As the New England boys prep season wound down, I had a big question that was always on my mind.
Who would I pick for Player of the Year?
It's a big deal. I was asked about it numerous times at games throughout the final month. Often, everyone had a different answer. And worst of all, I never really had a defined answer, which was odd for me. I'm typically the first person to raise their hand and state their case why this person was POTY.
In 2023, it was clearly Cushing's Landan Resendes (Marlboro, Mass.). Kimball Union's Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.) was the obvious, slam-dunk choice in 2024. And in 2025, it would've been impossible to pick against Rivers' Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.).
That wasn't the case this past season. Several players had legitimate cases for POTY. I landed on Winchendon's Charlie Puglisi due to his incredible second half.
So I was fascinated to ask coaches what they thought. That's where the annual boys prep coaches survey came in.
Coaches were granted anonymity. In part 1, we'll explore the best players and teams from this season. Parts 2 and 3 will focus on other big subjects.
Let's dive into part 1.
Who was the best player?
Four players earned recognition in this category: St. Mark's Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.), Dexter's Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.), Nobles' Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) and Puglisi.
Pellegrino got the most votes, garnering 31 percent of the coaches polled.
"His ability to have such a significant impact as a younger player on a top-tier team was extremely impressive," a coach said.
The Providence College commit ranked second in prep for points with 75, and was a big reason why the Lions made it to the Elite 8 title game.
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"He played with exceptional poise and demonstrated a hockey IQ that was on another level," another coach said. "His puck protection was elite, and his ability to create separation from opponents consistently stood out. He seemed to have an extra second to make plays and was able to dictate the pace whenever he had the puck."
Brosnan, MacAusland and Puglisi each got 23 percent of the vote.
Brosnan was the top defenseman in the region by quite a bit. His 51 points led all defensemen and were tops on a stacked Dexter team. He moved himself from being a potential NHL Draft prospect at the beginning of the year to a likely third or fourth round pick later this week.
"He dominated every shift," a coach said. "He controlled the game."
"He played big minutes for a talented Dexter team and did it with ease," another coach mentioned. "He dominated and made it look easy."
MacAusland's Nobles squad only won nine games, but the Brown commit put up 21 goals and 45 points on a team that lost most of its scoring from the year before.
"He was responsible for nearly 70 percent of their offense," a coach said. "He singlehandedly won games for them. They may have only had one win without him."
"He does everything," another coach said. "Plays in all three zones, skilled, physical, wins every puck battle."
Puglisi didn't have the start-to-finish seasons that Pellegrino, Brosnan and MacAusland had. Instead, the Cornell commit slammed on the gas in the second half, leading Winchendon to a 20-2-1 finish with his 62 points in those games. That's right — he didn't just put up 62 points on the season; he did that in just the final 23 games.
"Just a really talented player who has gotten better and better," a coach said. "He is skilled, poised and can shoot. He also grew a ton, which helped him 'pop' even more."
Who was the best newcomer?
No player or goalie may have been more important to their team than Hotchkiss' Neilan Johnson. The Northeastern commit ranked second in the region in goals-against average (1.79) and was fourth in save percentage (.940). He led a team that won six games the year before to the Elite 8 semifinal.
"He was the driving force behind Hotchkiss being a competitive team," a coach said. "He was the difference-maker."
Winchendon's Jackson Smail (Milton, Vt.) garnered multiple votes. The senior's 62 points ranked fourth in the region.
"I thought he was just okay at [Seacoast Performance Academy] but was another player who popped and did really well," one coach said. "Playing with Puglisi helps too!"
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Carter Felt (Natick, Mass.) also got some attention. The Rivers forward led the Red Wings with 20 goals and 34 points.
"I thought he impacted the game in a number of ways for a young player," a coach said. "Scoring threat, and he was getting under people's skin."
"Plays the game hard," another coach added. "Plays a 200-foot game. A player any team would want in their lineup."
Belmont Hill forward Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.) and Salisbury defenseman Elliott Watson also got some love. Lee, a '10, put up 15 goals and 32 points en route to making the U.S. National Team Development Program. Watson, as a sophomore, scored 12 goals and posted 20 points in 30 games.
Who was the best goalie?
To no one's surprise, Johnson garnered the most votes.
"He took an average team to an above-average level," one coach said.
"He carried Hotchkiss through one of the hardest schedules in prep and was a determining factor in every game," another coach said. "Lived up to the hype all year long."
Right behind Johnson, however, was St. Sebastian's goalie Tommy Saulnier (Medfield, Mass.), who also led a team that had six wins in 2024-25 to the Elite 8 this winter. He was second in the region in save percentage (..943) and third in GAA (1.80).
"St. Seb's had a good young team, but without Tommy, they don't come close to doing what they did," a coach said. "He won them most, if not all, of their games and gave them a chance in their losses."
"His presence allowed Seb's to play the style they want, which is fast-paced and offensive-minded," another coach added.
Williston Northampton's Kamden Jackson (Manchester, N.H.) led the region in save percentage (.945). Unsurprisingly, he got votes.
Other goalies who got love were Tabor's Vinnie D'Urso (Andover, Mass.), Avon Old Farms' Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.), Deerfield's Elliot Lennon and Canterbury's Cody Hew.
Which players from other teams were the biggest surprises?
These answers ended up being all over the place for this question. One coach went the route of the three best players his team faced, answering St. Mark's Will Manchuso (Concord, Mass.), Kent's Will Schlechtweg and Brosnan.
Manchuso led the region in goals (32), while Schlechtweg got off to a monster start (21 points in 10 games) before going to the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks.
"All were dynamic and guys you had to be aware of," that coach said.
One of the big breakout stars of the season was Kimball Union's Josh Phillips, so it wasn't a shock to see his name mentioned on this question.
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"Always knew he was good," a coach said. "But he played like a man this year in all facets of the game."
Jackson and Felt both received votes. As did Pomfret's Rich Cavanagh (Warwick, R.I.), who finished with 44 points.
"Hard to handle," a coach said of Cavanagh. "Always a threat."
Other players who got votes on this question were Cushing's Sebastian Mogull, St. Paul's Mitchell Smith, Jackson and Felt.
Who was the hardest team to play against?
No shock here: teams like Avon Old Farms (Elite 8 champs), Dexter Southfield and St. Mark's got some big-time love here.
"Avon Old Farms had everything," a coach said. "They were offensive, structured all over the ice, good goalie and played heavy."
"They were hard to contain offensively," one coach said of Dexter Southfield. "They could score in bunches and had the ability to put you on your heels at any time."
"St. Mark's," another coach answered. "They forced you to really have to defend well away from the puck. Lots of movement, and a lot of players who could capitalize on chances."
But various other teams got attention here. Winchendon, who ranked second in the region in scoring and won the Small School tournament, was chief among them.
"Their offense was so high octane it was damn near impossible to slow them down," a coach said. "They had three first lines."
Rivers garnered multiple votes. After losing almost all of its top players from the year before, the Red Wings safely got into the Small School tournament.
"They didn't have the roster they had in the past," one coach said. "They maximized their roster and were just hard to play against."
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Hotchkiss also got attention after its journey from six wins last year to an Elite 8 semifinalist this past winter.
"They were the toughest team to play against this year," a coach said. "They were a relentless, tenacious and physical team that had a lot of confidence and belief. They played a very cohesive and connected game."
Other teams mentioned were Governor's Academy, Salisbury, Kimball Union, St. Paul's and Kent.
