November 17, 2021
In a back and forth battle that featured tight checking and emotion, Cushing came out with 2-1 home win. In theory this was Cushing’s first game, but the majority of the team has been playing together all Fall as the Central Mass Penguins so there was plenty of player familiarity. As we know Mount St. Charles plays a full season schedule. Below are the 2022 NHL Draft eligible players who we feel positively impacted the game, and after such a fragmented 2020-2021 season some are in their second year of eligibility.
Cushing Academy
| Owen Paskowski | Cushing Academy | NE Prep | L | D | 6’4″ | 190 | Plymouth, MA | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Although he might not be viewed as a bone crusher, at 6’4″ Paskowski is a towering presence on the Penguin blueline. In this game we loved his defensive awareness and ability to end the cycle quickly. He showed good acceleration when heading into the corner and he always played a stick on puck style that led to turnovers and poor puck decisions. Paskowski also showed good leverage by keeping his hips low when heading into contact and lower body strength when pinning a forward to the wall to end the 1on1 situations. His primary assist on Cushing’s first goal is a real glimpse into his upside and athleticism. He kept a bouncing puck in at the blueline and pulled off a spin-o-rama in tight quarters before attacking the royal road coverage forcing the Mount defender to commit to him then passing to his defensive partner who had time & space to make the play. We’ve noted in the past that Paskowski can hit the stretch man in stride and this game was more of the same. His passes were hard, flat and well timed giving his forwards ample time to make a play. Paskowski is a player who will have eyes on him all year.
| Mason Kesselring | Cushing Academy | NE Prep | L | F | 6’3″ | 181 | Manchester, NH | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Mason Kesselring is a moose of a power forward. The left shot center does not have blazing speed now, but he has a nice skating posture with low hips and a stride that ends with a quick snap of his toe that we feel will translate into more speed and quickness as he continues to train and grow into himself. We were very impressed with his ability to make plays in tight quarters, especially when spinning off body contact in the offensive zone below the goal line. All game he used his reach to his advantage making defenders get on their toes to lean before he quickly pulled the puck in the opposite direction. Kesselring made a spectacular individual effort on Cushing’s second goal. He dove at a 50/50 loose puck while swiping his stick which led to a perfect situation where his linemate was in alone on Mount’s goalie. Again, Kesselring is a bull who is only going to get stronger and more comfortable in the power forward role, but we should be watching him because he has soft hands, an easy first touch and has shown the ability to protect the puck for hours right now. Whether he’s on Central Scouting or not we have no doubt that NHL eyes will be watching him closely.
| Billy Norcross | Cushing Academy | NE Prep | R | C | 6’2″ | 181 | Boston College | 2022 | Lynn, MA | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
Norcross played a maximum effort game that led to scoring opportunities and quality shots. The right shot worked the left side mid-wall on the power play where he was a constant threat to attack the box, find the bumper or rip a hard snap shot off the far pad for a rebound. We feel like he physically dominated in defensive 1 on 1 situations. He consistently led with his stick when making body contact and separated his man from the puck to generate turnovers. He showed good acceleration as a puck carrier through the neutral zone and looked very confident on his edges when cutting laterally to create open ice for himself. His release was quick and he showed the ability to shoot while his feet were moving. In his second year of eligibility Norcross has an National League frame that teams will be interested in watching.
| Jackson Irving | Cushing Academy | NE Prep | L | G | 6’0″ | 172 | Newbury, MA | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Irving was very quick laterally and did an excellent job of slowing down the pace of play when Cushing started running around in their end. He limited secondary scoring opportunities and there were certain times when it looked like his pads had Velcro on them because pucks seemed to stick to them. We also liked his ability to direct rebounds over the glass when Cushing needed a break to settle things down. We believe the only goal against was a shot-pass that was heading wide and took an bad bounce off a Cushing defenseman. Irving is a highly competitive player who we feel will make a difference for Cushing this year.
Mount St. Charles
| Ryan O’Connell | Mount St. Charles U18 | Independent Prep | L | LW | 5’10” | 174 | Uncomm. | Moorestown, NJ | 2003 | 2021-2022: C |
O’Connell was a work horse in this one. It seemed as though every time we looked to see who was on the ice in a key situation we saw #22. It was easy to see why the Mount coaching staff used him on the penalty. He maintained line-ups, played in straight lines and we loved his active. To us it looked like he was reading the Cushing player’s eyes so he could anticipate a pass when they telegraphed where the pass was going. Although he finished with zero points O’Connell was an offensive catalyst all game. He showed the ability to easily handle poor passes and he picked bouncing pucks off the wall like they were coming to him on clean sheets of ice. We loved his puck poise on line rushes where he manipulated the gap by using his eyes to make the Cushing defenders back off. He moved the puck quickly and never was happy to watch his pass, instead choosing to dart into open ice for quick odd man opportunities and scoring chances. O’Connell was very dangerous while cycle and while defenders were on his back. He showed good core strength, edge work and body control while making skilled plays that resulted in quality Mount’s scoring opportunities.
| Joey Peters | Mount St. Charles U16 | Independent Midget | L | D | 6’2″ | 209 | Uncomm. | St. Louis, MO | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Peters is a big strong physically imposing left shot defender. He cleared shooting lanes by driving his legs and moving his opponent out of the paint, think an offensive linemen on a running play. He just powerfully moved the forwards out of the way. It was obvious to us that Cushing had a few players who were willing to take the long route to the puck because they knew Peters was on the ice and that he was going to punish them. Peters was leaned on heavily in special teams by Mount’s coaching staff. Cushing seemed to be running their power play from the right mid-wall and Peters defensive net front presence was excellent clearing lanes, tying up sticks and thank God he was allowed to make 200′ clears because he did. On the power play he moved the puck quickly, made hard tape to tape passes and did not have to stickhandle to make a play. We liked how he slid laterally to open shooting lanes. The Neutral Zone scout in attendance has seen Peters many times since his first National Camp in July of 2019 and he had regularly questioned his stride and skating base to be effective at higher levels. To be honest we loved what we saw from him in this game. His feet were under him in a powerful shoulder width posture and he had a nice flat glide that allowed him to keep tighter gaps in quick defensive transition. It is very obvious to the scout that Peters has worked hard on and off the ice, and that he is taking his deficiencies seriously. In our opinion Peters will not be uncommitted much longer and it would not be surprising to see junior team come calling soon.
| Micah Berger | Mount St. Charles U18 | Independent Prep | L | LW | 5’11” | 174 | Uncomm. | Bethesda, MD | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Berger was buzzing Cushing’s net all game looking for rebounds, down hill tips and any 50/50 loose puck that he could win for a scoring opportunity. We loved his ability to lose a defender by using the net as a pick and then taking a hard powerful stride into the open ice. He showed good lower body strength while protecting the puck and was constantly looking to get to the open ice to be a shooting option. We loved how he opened up for one-timers when coming down the off wing in the dot lane. We did note that on a power play during the second period Berger had a royal road one-timer opportunity that he did not rip, instead choosing to handle the pass for a sweeping wrister. We would have loved to see him try to fire the one-timer in that situation. In the third period he did have three one-timers from the slot, including a cross body one-timer in the closing seconds that really showed his athleticism and shooter’s mindset. Berger kept his feet moving and was a constant factor in the offensive zone.
| Jack Spicer | Mount St. Charles U16 | Independent Midget | L | G | 6’1″ | 176 | Uncomm. | Rockville, MD | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Spicer looked patient and in control, rarely wandering from his post. During 2 on 1s he played at the top of the paint waiting for the shooter to commit before dropping to a butterfly or sliding laterally for a save. We liked his rebound control and how he directed pucks to the corners to relieve pressure when Cushing was cycling. He anticipated one-timers and anticipated the bumper very well. The first goal against came on a delayed penalty where it looked like the Cushing goal scorer missed fired and Spicer was looking for a high tip. The second goal was on a broken play breakaway where the shooter hacked at a bouncing puck that unpredictably went straight up under the bar. We liked Spicer’s confidence and inside edge power that allowed him to take away shooting angles quickly.
| Cameron O’Neill | Mount St. Charles U18 | Independent Prep | R | F | 6’1″ | 194 | UMass Amherst | 2023 | Odenton, MD | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
In the 2-1 loss to Cushing O’Neil earned 18:04 in total ice time including 5:41 while on the power play. Statistically he finished with 1 goal, an even plus / minus, 3 shots on goal (3PP), 2 grade “A” scoring opportunities, won 1 of 4 face-offs, had 1 hit and 0 blocked shots. Throughout this game O’Neil was a presence. He was very strong on the puck, using his edges and wide frame to protect it from the Cushing defenders all game. We loved how confident he was when heading into the corner for a 50/50 battle. He played like he knew the puck was his. We loved how he shot for rebounds and then attacked the net looking to score. O’Neil may have only scored one goal, but in our opinion he was very impactful. For a full Cam O’Neil profile please click on: https://neutralzone.com/nhl-scouting-reports/cameron-oneill/
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
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