NZ Prep has released our Week #1 poll which serves more as a pre-season poll given most of these teams haven’t played a league game yet. The insights are based on Neutral Zone’s New England based scouts who have kept tabs on these prospects this fall and also got contributions from scouts in Ontario and Quebec to analyze incoming recruits. We’ll do another poll before the Prep Holiday Tournaments and another afterwards to see where the teams stand heading into the new year.
- Kimball Union -The Wildcats will rely on scoring from all over the lineup. While they cannot replace POTY Jack Sadowski, and lost key contributors up front and on the backend the defending champs deserve the top spot until someone knocks them off. They have All-Rookie team member Blake McMeniman, who rose to the challenge in the playoffs for the defending Champs and will be a calming presense and they have top six returning forwards in CJ Watroba and Corwith Simmers. Newcomers Rowen Sang (F), Matthew Ross (F), Nasean Faria (D) and Xander Boutilier (F) come to Kimball after standout seasons in U16 AAA in Ontario and should be immediate impact players at this level. Might take them some time as they are younger than they typically are but this is a talented team with depth and versatility and one of the best coaches in the league.
- Salisbury – By their standards, the Knights underperformed last year. They will be prepared for a serious run this season. They have arguably the best player in the league in Connor Davis and added three of the best defenseman recruits in prep hockey in Zachary Gill, Christopher Baird-Gajdos and Colin Feeley. Ryan Hedley, Oliver Morris and Nicholas Petrut are all strong candidates to take their game to the next level this season and newcomer Keanan Hodgson out of Culver, is one of the best kept secrets in Prep hockey. Andrew Will has won more Elite 8 Championships than anyone in the league and knows what it takes to build a championship roster.
- Avon Old Farms – Anthony Palmer played big games in the net in 2023-24 for the Winged Beavers and has two other capable tenders to push him. Cooper Snee and transfer Indiana Grossbard are Division I commits who can make plays from anywhere on the ice. Sam Houston, Tucker Harris, and James Odyniec will have to take a step and they will be complimented by a host of talented newcomers. They have added to their offensive corps with standout forwards off nationally ranked programs in Brooks Armstrong (Capt at South Kent), Jacob Jett (2nd on NJ Avalanche in points), Nico Ciardiello out of Mount St Charles. Their top new recruit however is on the backend in Oskar Drabczynski out of Mid Fairfield. This is a talented team who might be even better than they were last year.
- Kent -The Lions are always a tough team to play against but they combine quality returners like Luke Dow, Nathan DiChiara, Stefano Pietrantonio and Ryan Poirier to go along with some talented incoming recruits in Jack Broderick (Westchester Express) Chase Jelenic (Victory Honda), Maddox Boyle (Mid Fairfield) and coveted goalie prospect Jacoby Weiner (Mid Fairfield).
- St. George’s -Coach Allie Skelly (Prep COTY) wanted to play Prep Champions KUA at their rink despite a neutral rink being offered, and that attitude breeds toughness and winning over time. They almost pulled off the win and it would not have been an upset if they beat Kimball Union. The Dragons lose All-Prep goalie Ryder Shea and added late 2006, 6’2″ 225lbs. Montreal native Dash George and 2008 SKS Tyler King. Both are unproven but NHL Draft Prospect Everett Baldwin is not; the top returning defenseman in the league. He is joined by fellow Providence College commit in skilled two-way defenseman Marco Senerchia. St. George’s returns a seven of their top ten scorers from last season inclduing Max Donatelli who is coming off a 40 point season.
- Dexter – Dexter doesn’t lose much off a talented roster from last season which underperformed. They’ll be led by a deep forward group in Noah Survilas, last year’s rookie of the year, Nathan Porter, Sean Leetch, Joe Marchi and Tyler Hamilton not to mention Rian Chudzinsky, recent Boston Unviersity commit has transfered from St. Sebastians and looks primed for a breakout season.
- Phillips Andover – Andover is coming off a sneaky good season last year and might be a little under the radar heading into the year but a first win against Cushing turned some heads. Chase Anderson is big and athletic in the net and Grayden Robertson-Palmer is one of the the most complete players in NE Prep. They are deep up front with Alec Theodore and Rui Han and have size up and down the lineup. A mature, verteran teaem that will be tough to play against.
- Cushing– The Penguins finished last season playing their best hockey and made it all the way to the Championship game where they fell to Kimball Union. The team lost their best player in starting netminder Marko Bilic and their head coach so there will be shoes to fill but they will have one of the deepest blue lines in prep hockey led by Tyler Russo, Ryland Randle and Tommy Bleyl. Cushing also returns top line forward Max Dineen and added several weapons around him in talented ’09 forwards outo f Masaschusetts in Joseph Covelluzzi and Chase Warsofsky. Looking to replace Bilic in net they brought in 5th round OHL Draft pick 6’3″ netminder Maks Corovic who has a high ceiling.
- Brunswick School – Brunswick is lower on our list because they lost a lot to graduation but this has been a program who reloads each season and attracting a lot of top prospects across the NY/CT region. They are a team that has a lot of speed and depth up front and should have no problem scoring this season led by returners Oliver Czaja and Tucker Spiess . A lot of fresh faces will be asked to step up and some from last year’s team will have an expanded role but it starts with top newcomers in Joey Salandra, Mason St. Louis, Hampus Vandenberg and Keegan Kazan.
- Noble & Greenough – The Bulldogs are a great skating team who bring back all five of their top five scorers: Ted MacAusland, Kyle O’Leary, Dennis Davidson, Billy MacAusland, and Ethan Cox. 2008 Kris Soja and 2010 Kasen Walsh anchor the backend giving this team solid depth in all positions.
Honorable Mentions: Belmont Hill, Berkshire School, Lawrence Academy, Rivers School and Frederick Gunn.