Local ties run deep at draft
Lunenburg’s Jefferies taken by Islanders
It’s 2020 so, of course, the National Hockey League Draft was held virtually.
There were no cheering fans, no handshakes with team executives, no long, proud walks to the stage.
But Wednesday will still be a day to remember for six players with local ties, including one who was the third American player drafted.
UMass Lowell freshman Ben Meehan went to the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round. Meehan likely would have gone higher than the 140th overall pick had he not suffered a season-ending shoulder injury midway through his first season in the United States Hockey League.
The 19-year-old Walpole native got off to a terrific start with Cedar Rapids. Before getting injured, he netted eight goals, and added 10 assists, in 25 games.
“It’s a feather in his cap,” UML head coach Norm Bazin said. “Now the work starts.”
Meehan represented his country at the USA World Junior A Challenge last December in Canada. He played in all six games and helped the U.S. earn a bronze medal.
“It’s an exciting day for he and his family, and the organization,” Bazin said. “It says something about his work ethic and the way that he progressed last year. First and foremost, he’s a very competitive kid. He’s someone who has a knack for making a good first pass. The game is so fast now. You need guys who can move the puck up the ice.”
Bazin said he was surprised UML forward Carl Berglund was not selected. Berglund, who
plays a strong all-around game, was UML’s second-leading scorer as a freshman with 23 points.
The first player with local roots to be selected, and the first New Englander chosen, was former Lawrence Academy forward Sam Colangelo.
Colangelo went near the top of the second round, 36th overall, to Anaheim. He was the third American player picked.
The Stoneham native played three seasons at the Groton school before having an outstanding season with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League, where he posted 28 goals and 30 assists in 44 games.
In his three seasons at Lawrence Academy, Colangelo netted 14 points, 42 points and 48 points, respectively. He is a freshman at Northeastern University.
With the 67th overall pick, in the third round, Anaheim drafted defenseman Ian Moore, a smooth-skating defenseman from Concord.
The 6-foot-2, 171-pound Moore starred last winter at St. Mark’s School, registering 12 goals and 34 assists in 28 games. He was the top-rated prep school skater in Massachusetts. He will play this season with Chicago of the USHL before taking his talents to Harvard University.
A Central Mass. player went in the fourth round.
Lunenburg native Alex Jefferies, 18, a forward, was taken by the New York Islanders with the 121st selection.
Jefferies is a freshman at Merrimack. He received accolades last November when he signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Merrimack even though several Hockey East schools, including Boston College, showed serious interest in him. He had previously committed to former coach Mark Dennehy and kept his commitment when Scott Borek took over.
Jefferies attended the Gunnery School in Washington, Conn. Over the last two seasons, in 63 games, he netted 60 goals and 126 points. NHL Central Scouting had him ranked the 97th North American skater.
Another former Lawrence Academy skater, Riley Duran, was also drafted. The 6-foot-2, 179-pound forward went in the sixth round (182nd) to the Boston Bruins, which had to be a thrill for the Woburn native.
Duran played the last two seasons at LA. He collected 26 points and then his point total rose to 44 last winter. He’s expected to play for Youngstown of the USHL this season before enrolling at Providence College.
Finally, in the seventh round, the Nashville Predators tabbed forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine with the 202nd pick.
Fontaine played one season at Lawrence Academy. He netted 19 goals and 50 points during a breakout season in 2017-18. He spent the previous two seasons with Chicago of the USHL. He was one of the league’s top scorers last winter with a 26-31-57 line. Fontaine is a Northeastern freshman. At the management level, it was the first time running the New Jersey draft board for new general manager Tom Fitzgerald.
The Billerica native and Austin Prep graduate was busy. He made three firstround selections Tuesday: forward Alexander Holtz at No. 7, forward Dawson Mercer at No. 18 and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin at No. 20.