Completing the 2020-21 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t a simple task for the United States Hockey League, but the circuit succeeded. By May’s end, the USHL will have done what it wasn’t able to do a year ago: host the Clark Cup final.
Throughout this season and the playoffs, players from New England have been stars in the USHL show. In fact, center Sean Farrell (Hopkinton, Mass.) stole it.
Selected 124th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2020 National Hockey League draft, Farrell planned on playing his freshman season at Harvard in 2020-21. However, with the Crimson’s campaign canceled, the 19-year-old returned for his second season with the Chicago Steel. All he did was rewrite record books.
After two seasons maturing in USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, Farrell posted 56 points (15-41-56) in 44 games in 2019-20, his first season with the Steel. In 53 contests this campaign, he scored 29 goals and led the league in both assists (72) and points (101). His 72 assists, which are the most in a single season in USHL history, and 101 points are new Steel single-season records. He also now holds the Steel records for most assists (113) and points (157) all-time.
The 5-foot-9, 174-pounder had four points (1-3-4) in four playoff games heading into the Clark Cup final, where the Steel are facing off against the Fargo Force.
“Sean is the best player in the USHL,” Steel head coach Brock Sheahan said. “We are very fortunate to have him back with the Steel. I do think this year has been great for him. Sean has always been an elite playmaker, and this year he’s had more of a shoot and attack mentality, which has enhanced his playmaking ability. This season is really going to help him down the road because he was able to be ‘the man’ all year. With his development from his time in ‘the Program’ to his second year with us, he’s going to do great things in this game. I’m really happy for him.”
Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) also had a memorable season. The forward finished first on the Dubuque Fighting Saints in goals (28) and points (53) in 48 games. He added one assist in two playoff matches. The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder broke out this campaign after being a bottom-six role player in 2019-20, when he registered eight points (2-6-8) in 44 games.
“Robert’s output speaks for itself, and that doesn’t happen by accident,” Fighting Saints head coach Oliver David said. “He put on 15 pounds during the year. In terms of development, he was a man on a mission. His story embodies why junior hockey exists in the first place, and that’s because ice hockey is the latest physiologically maturing sport. You reach your peak when you hit 27 years old in ice hockey. His development path took a little longer than somebody that was further along in their maturation process maybe out of high school, and he’s reaping the rewards of a job well done.”
Cronin, 20, is committed to the University of New Hampshire.
Brian Carrabes (North Andover, Mass.), a 19-year-old forward and Boston University commit, also surpassed his 2019-20 scoring totals. After tallying 27 points (8-19-27) in 42 games with the Sioux Falls Stampede and going pointless in four matches with the Sioux City Musketeers last season, the 5-foot-8, 158-pounder finished tied for the team lead with 40 points (21-19-40) in 45 contests this campaign with Sioux City.
“Brian possesses the ability to create offense at any moment of the game, but his reliability and responsibility to the entire game has increased and made him so versatile as a player,” Musketeers head coach Luke Strand said. “He’s committed to the whole game. As a young scorer, he came in and let his stick do all the work, but now he plays the whole game with his legs. He checks for chances. We used him five-on-six, shorthanded. He was a mainstay power-play guy. He ended up being so versatile because we could use him in all these situations.”
Meanwhile, 19-year-old forward Jack Williams (Biddeford, Maine) recorded 38 points (18-20-38) in 52 games this season and two assists in four playoff matches with the Muskegon Lumberjacks after registering 13 points (6-7-13) in 44 contests last campaign.
“Jack took huge steps from last year to this year,” Lumberjacks head coach Mike Hamilton said. “He’s always been responsible and defensively sound. That’s where his strengths were and that’s what we trusted. This year, the offensive side followed him.”
Williams, 5-foot-11, 168 pounds, is returning to Muskegon next season before matriculating to Northeastern University.
“We know what a big year Jack is going to have next year, and we are excited,” Hamilton added. “He’s going to return as our captain, so his responsibilities are going to take another step. He’s a guy we love around here.”
Another Steel forward, Mackie Samoskevich (Newtown, Conn.), is in the midst of a sensational season. The 5-foot-11, 189-pounder totaled 37 points (13-24-37) in 36 games and had eight points (1-7-8) in four playoff contests entering the final. The 18-year-old earned an A rating on NHL Central Scouting’s players to watch list for the 2021 NHL draft, indicating that he’s a candidate to be selected in the first round.
“Mackie is a great player, a great kid,” Sheahan said. “The biggest thing that he has done, especially since he’s come back from his injury midway through the season, is develop into more of a complete player. His consistency is showing. He can score. He can make plays. Offensively, he can do everything. And his defensive play, details and habits are all really good.”
Samoskevich is committed to the University of Michigan.
In addition to forwards, there were several New England defensemen who had excellent USHL seasons in 2020-21.
Eighteen-year-old Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.), a 6-foot-3, 207-pounder who’s committed to UNH, posted 26 points (3-23-26) in 53 games with the Lumberjacks this campaign. He suited up for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders last season, notching eight points (2-6-8) in 38 matches.
“Alex, in my opinion, is the best defenseman in the USHL from a defensive standpoint,” Hamilton said. “We put him against the other team’s top line on a nightly basis, and he was lights out every night. He put up points early in the season, but his role with us was to play against the opponent’s top line. There are not enough good things I can say about his game. I’m going to be completely shocked if he’s not drafted into the NHL this year. He had a fabulous season and teams are speaking very highly of him.”
Ian Moore (Concord, Mass.), who was plucked by the Anaheim Ducks 67th overall in the 2020 NHL draft, didn’t disappoint this season, his first in the USHL, as he tallied 24 points (10-14-24) in 45 games with the Steel. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder had two assists in four postseason matches entering the final. The 19-year-old is a Harvard commit.
“Ian, what an unbelievable kid,” Sheahan said. “He is a pleasure to have at the rink every day. When we first got Ian this year, you could see the offensive talent, but he was raw from the defensive aspect. (Associate head coach) Mathew Deschamps has done a great job, and it’s a credit to Ian in understanding how important as a defenseman it is to defend and play the game on both sides of the puck. He has done a great job becoming a complete defenseman. We are an offensive hockey team, but you have to be able to defend to be effective at the next level and beyond, and he has done a great job adding that piece to his game.”
A pair of Fighting Saints blueliners, Braden Doyle and Henry Thrun, also left their mark in the circuit this season.
Doyle (Lynnfield, Mass.), a 19-year-old BU commit, recorded 24 points (5-19-24) in 51 games and one goal in two playoff matches following a 2019-20 campaign in which he totaled 32 points (7-25-32) in 48 contests. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder was selected by the Los Angeles Kings 157th overall in the 2019 NHL draft.
“Braden returned for a second season with us and rounded out his game in terms of taking his defensive development and adding a few more tools to his game as he looks to make an immediate impact at BU next fall,” David said. “His reason for coming back was to continue his development, and he absolutely accomplished that.”
Thrun (Southboro, Mass.), who was chosen by the Ducks 101st overall in the 2019 NHL draft, intended on returning to the Crimson for his sophomore season. Instead, the 20-year-old tallied 22 points (8-14-22) in 24 games with Dubuque, while still being a full-time Harvard student. He missed nearly all of the first half of the USHL season as he recovered from an injury and then prepared to play for the United States club at the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship, where the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder helped his country capture the gold medal.
Although Thrun’s time in the USHL was limited this season, it paid off for both him and his team.
“Henry was a methodical leader,” David explained. “He was good behind the scenes, not very vocal but making time for the younger guys and being somebody that if you ever needed a visual of what a good example looks like, he set it pretty easily just by physically being here and guys picking up on the energy that he embodies. He led by example and didn’t need any coercing by the coaching staff. He naturally was able to get in with his teammates despite being in and out.”
The aspect of Thrun’s leadership that David found most interesting is that Thrun said he has always been either the youngest guy on his team, such as last season at Harvard, or in his age group, such as the previous two seasons at the NTDP. This campaign, he was one of the older players.
“He had never been in a leadership role or had younger teammates,” David said, “so he embraced that opportunity to navigate what that was going to be like for when he goes through Harvard and finds himself in a leadership role eventually.”
And one of those younger players Thrun might be leading in the future with the Crimson is, ironically, the USHL scoring leader, Farrell. How about that?
