When I asked New England boys prep hockey coaches questions about this past season in last year's survey, I received a few responses that alluded to a changing landscape and uncertainty about which players would return.
That was turbo-charged in this year's survey.
The reality is that the CHL ruling, combined with the NCAA 5-year eligibility rule, has players thinking about bolting from prep earlier than ever. And it's not just the best of the best in prep mulling junior hockey — it's the tiers under that, too.
A whole bunch of players will try their hand at USHL and QMJHL camps throughout the summer and early fall to see if they can make the team.
Coaches' answers reflected that.
Still, coaches were able to provide interesting insight into next season. As always with this survey, coaches were granted anonymity.
Part 1 was all about this past season. Let's dive into the future.
Who will be the best player next season?
The most common answer here?
"Unsure," one coach said.
"No idea who is even returning at this point!" said another.
One coach summed it up best: "It depends on who stays, who leaves and who comes in."
Names were still thrown around. One player who got attention was Salisbury's Greyson Espenshade. The '09 Yale commit put up 19 goals and 38 points in 31 games as a junior this winter.
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"I believe he has the ability to be one of the best players in prep next season," one coach said. "Dynamic, skilled and potential to put up big numbers but also an excellent two-way center whose IQ is elite."
Another player who got love was Tabor's Ethan Travis (Narragansett, R.I.). While the Sacred Heart commit took a small step back in production from his sophomore year to junior year (39 points to 27), he's still a force and, if he's back for senior year, should easily be one of the best players in the region.
One coach mentioned St. Paul's forward Mitchell Smith and Holderness forward Michael Delaney, both juniors this past season, as two top stars to watch next year. Smith burst onto the scene as a skilled play-driver, with 15 goals and 36 points in 31 games, while Delaney popped with 10 goals and 42 points in 30 games.
Who will be the best team next season?
One coach summed up most of the other answers best.
"Hard to know without knowing team rosters," the coach said. "I imagine the usuals will be there — Salisbury, Kimball Union, Dexter Southfield, Avon Old Farms and Cushing."
"I think the usual suspects will be the usual suspects," another coach added.
While that's true, there was a team that is debatably a "usual suspect" that got multiple votes. But for this exercise, I'm not going to consider them as such.
Belmont Hill.
"Those 2010s will be a problem," one coach said.
"Given their youth, I believe Belmont Hill should be one of the best teams," another coach added.
The Sextants finished as the No. 7 seed in the Elite 8 this past season. While losing seniors Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.), Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) and Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) will hurt, along with freshman Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.), who is off to the U.S. National Team Development Program, much of the core is returning.
As for '10s, forwards Robert DeKleine (Westboro, Mass.) and Landon Roe (Belmont, Mass.) will lead the way, along with defensemen Nick Ware (Weymouth, Mass.) and Alex Guo (Weston, Mass.). Former Winchendon standout Drew Short (Lunenburg, Mass.) will join the group and be a big piece.
Defenseman Emmett Aufiero (Winchester, Mass.) and forward Nolan Boyle (Weymouth, Mass.), both '11s, got valuable experience this past winter and will look to break out next season.
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Up front, '08s Liam Boyle (Needham, Mass.) and Nicholas Hand (Dover, Mass.), and '09 Jackson Burns (Wellesley, Mass.) were productive this winter. Lance Toland (Burlington, Mass.), an '08, should help out on defense.
And Belmont Hill's greatest advantage might be in net with '08 Ethan Bauer (Belmont, Mass.), who broke out with a 2.13 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
This doesn't even take into account the other players who will make varsity and emerge at Belmont Hill.
So, yeah — Belmont Hill projects to be back in the Elite 8 next season.
Which team could be a surprising contender next season?
A whole slew of teams earned votes on this question. The team that earned the most, however, was Choate.
"I'm not going outside the box here, but Choate could be a surprise," one coach said. "Mike [Pereira] has done a great job in a short period. I'm not sure what they have coming in, but if it's 2-3 difference-makers, they could shake things up."
The Wild Boars snuck into the Large School as the No. 8 seed this past season.
Outside of Choate's seniors who graduated, the Wild Boars aren't losing anyone. Add in the recruiting class of forwards Kellen Fenstad (Wallingford, Conn.), Lukas Ruff, Andrew Cheng, Landon Heinrich and Brogan Chilund, defensemen Colton D'Amico, Matty Coccaro (Milford, Conn.) and Bryce Schaller (Cromwell, Conn.), and goalie Chris Faitsch (East Lyme, Conn.), and Choate is reloaded for a strong 2026-27.
After Choate, the answers were a bit all over the place.
Nobles got attention. The Bulldogs had a rough winter due to graduating so many players from the year before. The good news: They aren't losing much.
"They return a bunch of kids," a coach said. "Experience matters in this league."
Deerfield also graduated a lot of talent from the previous season, and went from the No. 1 Elite 8 seed to being out of the postseason.
"Deerfield can bounce back and be very competitive next season," one coach said.
READ MORE: Part 1 of our boys prep hockey coaches surveyÂ
Tabor is another interesting team. With a core of goalie Vinnie D'Urso (Andover, Mass.) and Travis, so long as they stay, the Seawolves should be a top team in the ISL.
"If the '08s stay, they will have a really good team," a coach said.
Other teams receiving votes were Pingree, Phillips Exeter, St. Sebastian's, Canterbury and Hotchkiss.
