Recently, I was chatting with my colleague Patrick Donnelly about the sheer talent in New England girls prep hockey. It felt like in every one of his stories, there was a high number of college commits.
The big reason for that is that there is no junior hockey for girls. There's no U.S. National Team Development Program. On the girls side, you do your time at your prep school or academy, graduate and then move on to college hockey.
That is far from the case with the boys, which got me thinking.
What if junior hockey and the NTDP didn't exist? What if all players in New England boys prep hockey stayed and graduated? Which teams would be most improved? What kind of talent would be sticking around?
I can't stress this enough — this is purely a hypothetical. It's supposed to be fun. It's not meant to put down boys prep hockey in any way. It's Jan. 23, and we're in the dog days of the season. The Elite 8 and postseason chases will heat up shortly, and things will get pretty serious. So for now, let's have some fun and enter an alternate reality.
Last January, I did a similar, but more far-fetched exercise with Massachusetts high school hockey — what if every kid stayed and played for their hometown?
There are a couple of ground rules before we explore this.
- Postgrads don't count. I'm not going to count seniors last year as postgrads this year. We would be here all day.
- Players who went from one prep school to another don't count. These are just players who left prep before graduating.
- This is only for the players who are eligible now. Will Smith (Lexington, Mass.) staying at St. Sebastian's is a fun thought, but he's far from eligible to be a senior in high school.
I could do this in alphabetical order, but it would be no fun. Instead, I'm going to rank the teams that would undergo the biggest improvements.
Let's dive in.
1. Rivers
You can debate the rest of this story, but you can't debate Rivers at No. 1.
Carter Meyer. Finn Sears. Sam Pandolfo. Justin Graf. Freddy Meyer. The core that helped Rivers get to the Elite 8 semifinals last season would undoubtedly have Rivers fighting for the No. 1 seed this season and next. The Meyer brothers, Sears and Pandolfo accelerated to be juniors this past summer, which means they'd still have a senior year in 2026-27.
Meyer, Sears and Pandolfo are with the U.S. National Team Development Program's U17 team. The U17 year is a notoriously hard one for players, but Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass; BU commit) leads the team in points with 39 in 36 games. Sears (Medford, Mass; BC commit) ranks fourth on the team with 24 points in 35 games, while Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass; BU commit) has 10 in 27. Saying that all three would dominate in prep this year and next would be a severe understatement.
Graf (Lincoln, Mass; Harvard commit) leads the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in goals (17) and points (37). Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass; BU commit) has eight points in 36 games for the QMJHL's Québec Remparts.
In real life, Rivers is just outside the Small School Tournament field with seniors like Jonathan Rivard (Newton, Mass.) and Stephen Rousell (Roslindale, Mass.) getting top-six minutes and producing, along with freshman forward Carter Felt (Natick, Mass.) breaking out. But adding those five back with senior Derrick Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) and sophomore Will Torres (Framingham, Mass.) in net would be borderline unfair.
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2. Brunswick
The Bruins lost Joe Salandra, Cam Minella (Darien, Conn.) and Dylan Lee-Stack to junior hockey after last season. Salandra was the leading scorer in prep last season with 72 points, while Minella was tied for fourth among defensemen in points with 37. We also named Minella Rookie of the Year in boys prep.
Brunswick has outscored opponents 32-5 in its last four games, but struggled to produce in the first month of the season. Salandra and Minella would've come in handy. And for someone like Salandra, if he had 72 points as a junior, what on Earth would those point totals be as a senior?
Head coach Mike Kennedy's team has been strong in net this season with juniors Zai Ferraro (New Canaan, Conn.) and Evan Akerman. Both have goals-against averages under 2.00 and save percentages above .915, and are big reasons why Brunswick is 11-5-0 this season.
Salandra has six goals and 25 points in 42 games for the OHL's Barrie Colts and is a fifth-round prospect in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings. Minella, an '09, has two goals and seven points in 40 games for the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads, while Lee-Stack has spent the majority of this season with the OJHL's Trenton Golden Hawks.
3. Avon Old Farms
According to the JSPR, Avon Old Farms is the No. 1 team in prep. Now imagine the Winged Beavers with Dartmouth commit Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.) and Harvard commit Oskar Drabczynski still on the roster.
Grossbard led Avon in goals (26) and points (42) last season, while Drabczynski led the defense in points with 21. Both opted for junior hockey before senior year. Grossbard has 10 points in 32 games for the BCHL's Nanaimo Clippers; Drabczynski has six points in 28 games for the QMJHL's Saint John Sea Dogs.
No question surrounded by forwards like Nico Ciardiello, Liam Donnelly, Ethan Gingeleskie (West Hartford, Conn.) and Tucker Harris (Ferrisburgh, Vt.), Grossbard would surpass 42 points with ease. Drabczynski would lead a strong defensive core with Ryan Hecker, Max Yakub, Matthew Koch and Brody Latkin.
4. Belmont Hill
Belmont Hill just took down St. Mark's on Wednesday night and, as of Thursday afternoon, sat one spot outside the Elite 8.
Just imagine if the Sextants still had forwards David Bosco (Winchester, Mass.) and Jake Tavares (Belmont, Mass.), as well as defenseman Brady Sloper (Andover, Mass.). As a sophomore, Bosco led Belmont Hill in points last season with 47, while Tavares, then a junior, led the team in goals with 19. Sloper was beginning to make an impact as a defensive defenseman in prep last season.
Head coach Brian Phinney's team is in the upper half of teams in scoring, but there's no question that Bosco and Tavares would boost the offense considerably, along with players like Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.), Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.), Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.), Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) and Robert DeKleine.
Bosco has had a nice start with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, posting 10 goals and 17 points in his first 30 games. Tavares had two goals in 20 games for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers and moved to the NAHL's Lone Star Brahmas, where he has two goals in five games. Sloper has four points and 83 penalty minutes in 33 games for the USHL's Lincoln Stars.
READ MORE:Â Canterbury jumps into top five of boys prep rankings
5. Governor's Academy
Up until the last three games, Governor's Academy was in the Elite 8 race. As of Friday afternoon, Gov's is No. 14 in the JSPR. But imagine if Maine commit Spencer Thornborough (Boxford, Mass.) and UConn commit Jack Torr came back for their junior years.
Torr had 20 points in 30 games last season, while Thornborough had 20 in 16, as he missed some time due to injury. While Thornborough has long been one of the better '08s in the United States, Torr recently made big enough leaps in his game that the USHL's Fargo Force wanted him full-time in the fall. Through 22 USHL games, he has three points, while Thornborough has two assists in 36 games for the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats.
Gov's has a nice mix of seniors (Ford Sullivan, Tripp Schuwerk, Brodie Donovan), juniors (Robbie Daley, Andrew Giguere) and a freshman (Jamie Calla) up front. Thornborough and Torr would undoubtedly boost Gov's even more.
6. Westminster
The Martlets lost Colgate commit Tommy Coccaro (Fairfield, Conn.) and goalie Jack Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.) to junior hockey before the start of this season. Coccaro had 20 points in 18 games last season, while Fichthorn, with his 2.53 GAA and a .928 save percentage, was one of the top goalies in prep.
Westminster is 4-6-2. There's no doubt that Coccaro and Fichthorn would help head coach Tim Joncas' team quite a bit. The Martlets are a bottom-13 team in scoring. Coccaro would help with that.
In net, however, Westminster has gotten good play from sophomore Caden Weichselbaumer (Hampden, Mass.), who has gotten the majority of the reps, and senior Ryan Galaski (North Haven, Conn.). Weichselbaumer has a 2.87 GAA and a .914 save percentage, while Galaski has a 2.88 GAA and a .912 save percentage.
7. St. Sebastian's
The Arrows would only get one player back, but it's a pretty big one: Casey Mutryn. The Norwell, Mass., native was ranked as a first-round candidate in NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings and has been one of the better players at the U.S. National Team Development Program over the last two seasons.
Mutryn was Seb's No. 1 center in 2023-24 as a sophomore, putting up 42 points. But imagine a world in which Mutryn played his junior and senior year in prep. Even with a young roster last year, I'd have to guess the 6-foot-3 center would easily clear 50 points. And this season, with names around him like Cade Noonan (Needham, Mass.), Jack Queally (Milton, Mass.), Brendan Matthews (Westwood, Mass.) and Jameson Needham (Woburn, Mass.), it's easy to think Mutryn would be poised for a crazy year.
Without him, St. Sebastian's is 9-4-0 and has been one of the surprise Elite 8 contenders — right now, they're No. 7 in JSPR. Mutryn would help them reach even higher.
READ MORE: Top boys prep performers from Jan. 14-20
8. Cushing
The Penguins are 8-7-0. Their offense has been hit or miss, while they've been good defensively and in net. Head coach Dan Fontas' team graduated a plethora of defensemen, but also lost then-junior Tommy Bleyl to juniors. Cushing lost then-junior Maksim Corovic to juniors, too.
Bleyl, a Michigan State commit, finished last season with six goals and 29 points in 30 games, getting much more offensive as the season progressed. Corovic sported a 2.44 GAA and a .911 save percentage. Both were instrumental in Cushing winning the Elite 8. It also wasn't a shock when both opted to forego their senior years.
Bleyl has been a star with Moncton, tallying seven goals and 48 points in 40 games, catapulting up to No. 35 on NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings. Corovic spent some time with the OHL's Brantford Bulldogs, but has spent the majority of the season with the OJHL's Collingwood Blues. He carries a 1.60 GAA and a .947 save percentage in 13 games, ranking No. 24 among North American goalies for NHL Central Scouting. Watching Bleyl buzz around prep this season would be a treat.
This winter, Cushing has gotten good goaltending from freshman Mason Raycroft (Wellesley, Mass.) and sophomore Harper Hubbard. Raycroft has a 2.78 GAA and a .897 save percentage, while Hubbard boasts a 1.93 GAA and a .926 save percentage.
9. Dexter Southfield
Rian Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.) was Dexter's best player last season. The Boston University commit tallied 26 goals and 52 points in 27 games. He skipped his senior year at Dexter for the Moncton Wildcats.
Dexter is 14-1-2 so far this season. The Shields can essentially field five forward lines and rank second in the region in goals for (88 in 17 games). Do they absolutely need Chudzinski? No. But head coach Danny Donato's team would be an even bigger juggernaut with Chudzinski. Chudzinski would likely go well beyond those 52 points he had last season.
The late '07 has 14 goals and 22 points in 33 games for Moncton this season and was ranked No. 90 among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Dexter also lost goalie Colin Davis to juniors before this season, after putting up a 2.40 GAA and a .920 save percentage last season. The Canton, Mass., native has a 3.34 GAA and a .898 save percentage with the NAHL's Odessa Jackalopes. Dexter has been fortunate to get strong goaltending from senior Kyle Ready (Pembroke, Mass.) and junior Drew Karlovits (Cohasset, Mass.) this season.
10. Kent
Kent recently lost Maine commit Will Schlechtweg to the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks, so I'm going to count him for this (I make the rules). He had eight goals and 21 points in 10 games for Kent this winter. Through seven Muskegon games, he has one assist.
But after last season, Harvard commits Ryan Poirier (Salem, N.H.) and Jacoby Weiner (Riverside, Conn.) departed for juniors. Poirier, a mobile defenseman who had 19 points last season, has three goals and nine points in 36 games for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers. Weiner posted a 3.77 GAA and a .892 save percentage for Kent last season. He has a 3.07 GAA and a .878 save percentage in 10 games for Moncton this year. NHL Central Scouting's Midterm Rankings had him as the No. 37 North American goalie.
11. Salisbury
Before this season, defensemen Colin Feeley and Chris Baird-Gajdos jumped to juniors before graduating. Feeley had 13 points in 31 games last season, while Baird-Gajdos had 12.
Feeley is 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds. A Harvard commit, NHL Central Scouting has him at No. 156 among North American skaters. He has six assists in 33 games for the OHL's Oshawa Generals. Baird-Gajdos is uncommitted and has three goals and eight points in 24 games for the USHL's Madison Capitols.
Salisbury has been just fine on defense without them. The Crimson Knights are one of the top 10 teams at preventing goals.
READ MORE: There's a clear No. 1 team in our latest boys MIAA rankings
Other notable developments...
- This is a bit of an odd one, but bear with me. After the 2023-24 season, Will Prowse, then a sophomore backup goalie for Holderness, left the Bulls for the USHL's Lincoln Stars. He played 25 games last season with a 2.77 GAA and a .896 save percentage. This season, he sports a 2.43 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 27 games. He's committed to Princeton. Fortunately for Holderness, Mark Bierwirth (Chelmsford, Mass.) has been fantastic over the last two seasons as the starter.
- Winchendon lost defenseman Brady Murnane to the Oshawa Generals early in the fall. The 6-foot-3, 203-pound defenseman had 16 points for Winchendon last season and has a goal and four points in 34 games for Oshawa this winter. There's no question that the Wapitis, at 6-6-5, could use him.
- Moussa Seydi broke out as a junior for St. Mark's last season with 28 points in 30 games while taking on tough defensive assignments. With the CCHL's Rockland Nationals, he has one goal and 14 points in 34 games. The Lions are one of the top teams in New England, but there's no question Seydi would make them even better.
- Kimball Union would get Rowen Sang back. As a sophomore last season, the Dartmouth commit had 14 goals and 31 points in 37 games. Now with the Oshawa Generals, he has two goals and an assist in 38 games. I can't imagine head coach Tim Whitehead being upset at getting Sang back for this season and next.
- Choate lost then-junior defenseman Harris Pangretitsch to the OHL's Soo Greyhounds before this season. The 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenseman had 15 points in 25 games for Choate last season. With Soo, he has 10 points in 42 games. NHL Central Scouting ranked him as the No. 152 North American skater.
- Easton Gates left Northfield Mount Hermon for the EHL's Seahawks Hockey after notching 18 points in 30 games as a junior for NMH last season. The Bristol, Conn., native has seven points in 29 EHL games this winter.
