Boston College has had quite a run over the last decade with USA Hockey’s NTDP goaltenders. From Thatcher Demko to Joseph Woll to Spencer Knight, Jerry York’s program has continued to roll out elite goaltenders to help keep the Eagles atop Hockey East.
York and his staff hope they have found another gem in NTDP U-18 goaltender Dylan Silverstein. The Calabasas, Calif., native spent a couple of years playing hockey in the New England region before embarking on his journey with the NTDP.
In 2019-20, he played for Dexter Southfield and the Neponset Valley River Rats 16-U. He was the starting goaltender for Danny Donato’s team that lost in the NEPSAC Elite 8 final to Salisbury and helped the River Rats win the Massachusetts Hockey State Championship. As a Bantam in 2018-19, he played for the Middlesex Islanders.
Silverstein has been hampered with a nagging shoulder injury, which forced him to miss a majority of the 2020-21 season with the NTDP U-17 team. As with most goaltenders who have gone through the program, his numbers weren’t outstanding as a member of the U-17 team. Through eight games this season he has a .914 save percentage.
Silverstein will arrive at BC next fall as a true freshman. Eric Dop, a graduate transfer from Bowling Green, will have departed, and Hotchkiss alum Henry Wilder will be a junior. '02 Grant Riley, playing this season in the BCHL with Chilliwack, had committed to BC back in 2019, but that commitment is likely tenuous given this news.
Silverstein will join fellow NTDP U-18 goaltender Tyler Muszelik in playing for a Hockey East program. Muszelik had previously committed to New Hampshire. Both '04s made the NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Players to Watch List ahead of the 2022 NHL draft.
UConn commits local speedster
UConn has committed Winchendon alum Jake Black, an '02 from Pomfret, Conn. Black is spending his second season of junior hockey with the NAHL’s Johnstown Tomahawks. His 12 goals in 15 games is good for second in the league while his 20 points put him in a tie for sixth in the overall scoring race.
Black, a right wing, is best known for his speed and ability to create on the rush. In Hockey East, he’ll be a good middle-six winger who can forecheck with tenacity. Prior to his time in Johnstown, Black played the 2020-21 season with the Islanders Hockey Club in the NCDC. He scored 12 goals and 13 assists in 27 games for Tim Kyrkostas’ club. Black played two seasons at Winchendon from 2018-2020.
Junior hockey veteran for Black Bears
Madison Capitols right wing Reid Pabich has committed to Maine. The '01 from Verona, Wis., is in his fifth season playing in the USHL. He’s already appeared in 209 games in the league. He scored 30 and 22 points over the past two seasons but has upped the ante in 2021-22. Through 11 games, he has three goals and eight assists.
Big Green land BCHL forward
Luke Haymes has committed to Dartmouth. The '03 left-shot center from Ottawa, Ontario, is in his first season playing junior hockey with the BCHL’s Cowichan Valley Capitals. In nine games, he has two goals and two assists. Dartmouth assistant coach Jason Tapp would have watched Haymes play at the recently completed BCHL Showcase. Haymes spent the previous two years at Ridley College, a Canadian prep school.
