UConn), and Mount Saint Charles center Chris Pelosi (Quinnipiac) are a few other non-locals to keep an eye on in Buffalo this week.
New England natives
- Chris Battaini, LW, Pittsfield, Mass./South Kent Selects Academy U16
- Kolin Belliveau, G, Andover, Mass./Holderness/Northern Cyclones Prep U16
- Jake Boulanger, D, Barre, Vt./Holderness
- Ben Buckley, C, Warwick, R.I./St. George’s/River Rats U16
- William Cannata, C, Milton, Mass./Milton Academy/Jr. Eagles U16
- Joe Connor, C, Amherst, N.H./Avon Old Farms/Jr. Bulldogs U16
- Aiden Connors, D, Westboro, Mass./St. Sebastian’s/Jr. Eagles U16
- Cullen Emery, C, Reading, Mass./Dexter Southfield/Jr. Eagles U16
- Sloan Farmer, D, Old Greenwich, Conn./Brunswick/Mid Fairfield U16
- Jake Freelove, D, Tyngsboro, Mass./Winchendon/River Rats U16
- Ethan Gardula, LW, Princeton, Mass./Cushing/Jr. Eagles U16
- Andrew Gibbons, RW, Wakefield, R.I./St. Mark’s/River Rats U16
- Matt Hanscom, D, Hadley, Mass./Westminster/Springfield Rifles U16
- Thomas Kiesewetter, G, Plymouth, Mass./Maine Nordiques U18 (Princeton)
- Jonathan Lanza, D, Winthrop, Mass./Dexter Southfield/Jr. Eagles U16
- Shawn Leary, D, Dorchester, Mass./Lawrence/Jr. Eagles U16
- Will McDonough, RW, Duxbury, Mass./Sioux Falls Stampede
- Noah Mertz, D, Coventry, R.I./Mount Saint Charles U16
- Patrick Murphy, RW, North Kingston, R.I./Mount Saint Charles U16
- Ryan Nolan, G, Hampton, N.H./Seacoast Spartans U16
- Tate Pecknold, LW, Fairfield, Conn./Avon Old Farms/Jr. Bulldogs U16
- Alex Pelletier, LW, Manchester, Conn./Avon Old Farms/Jr. Bulldogs U16
- Landan Resendes, RW, Hudson, Mass./Cushing/River Rats U16
- Cam Russo, RW, Middleton, Mass./Governor’s/River Rats U16
- Sam Scopa, G, Lexington, Mass./St. Sebastian’s/Jr. Eagles U16
- Ryan Shaw, C, East Longmeadow, Mass./Westminster/Springfield Rifles U16
- Lucas St. Louis, D, Riverside, Conn./Brunswick/Mid Fairfield U16 (Harvard)
- Matej Teply, D, Stamford, Conn./Selects Academy U16
New England connections
- Tanner Adams, RW, Tri-City Storm (Providence)
- Mikey Burchill, C, Dubuque Fighting Saints (UMass)
- Braiden Clark, C, Ohio Jr. Blue Jackets U16 (Providence)
- Griffin Erdman, LW, Long Island Gulls U16 (Dartmouth)
- Eli Friedman, C, Brunswick/Mid Fairfield U16 (Yale)
- Michael Hagens, D, Mount Saint Charles U16 (Harvard)
- Owen King, LW, Bishop Kearney Selects U16 (Providence)
- Charlie Kinsman, D, Buffalo Jr. Sabres U16 (Vermont)
- Thomas Klochkov, C, New Jersey Rockets U16 (UConn)
- Quinn McCall, D, Chicago Mission U16 (Holy Cross)
- Gavin McCarthy, D, Muskegon Lumberjacks (Boston University)
- Nico Pasquale, D, Berkshire/River Rats U16
- Jack Pechar, RW, South Kent Selects Academy U16
- Chris Pelosi, C, Mount Saint Charles U16 (Quinnipiac)
- Logan Renkowski, LW, Long Island Gulls U16 (Harvard)
- Ryan Smith, RW, Buffalo Jr. Sabres U16 (UMass)
- Brandon Svoboda, C, Pittsburgh Penguins Elite U16 (Boston University)
- Maddox Tulacro, D, Mount Saint Charles U16
- Jason Zaccari, D, Tabor/Jr. Eagles U16
