Each year NZ Prep scouts vote on who the best player was this season. There were a lot of strong candidates and we listed our highest vote getters below but Sullivan Mack won after a strong season with 44 goals and 26 assists in 34 games this sesaon. He not only was the leagues leading scorer but he has a hard working, 200ft approach to the game and was the most complete player in the league.
“It is very rare that the most honest forward in the league is also it’s leading scorer,” said Ian Moran, NZ Director of NHL Scouting. “Every game I saw him this year he was the best player on the ice and made an impact in every facet of the game; power play, penalty kill, defensive zone, offensive zone, etc. The complete package.” Mack, an Alaskan native whose younger brother played for KUA as well this season, will attend Cornell next season.
Runner up for the award was John Fusco, a skilled, balanced, multi-dimensional defefnseman out of Dexter School. The Harvard recruit was a leader in every sense for a talented Dexter team competing for the Elite 8 Finals. “I have seen Dexter 5x this season and he’s the real deal,” said Head NZ New England Scout Ed Bessinger. “He slows it down and controls the game; he breaks it out as well as any defenseman in the league, he quarterbacks their power play and has become a strong and more well-rounded defenseman.”
While Mack and Fusco led the pack the voting was tight among the top 5 players in the league listed below in order for votes. Both John Fusco and Lucas Mercuri will be playing in tonights Elite 8 Championship and Alex Jeffries will be playing in the Small School Finals against Pomfret.
Top 5 Votes for Player of the Year:
- Sullivan Mack, Senior, Forward, Kimball Union Academy
- John Fusco, Senior, Defenseman, Dexter School
- Henry Wilder, Senior, Goalie, Hotchkiss School
- Lucas Mercuri, Senior, Forward, Salisbury School
- Alex Jeffries, Senior, Forward, Gunnery School
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
