FOXBORO, Mass. — After taking in a solid day of action at the Eastern Exposure Cup, New England Hockey Journal identified several players who we feel are not as well known in the 2006 birth year as they should be.
The well-organized event spanned several days at the Foxboro Sports Center and gave scouts and observers a strong dose of talented 15-only teams from around the USA, including several top powers in the Midwest like Detroit Little Caesars and the Windy City Storm, plus other clubs from all regions of the country.
The Bishop Kearney Selects 15-only team, coached by Chris Collins, captured the 2006 division Eastern Exposure Cup, getting good contributions up and down a deep, talented roster.
There were a lot of players present who are known commodities and have been highlighted in past fall hockey showcase/event coverage. Mid Fairfield was without two of its top forwards in Drew DellaSalla, who was playing up with the MFF 16 team at the Beantown Classic, and Walker Bright (New Canaan, Conn.) was out of the lineup with an injury. Boston Advantage’s defensive duo of Kiernan Poulin and Andrew O’Sullivan, both of Norwell, Mass., are standout ‘06s who are generating buzz and aren’t necessarily underrated.
This all-underrated team focuses on players who shined in our views but didn’t come into the event with the kind of name recognition of other peers.
Forwards
Ryan Gilmore (Middleboro, Mass.)
Boston Advantage, 10/06, right shot, 5-7/130
Gilmore and Ryan Shea (Norwell, Mass.) formed an excellent 1-2 punch up front for the Boston Advantage 15s. Shea is more of a known commodity, so we’ll give the nod to Gilmore here, but both players are underrated in their own right. Gilmore played with real pace, awareness and showcased good speed and puck skills. He gets to the net and can score from the outside, but like Shea, makes players around him better with his smarts and competitive drive. He’s a player to watch as someone who is steadily building momentum as we approach the winter months.
Geno Carcone
BK Selects, 11/06, left shot, 5-9/173
Georgia native keeps getting better with each viewing as a hard-nosed, talented forward who is tough to handle in all zones, but particularly when he crashes the net. He hunts pucks relentlessly and embraces the physical game, finishing hits and being a general disruptive presence. The thing with Carcone is that you always know that you’ll get a top effort from him in every game. During the Beast series playoffs, his club came up short, but he was one of the top performers in terms of consistency and impact, and he carried that over in helping BK bounce back to capture the Exposure Cup.
Cooper Snee
NY/Ramapo Saints, 6/06, right shot, 5-11/160
Raw, but intriguing right wing has size, is athletic and projects as a power forward with his strong north-south game and willingness to go hard to the net. He has a powerful shot with a quick release that handcuffs goalies and some deceptive speed that he uses to separate from defenders in open ice. With Snee, it’s not about what he is now, but what he’s going to be, while being a key contributor on a team with some sneaky talent, battling Little Caesars to a 1-1 tie.
Honorable Mention
Daniel Berehowsky
Detroit Honeybaked, 9/06, right shot, 5-9/165
Smart and skilled two-way forward isn’t a blazing skater, but competes and makes plays in all zones. He’s a top scorer on his team after coming up to Michigan from the Florida Alliance and is the son of former NHLer Drake Berehowsky. He has good details in his game and is one to watch for the USHL futures draft.
Defensemen
Finn McLaughlin
Windy City Storm, 2/06, left shot, 5-9/146
Cole Longacre gets a lot of the buzz on the Windy City blue line, but McLaughlin is making some noise of his own. A real asset on the breakout, the Canmore, Alberta native sees the ice, senses pressure and gets pucks north quickly. Defensively, he has the feet, agility and stick to keep opponents to the outside/b-areas, and break up rushes. A very good transitional player, he’s going to be a WHL pick next month, as the league’s bantam draft to take ‘06s was delayed. Has the look of a top future junior player and potential pro in the long term.
Deke Davidson (Newmarket, N.H.)
Seacoast Performance Academy, 6/06, left shot, 6-0/155
Another player who has been a regular in our scout notebook since summer play and an excellent showing at the New England Districts in Nashua, he keeps the play in front of him and doesn’t try to do too much. With an advanced CPU to process, read and react, he makes heady plays and uses his wheels and vision effectively. He’s not a dynamic two-way defender but has a decent puck game with the upside to be an impact guy in juniors and beyond. There’s a lot to like with this Granite Stater.
Honorable Mention
Jake Pellicane
Mid Fairfield, 7/06, right shot, 5-10/147
We first saw the Long Beach, N.Y. native in the Exposure Hockey All-Star event in late July and he showed some potential with his size, length and smooth movements as he gets around the ice. He’s not a flashy puck mover, but defends well and makes a good first pass. He wasn’t on the MFF roster when we last saw them in fall play, but made a good impression here as a player who could develop into a reliable middle-pairing type who can play a lot of minutes and chip in offensively
Goaltender
Zachary Coelho (North Truro, Mass.)
Boston Advantage, 10/06, catches left, 5-11/145
With his height and strong athletic foundation, we’ve been impressed with Coelho this fall, yet no one seems to bring him up when we talk about top goaltenders from the region. As a late ’06, he’s got a lot of time to develop and can be patient in his crease or make the acrobatic saves to keep pucks out of his net. He tracks and adjusts his positioning effectively. There’s structure in his technique, and there could be a nice payoff down the road.
