By Joshua Boyd / USPHLElite.com
The United States Premier Hockey League is previewing each Elite Division ahead of this Friday’s start date of the 2024-25 Elite season.
Order is 2023-24 regular season finish, followed by new division members
Northern Cyclones
Season Opener: Oct. 5 vs. Islanders Hockey Club
The Cyclones are headed back to the ice and carry with them the title of defending National Champions. That, of course, means they will always get their opponents’ best efforts this season as everyone wants to beat the defending title-winner. That kind of competitive push can only benefit the Cyclones’ players, said fourth-year Head Coach Tim Plummer.
“I think the expectations are high around here every year regardless of how we finished the year prior. The expectation is always to get back to the National tournament,” Plummer added. “I know we have some new additions to the division so we are interested to see how they will be, and the Islanders and Springfield have always done a good job so we are looking forward to seeing what they have put together as well.”
The National Championship yielded many promotions to the Premier Cyclones, who were themselves Premier National Champions in 2023.
“We were happy to move quite a few guys up to the Premier level this year. We pride ourselves on putting these guys in a position to succeed, and want to see them develop the right way, so we have a solid group of guys up at the Premier level now who will be in a good role with that group,” added Plummer.
The Cyclones are not without veteran leadership, however. It helps to have the player who was in net for the National Championship win back to the crease. Nick Cowles was a 2023-24 New England Division All-Star and he put up a .961 save percentage in his three postseason games, including making 27 saves in the final.
“He helped us along by way of being in net for last year’s championship game,” Plummer said.
Additionally, three-year veteran defenseman Jacob Adams and returning forward Ethan Kuehn are also back in the fold.
“Jacob brings a lot of knowledge and leadership to the group. We are hoping Ethan will lead the charge offensively,” added Plummer. “As far as newcomers go, I think we have brought in many solid players as well as some guys from our midget program who have been with us for a while and we are excited to have them jump up to the junior level.”
Islanders Hockey Club
Season Opener: Sept. 27 vs. Montreal Black Vees
The Islanders Hockey Club have one of the proudest postseason track records of any USPHL Elite team, making the Nationals in 2018, and every year from 2021 through 2024. They also qualified for the eventually canceled 2020 Nationals. It’s certainly not an easy job winning games in the New England Division, especially considering the National Champion company the Islanders keep just miles away in Hudson, N.H. Head Coach Kevin Smith is excited that the intense play helped 10 2023-24 Islanders move on to higher levels of junior and to college hockey.
“The New England Division will be very competitive again this season with the additions of the Boston Bulldogs and South Shore Kings. Every game is a battle when you’re competing against teams like the Springfield Pics and the champion Cyclones. While we have several key returners, we’ve brought in a number of young, talented first year players,” added Smith. “It will be a learning experience, especially early in the season, but after a full year of competing against the championship level competition in the division, they’ll be better players for it.”
The IHC has seen a few of their 2023-24 Elite players able to jump up to the Premier level this year, such as forwards Adam Hadi, Bogdan Guntypov and Robert Gross.
“As an organization we are proud of our track record of using our Elite program to help players develop and move on to the Premier level,” Smith said.
Defenseman Justin Pniewski (’04) is back as a third-year Islanders veteran and will provide a solid core for the newcomers to learn from.
“Justin provides great leadership for our young group and bolsters the team both offensively and defensively,” added Smith.
Forwards Zach Greer (’04) as well as Sullivan Hauser and Josh Michewicz (both ’06’s) “all played key roles in our run to the USPHL Nationals last season,” Smith said.
The Islanders have added some great new talent to their team, and with Elite experience to boot. Both defensemen Jack Carney (’06) and Nick Di Geronimo (’05) have already played in the league, with Di Geronimo entering his third year.
“Their experience in the league will be a huge asset as the team gets accustomed to competing at the junior level,” Smith said.
Additional newcomers to keep an eye on include forwards Elliott Ralsten (’06), John Duffy and Owen Hartnett (both ’05’s), as well as ‘05 defenseman Gavin O’Keefe.
Springfield Pics
Season Opener: Sept. 27 vs. College Universel Gatineau
The Pics always put together teams that can compete with, and often defeat, anyone in the New England Division. It might not happen every single game, but the development within the Pics organization is such that players very often remain in the program from Midgets up through their age-out junior years. They know they’re getting one of the best junior experiences and opportunities for advancement to higher levels.
“I always have high expectations for the Elite team, but this year, the overall expectation is to be better than last year and be playing playoff hockey again,” said Head Coach Chris Beaudoin. “Each season, that is the expectation to be better than the year before. Based on what we have right now, I feel that we can be better but that if everyone buys into the systems and plays hard every game and plays team hockey.”
The Pics are bringing back “leadership and hard work” in the form of veteran forwards Brendan Birmingham, who scored 22 points in 35 games, and fifth-year Pics program veteran Nick Starosielski. Both are 2004-born players. In net, ’06 Mateo Lachance is another longtime Pics veteran going back to 15U hockey, and he is back for his second Elite season.
The team was able to send some top players like New England Division All-Stars Cole Davis and James Delaney, along with Joseph Roselli, to the Premier Pics for this year.
“We have big shoes to fill, but even though we are losing Davis, Roselli, and Delaney, we have a good core of players moving up from our U16 team in Ryan Netkovick and Dom Fiorintino up front, along with Drew Matthews and Logan Carpenter on the back end. We also have U16 goalie Gavin Carpenter moving up,” Beaudoin added.
Seeing the Cyclones win the National Championship and the Islanders make trip after trip to the Nationals, Beaudoin gets to see nearly every game what it takes to compete at that high level. He thinks this is the group that will push those top teams each outing, and perhaps make it to Wayne, N.J., in late March 2025.
“I think that this year we have the tools and we just need to execute. If we can play the system and come to work everyday to get better than the previous day, that’s all I can ask from these boys,” Beaudoin said. “We know what we have to do and how we have to come ready to play each and every day with the teams that we have in the division.”
Boston Jr. Bulldogs
Season Opener: Sept. 27 vs. Kingston Wranglers
The Boston Bulldogs were a storied member of the former Atlantic Junior Hockey League, and their founder, the late Mike Addesa II, was working to build that brand every step of the way.
“We decided to put a team together to honor the late great Mike Addesa II. We thought, what better name than the Boston Jr. Bulldogs, the name of his former team that had tremendous success. We are looking for this Bulldogs team to follow in that team’s footsteps and compete right away,” said Bulldogs Head Coach Tyson Araujo.
The Jr. Bulldogs are affiliated with the Boston Jr. Rangers and Worcester Railers Junior Hockey Club, both teams with NCDC programs, as well as Premier teams.
“The goal for the Bulldogs is for the players to make the next step in their junior careers. Being affiliated with both these teams gives our Elite players the most exposure to Premier and even NCDC coaches,” Araujo added. “The Bulldogs players will be able to create relationships and play in front of these coaches everyday, making their step to the next level that much easier.”
The team has built with a strong group of 2007-and 2008-born players out of Massachusetts high school hockey.
“Jayden Patel, an ’07 from Gardner, is strong, skilled and crafty. Matt Brosseau, an ’07 from Wachusett, brings size and physicality,” said Araujo. “Defenseman Charlie Gingras, an ’08 from Hopedale/Milfrod will bolster our back end.”
Rhode Island’s Shane Temple is “a strong power forward who will be relied upon heavily.”
A starting base of talented newcomers is very much necessary for the Boston Jr. Bulldogs to be a competitive team, even if they are playing in just 24 regular season contests in this first season.
“We know that the New England Elite division is very competitive,” added Araujo. “Our goal is to teach these young men how to play the game they love by creating good habits and playing with a lot of detail and structure. We have a good mix of players with different skill sets that love to compete.”
South Shore Kings
Season Opener: Sept. 27 vs. Le Sommet Faucons
The South Shore Kings, an organization whose top team in the NCDC won the 2024 Dineen Cup Championship, are embarking on a new player development journey. They are now a three-team junior organization, with the addition of their first-ever USPHL Elite team.
Joe MacLeod has worked closely with the Kings management to build a team that will prepare players for USPHL Premier hockey, and potentially for the NCDC.
“Being a new team to the gauntlet the New England division has always been and will be a tall task,” said MacLeod. “That being said, the South Shore Kings have earned themselves a reputation over the years of being a tough team to play against, and I fully expect we hold true to that this season. A long season with no easy games is to be expected, but I believe we will see a lot more ups than downs.”
The Kings have a lot of newcomers this year, being a new team, but the work they put in is what they believe will yield great first year results.
“The roster has a wide variety of newcomers, many of whom represent non-traditional hockey markets Arizona, Nevada, and Florida, complemented by local Massachusetts High school standouts,” he said.
Chase Darcey, an ’06 from Billerica, Mass., shows the upside that he’ll be a hard player.
“Chase brings offensive ability that I think other teams’ defenses will have a tough time trying to contain,” added MacLeod. “Two players we have with junior experience who will be expecting to lead the majority of the team through their first junior hockey season are Lukas Sobczak (’06) entering his second Elite season, and Thomas Goscicki (’06) enters his third.”
MacLeod knows that everything his team does will have to have the purpose of advancement to higher levels of hockey, especially within the USPHL’s three-tiered junior development model.
“It has always been my belief that if a junior hockey team is not developing their players to move on to the next level, whether that be Premier, NCDC or to the college ranks, they are not doing their job,” said MacLeod. “While team success is a very important factor, many players and parents are trusting us to develop their athletes’ games on a personal level as well. My primary intention is to progress my players to higher levels within the organization and beyond, and help them develop to their fullest potential.”
