The NCDC will be previewing each of the 21 teams set to hit the ice during the 2024-25 season in a continuing series up to the Sept. 19 start of the new campaign.
South Shore Kings
New England Division
Home Arena: Foxboro Sports Center
Head Coach: Tyler Holske
“The Kingdom” became just that when the South Shore Kings won the 2024 Dineen Cup, coming back from one game down in the finals to win the deciding Game 3 in overtime last April. Their castle, however, will certainly come under attack from all their opponents of 2024-25. Everyone always wants to beat the defending champion – GM/Head Coach Tyler Holske welcomes the challenge.
“The parity across the entire NCDC is impressive. Every game is a dogfight and for the most part, a one-goal game. Any team, and it doesn’t matter where you are in the standings, can win on any given night,” said Holske. “You have to show up and be ready to compete. I expect the same thing this season. I also expect the three new organizations in our division to be very competitive out of the gate. Each team across the division will present different challenges.”
The Kings kicked off their 2024-25 training camp on Aug. 26, and they’ve been very busy already, including playing in their first preseason game on Sept. 5.
“We are a little over a week into training camp. Last week was mostly intrasquad games followed by off-ice testing,” said Holske. “This week, we are beginning to focus on our team identity, culture, systems and how we are going to play as a group.”
Holske and the Kings staff were extremely busy throughout the spring and summer, and training camp arrived in a flash – and with the extra flash of returning Kings receiving their Dineen Cup rings.
“The spring and summer flew by. We went from the Dineen Cup Championship series right to the Pre-Draft Camp the following weekend here in Foxboro, and then right into the NCDC Entry Draft,” Holske said. “We also ran a camp in Los Angeles, California, in June. Our Main Camp was held at Sacred Heart University at the beginning of August for the second year in a row. Overall, it was a busy off season, but we feel we accomplished a ton.”
Not only is Holske the GM/Head Coach of the Kings, he is also going into his sixth season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. Holske is a huge part of the Musketeers scouting staff.
The Kings are bringing former Head Coach Drew Omicioli back to the organization. He coached the NCDC team for three years, then went to Mount St. Charles Academy for two seasons, coaching their 18U team. Now back with the Kings, he is President of Hockey Operations for the Kings’ USPHL teams and Co-Coach with Holske.
“Not only will he coach the NCDC team with me, but he will also help build our Premier and Elite junior teams,” said Holske. “I am psyched to be able to coach with him again. He brings a lot of knowledge.”
Clay Adams returns to the Kings as the Goaltending Coach, a position he also recently earned with the NHL’s incoming Utah Hockey Club. Owen Campbell returns as Strength and Conditioning Coach. “Clay does an outstanding job developing our goaltenders throughout the organization,” added Holske. “Owen and his staff at Edge Performance Systems have been instrumental over the years.
“The overall support from the organization is top-notch, starting with our President Dave Franzosa,” Holske said. “Sheri Cohen, our housing coordinator, is also a big part in making all of this work.”
The Kings’ 2024-25 foundation consists of seven returning veterans, including Sacred Heart University (NCAA Division I) recruit Jack DesRuisseaux, who will join the Pioneers in the fall of 2025.
“He joined us midway through last season, and he was outstanding for us during the playoffs, finishing fifth overall in scoring (with 12 points),” said Holske.
Jake Kavanagh also returns, after having a huge rookie season en route to helping the team to win the Dineen Cup title.
“An ’05 forward from Montreal, Quebec, he led our team in goals with 24 this past season. I expect him to take a big step here in his second season,” said Holske.
Also returning as forwards are Hunter Bruce and Xavier Vaillancourt, both top 10 scorers for the Kings last year.
“I expect both of these guys to have an immediate impact early on in the season,” Hoske added.
Returning champion defensemen Jason Zaccari, Brian Grant and Jackson Faughnan were all powerful contributors to last year. Zaccari was 10th in NCDC defenseman scoring with 35 points, and was second by a rookie defenseman.
The Kings are excited that they were able to utilize their scouting network to bring in some top players, including a few already with NCDC experience. Will Rassier, an ’04 forward, was close to a point per game player last year in the league. Joseph Dable is another with great experience in the league.
“Rassier is a big power forward who can really shoot the puck. Dable is a two-way center that thinks the game very well. He plays with pace and is really good off the rush,” added Holske.
Tyler Maxner started the season with South Shore, and is back after a trade had him playing away from Foxboro most of last year. He’ll bring “a ton of energy” while former NAHL defenseman Gregor Jennersjo joins as a “puck-moving defenseman that can play in all situations.”
In terms of other newcomers, it’s all up to them at training camp to force the hand of the Kings staff to put them on the roster.
“We are still in the thick of training camp and are close to finalizing our roster. We have a good number of players here that we either tendered or drafted over the last two years,” Holske said. “We are excited to see what these kids can do moving forward here. We have some difficult decisions to make as we work to finalize our roster.”
