CTHSHockey's "Filthy 15"- 15 Players to be sure to see this year!

By: Luke Devoe

Hamden's Joe O'Connor battling with Prep's Matt Wikman

These players aren't exactly a second and third team but rather players to check out this season.  They all bring different aspects to the game we love.  Some are grinders, some are enforcers and some are simply Filthy.

Ryan Carpenter, F, Sr. Simsbury- Last year's leading scorer is a key component to Simsbury being more than a one and done team this season.  Does the dirty jobs that get the W's.

Matt Wikman, F, Jr. Fairfield Prep- Last year the name Wikman was reserved for an all-everything goalie.  Matt wants to make a name for himself this year and after a solid sophomore campaign, he should be able to garner some of the attention.

Anthony Avallone, F, Fr. East Haven- The freshman forward comes into Eastie land highly touted and will be looked to make up for some of the offense lost to Rich DeCarlo's graduation and Stephen Marsico's early exit.  

Glastonbury's Avery Clair

Avery Clair, F, Sr. Glastonbury- Clair could have the biggest acceleration to stardom this year.  Hidden beneath the glow of Ethan Holdaway and Drew Mozzer last year, this physical forward will be looked upon to provide more than the point a game stat sheet he provided last year.

Henry Stanton, F, Jr. New Canaan- Stanton should emerge as the Rams most reliable scorer.  Not the biggest cat around, but certainly compensates for it with grit and all out effort.

Andrew Graziano, G, So. North Haven- North Haven's season could be made or broken on the back of their sophomore net minder.  Splitting time with senior Mike Amarone last season gave Graziano the perfect appetizer for competitive high school hockey.  He could end up shining this year.

Stone Denbok, G, Jr. Notre Dame-Fairfield- Denbok is a Canadian import.  Vocal and full of that rah-rah spirit you'd love out of any player, Denbok will compete with incumbent Scott Kline.  Kline didn't have the strongest year with a 3.90 GAA and a .870 save percentage.

Ryan Lynch, F, So. Notre Dame-West Haven- Lynch appears, at least in the exhibition season, to be ready to elevate his game to another level offensively.  If NDWH can get secondary contributions from players like Lynch they could be unstoppable.

Ian Ball, D, Sr. Ridgefield- Where the Tigers lost some serious offensive pop this graduation season they returned one of the state's most dependable defensemen.  The gangly Ball is one of the state's best shut down defensemen.

St. Joseph's Andrew Gore

Andrew Gore, D, Sr. St. Joseph- Size, power and skill encapsulates this Cadet defensemen.  At 6'5", 200 lb. Gore is a beast and if locked on to the opposition's best skater, he could make nightmares for coaches around the state.

Tyler Carangelo, F, So. Hamden- Heralded and touted Carangelo put together a nice freshmen campaign.  He will need to further elevate his game this season in a year where many are saying it could be his last before prep school.  Without some offensive punch that he had last year around him it'll be interesting to see if he can pick up the slack.

Jack Gethings, F, Jr. Xavier- Xavier comes back fully loaded this season and returns Gethings who had a dirty sophomore season.  Gethings is among a group of solid skaters that the Falcons return but I'm calling for him being the one to break out in a big way.

Josh O’Neal, F, Sr. South Windsor- O'Neal should pick up for the loss of Ouellette and Bonazelli and he'll need to as he's one of a few Bobcats remaining with the offensive chops to be able to.  O'Neal can move up and down the ice but can also be physical.

Christian LaCroix, F, Jr. Notre Dame-Fairfield- A natural distributor, LaCroix will be looked to, to score a little more this season.  ND-Fairfield will surprise some but I think it takes them a little while to get going.  LaCroix will be need to provide more than his 21 points from last season.

Jesse Ruocco, F Sr. Notre Dame-West Haven- After taking a year off to pursue other adventures, Ruocco missed the ice and is back with the Green Knights.  Ruocco can burn it too.  The kid flies up and down the ice and could be the X factor for the Knights this year.

...eh, here's a bunch more players to check out.

Jack Knowlton, F, Sr. Xavier

Dan Dupont, D, Sr. Xavier

Matt Hoff, G, Sr. Hamden

Christian Ugolik, F, Fr. Hamden

Vin Rella, F, Sr. Ridgefield

Dusty Rausa, G, Sr. Ridgefield

Scott Romano, G, Sr. Cheshire

Luke Vendetto, F, Jr. Cheshire

Mike Falanga, F, Jr. East Haven

Matt Longobardi, F, Jr. East Haven

Connor Henry, F, Sr. Fairfield Prep

Andrew Hatton, D, Sr. Fairfield Prep

Karl Anderson, F, Sr. North Haven

Chris Lion, F, Jr. North Haven

Peter Petrino, D, Sr. Notre Dame-Fairfield

Darren Capobianco, D, Sr. Notre Dame-West Haven

Kyle Thibault, F, Sr. Notre Dame-West Haven

Ryan Corcoran, F, Jr. St Joseph

Ryan McCellan, F, Sr. Xavier

Jimmy Morrissey, F, Jr. West Haven

Jaeson Puleo, F, Jr. West Haven

Chris Gionfriddo, F, Sr. South Windsor

Connor Rice, F, Sr. Simsbury

Connor Thompson, F, Jr. Glastonbury
Paul Macken, F, Sr. Greenwich

West Haven's Jimmy Morrissey