1988 (DOB) Kings Shine At the 2007 NHL Draft
Max Gratchev 88 was the highest South Shore King drafted as he was selected by the New York Islanders with the 106th pick in the 4th round.  Max played the last 2 years at Rimouski of QMJHL after one year stints at CM and Thayer.  Paul Carey 88 was selected by the Colorado Avalanche with the 135th pick in the 5th round.  Paul played last season at Salisbury after 2 years at Thayer.  Paul has committed to play at Boston College for the 2008 season.  Matt Marshall 88 was selected with the 150th pick also in the 5th round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Matt played last season at Nobles and will return there next season before moving on to play at Vermont in 2008. The 88’s had a great showing at this years draft coming close to the 83 DOB draft that saw Ryan Whitney and Michael Morris get selected in the 1st rounds and Brian McConnell in the 2nd round.

Looking ahead to next years NHL Draft the South Shore Kings have Jimmy Hayes 89’ projected as a possible 1st round pick.  Jimmy is going to BC in 2008 and now plays for USA-U18 Team after 2 years at Nobles.

Without question, The South Shore Kings have had more players drafted than any other AAA organization in the country. 

 

Preps
Nobles went to the New England Prep Final Four for the 3rd Season in a row.  Nobles roster was stocked with former kings, all of whom made huge contributions to the team.  Mike Griffin 88 and Matt Marshall 88 teamed up with Nick Resor 88, Trip Wray 88, Derick Pallis 89, Mark Hourihan 91, Gus Young 91, Nick Raffore 91, and Geno Lane 92.  Over at Saint Sebastian’s Mike Hoban 89 led the team in scoring while Bobby Sugrue 92 was the lone freshman to make the team and contribute.  Look for several 92 Kings to crack the line-up at Seb’s in 2008.  At Milton Academy, John Mlezcko 92 and Mike Megnia 92 made the varsity and immediately contributed to Milton’s growing strength in the ISL. 

At Thayer, Rich Crowley 91 anchored the defense with Austin Collins 88 and John Hennessey 91 and Pat Greer 91.  Crowley is heading to the USA NDTP in Ann Arbor, Michigan next season.  At Lawrence Academy Justin Gates 88 had a phenomenal year in goal and will be heading to Providence College next season on a full hockey scholarship.  Brian Gibbons 88 had a great season at The Salisbury School and will attend Boston College next year while his Salisbury teammate Paul Carey 88 has committed to BC for 2008 season.  Sean Whitney 89 anchored the defense at Cushing Academy while Sean Shakespeare 89 and Michael Hambleton 88 manned the blue line for Dummer Academy.

Bean Pot Colleges
Boston College is the hottest current location for the South Shore Kings.  Brian Boyle 84 (L.A. Kings) led Hockey East in scoring and was a 1st Team All American.  Boyle was this year’s Captain along with assistant Captain Joe Rooney 85.  Boyle and Rooney played their prep at St. Sebastian’s School.

Also on the BC team were Anthony Aiello 86 and Corey Griffin 86.  The big news at BC is there are 3 more Kings Stars heading to the heights.  Jimmy Hayes 89 who played 2 years at Nobles before playing last season for the USA – U/18 team in Ann Arbor is heading to BC in 2008.  Hayes is currently ranked in the top 10 picks for 2008 NHL Draft by central scouting.  Paul Carey 88 and Brian Gibbons 88, along with Matt Lombardi 87 will keep the Kings prominent on the BC roster for years to come.

Over at Northeastern, Michael Morris 83 played his senior season and was also the captain of the team.  Fellow Kings at N.U. were Jimmy Russo 85 and Ryan Ginand 86.  Next season Ryan McGuire 86, who played at Nobles, will join the Huskies.

Nick Coskren 86 and Mike Coskren 84 were sophomore contributors for Harvard and next year they will be joined by Chris Huxley 87 who spent last year in the USHL after a great career at Nobles.

At B.U., sophomore Steve Smolinsky 86 skated for the Terriers.  Recent Terrier greats from the Kings include Ryan Whitney 83, Brian McConnell 83, Jack Baker 80 and Steve Greeley 80.

Altogether, the Kings had 11 players in this year’s Bean Pot with more on the way.

Ivy League Colleges
The Coskrens and Huxley mentioned above are at Harvard, while Chris Poli 85 had a great season at Brown with Seth Seidman 86.  Matt Nelson 86 had a solid year at Yale while Eric Pridhan 85 missed this past season at Princeton but we expect to see him back for his senior year.

College Round-up - Hockey East and Division III
Chris Murray 84 had a great senior season at UNH.  Greg Collins 86 had a fantastic freshman season at Providence College.  Greg played with former Kings standout Pierce Norton 85 from South Boston/Thayer Academy.

Billy Ryan 85 was the 2nd leading scorer at Maine and has one year left before he’ll take his crack at the N.Y Rangers, who drafted him in the 5th round.  Greg McCarthy 86 and Phil Clark had a strong year at Tufts while Brendan Powers 86 was one of the top players at Amherst.  Colin Greenalgh 84 from Nobles had a great senior year at Williams.

The Pros
Ryan Whitney 83 has established himself as one of the top 5 defensemen in the NHL.  Ryan was a 1st round pick and anchors the Pittsburg power play with sid the kid Crosby, Evangi Malkin and Jordan Staal. Ryan played at B.U. and at Thayer and was a member of the 83 Kings team who won the World Championship in Quebec City in 1998.

Bobby Allen 79 played over 40 games with the Bruins this year and he has been signed by the Bruins for the 2008 season.  Kieth Yandle 86 played 8 games for Phoenix while captaining the power play of the San Antonio Rampage, their AHL affiliate.  Look for Keith to be a regular for Coach Gretzky in 2008.

Mike Morrison 79 started the season as the back-up goalie at Edmonton before being traded to Phoenix where he has seen action at San Antonio AHL with Keith Yandle 86.  Adam Pineault 85 and Kevin Coughlin 85 both had their rookie years in the AHL this past winter.

Other former Kings dotting the AHL are Carl Corrazinni 80 Chicago, Jeff Jillson 79, Mike Mottau 79 (former Hobey Baker Winner at BC).  In the ECHL Brian McConnell 83, Donny Grover 83, Brian Yandle 83 and Bobby Gates 83 played the full season.  Brian Boyle 84, Joe Rooney 85, Mike Morris 83 will all be NHL roster candidates for the 2008 season.  Look for Boyle in this springs AHL playoffs, playing for Manchester, the L.A. Kings farm team.