New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 34

PREPS
Continued from Page 33

2016 HOCKEY SCHOOLS & CLINICS

"BRINGING OUT THE BEST"
SCHOOL S
N
LOCATIO

, Mass.
Foxboro
, Vt.
Highgate
osa,
Santa R
Calif.
rway
Oslo, No
Helsinki,
Finland
,
Hingham
Mass.
, Mass.
Kingston

ELITE ACADEMY

"POWE
RFU
SKILLS L
for PEA
K
PERFO
RMAN
CE"

Internationally recognized as top
leading expert of power skills among
NHL pros, Olympians and all youth.
Inquire now about Garry's yearlong Elite Academy programs.
Meeting weekly - attracting rave
reviews! Unparalleled development!
Building the "complete player"
from the blades up!
The proof is in the improvement!

SUMMER CAMPS

Awesome 6-week Summer
Camp meets three days per week
at the Foxboro Sports Center...the
dynamic home of Garry Hebert's
World Academy of Hockey!
1-Week Summer Camps
at various dates & locations.

(781) 771-1595

coach@garryhebert.com

RESPECT IS EARNED
These comments say it all:

"Garry is unquestionably one of
the finest and most knowledgable
power skating/skills coaches in
North America. He has a gift."

Red Gendron, 2-time college Nat'l Champ.
Coach (Yale & U-Maine), Stanley Cup Champ.
Coach (N.J. Devils), U-Maine Head Coach

"I have seen no equal. Extraordinary!"
Mike Gilligan, Assoc. Coach,
U.S. Women's Olympic Team

"He brings amazing world-class
talent and achieves dramatic results.
Garry is a key reason why myself and
countless others reached the NHL."
Ryan Whitney,
NHL All-Star, U.S. Olympic Team

GARRYHEBERT.COM

34 NEw ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL December 2015

sity and had grown to a solid 6-foot-2, 190
pounds heading into his sophomore year.
"His ability to read the play and have
the vision to get himself out of trouble
is above his age group," St. Seb's coach
Sean McCann told New England Hockey Journal back then. "He's a big, physical kid, but he needed to have those
tools."
By contrast, as a 14-year-old, undersized freshman at Proctor Academy,
Reilly Walsh would skate out for faceoffs and hear comments from opposing players.
"He was the subject of some snide
remarks on faceoffs," recalled Proctor
coach Mike Walsh, his father. "Like,
'Hey PeeWee, why don't you go back to
the PeeWee leagues?'
"We were optimistic, but we didn't
know how, especially at a position like
defense, how a 14-year-old was going to
do in the league. Physically, he was going
to lose one-on-one battles. He had to sort
of pick his routes and outsmart guys."
As a sophomore, Walsh broke out,
scoring 13 goals and assisting on 32
others to help Proctor qualify for the Piatelli/Simmons (small-school) tournament, where it lost a tough quarterfinal
at Winchendon.
He committed to Harvard earlier this
year and, alongside another standout in
senior forward Jake Pappalardo (Maine
commit), will try to help Proctor dislodge Kimball Union from the top of the
Lakes Region League and make a return
to the New England playoffs.
"He might be the most entertaining kid,
outside of (Avon Old Farms forward Patrick) Harper, to watch in prep school hockey," said St. Mark's coach Carl Corazzini.
"There might not be a better offensive defenseman in New England than him."
At 6-foot and 175 pounds, Walsh has
room to fill out but is well-removed from
his "PeeWee' days. He made the U.S. Under-17 team that won the Five Nations
Cup over the summer - teaming with
Mirageas and Rathbone - and tied for
the lead in defenseman scoring.
"Offensively, he's just got wonderful
skills in terms of stickwork and skating,"
said Mike Walsh. "He's got a hockey sense
to kind of read the play. What he's achieved
so far in his career speaks for that."
With lots more to come.

Under the radar

As a sophomore at Shrewsbury (Mass.)
High School, playing Division 3 hockey,
Matt Dillon was dominating the competition but not generating a ton of buzz.
That changed a little bit when his
team beat Hanover, 7-1, in the state
championship game at TD Garden in
March 2014. Dillon scored one goal and
set up five of the six others in the win.

Belmont Hill's
Brian Matthews

"He kind of went off the radar a little
bit," said Gagnon. "He was always a Tier
1 elite kid growing up, playing with the
known '97s.
"When he won states his sophomore
year, he really made his name. It was at
the Garden. Everyone in Mass. hockey
was there."
As a junior at Cushing last year, Dillon
scored three goals and assisted on 20 as
the Penguins made the Elite Eight field
before being taken down by Dexter in
the quarterfinals. He ran the first power
play and got the puck to frontline talents
like David Cotton and Bailey Conger.
This year, he'll be asked to continue
developing in his own end while using
his offensive talents to help replace a
ton of departed scoring.
"He's 6-3, can really skate and really
sees the ice," said Gagnon. "When he
gains that 20 pounds he's really going to
be hard to deal with. I think it's safe to say
that his best hockey is in front of him."
At press time, Dillon was attracting Division 1 college interest but had received
no offers. That figures to change as Cushing skates into an annually tough schedule that features games against Cushing,
Avon, Exeter and the Lawrence/Groton
tournament - all before Christmas.
"I can't think of anyone I'd rather
have," said Gagnon.

Changing on the fly

As a junior on a good St. Mark's team
that finished 23-4-3, Peter Housakos
contributed 36 points during a season
that would see the Lions win the Piatelli/Simmons tournament, the program's
first New England title in 23 years.
But it was in his own end, teaming

Free digital subscription at hockeyjournal.com/free

New England Hockey Journal - December 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New England Hockey Journal - December 2015