NCAA hockey tournament preview: Flyers connections both past and present run deep

While March Madness tipped off last week on the hardwood with the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments, the madness spreads to the ice this week with the beginning of the NCAA men’s hockey championship, which will be aired on the ESPN family of networks.

The 16-team, single-elimination tournament begins Thursday with regional final action over the weekend in Manchester, N.H., Bridgeport, Conn., Fargo, N.D., and 60 or so miles up the road at the PPL Center in Allentown. Come Sunday night, the field will be chopped down to four, with those remaining schools to contest the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., from April 6-8.

How does this relate to the Flyers, you might ask? Well, as you’ll soon see there are several reasons for Flyers fans to watch:

The Flyers recently acknowledged they are rebuilding and the best way to do that is through the draft and by accumulating and developing prospects. While last year’s top pick Cutter Gauthier and Boston College did not make the tournament, three Flyers draft picks will be competing in this year’s field: the University of Minnesota’s Bryce Brodzinski (seventh round, No. 196 in 2019), Boston University’s Jay O’Brien (first round, No. 19 overall in 2018), and BU teammate Devin Kaplan (third round, No. 69 overall in 2022).

Brodzinski comes from a hockey family, as his dad, who was coincidentally born in Philly, played at St. Cloud State, and his three brothers are now playing various levels of professional hockey. The youngest Brodzinski ranks fourth on the No. 1-seeded Gophers in goals (15), is tied for fifth in points (25), and has improved gradually over his four years on campus. While not a top-end prospect, Brodzinski has shown flashes of skill, and is someone the Flyers will have to make a decision on before relinquishing his draft rights on Aug. 15.

» READ MORE: Ranking the Flyers’ top 10 prospects: Where does Cutter Gauthier fit?

O’Brien, meanwhile, was selected in the first round out of Thayer Academy by Ron Hextall in 2018. Five years, two colleges, and several injuries later, and O’Brien has yet to make the leap from the NCAA ranks. While he has been productive this season with the Terriers (30 points in 36 games), particularly as a playmaker (23 assists), the clock is also ticking on the Flyers regarding O’Brien. The dilemma for the Flyers, who don’t have a second-round pick in either of the next two drafts, is that they would recoup a compensatory second-rounder if they don’t sign O’Brien. Given his injury history, age (23), and the team’s timeline, that might be a more sensible move.

Kaplan has been a pleasant surprise for BU, as viewed as a project-type player, he has earned his minutes and carved out a role on a good Terriers team. At 6-foot-2 and 204 pounds, Kaplan continues to learn how to use his size and has improved dramatically from the beginning of the season, culminating with a goal and an assist in Saturday’s Hockey East title game. Kaplan’s freshman season (10 goals, 23 points) has to be viewed as a major success and he will almost certainly return to school this fall for more seasoning.

The draft lottery is set for May 8 and while everyone and their mother wants to land the No. 1 overall pick and Connor Bedard, University of Michigan star Adam Fantilli would be one heck of a consolation prize. The freshman has dominated this season like few first-year players ever have, leading the nation in scoring with 61 points (1.85 ppg) despite missing games to win World Junior gold with Team Canada in early January.

» READ MORE: With Flyers officially acknowledging a ‘rebuild,’ all eyes turn to June’s NHL draft

The 6-2, 195-pound Fantilli is a powerful center who combines strength, speed, skill, and effort all into one beautifully wrapped package. One of the best skaters in this draft class, Fantilli has the makings of being a game-breaker at the next level. Projected to go No. 2 overall, the Flyers, who currently hold the sixth-best odds to get the No. 1 pick, will need some lottery luck to land the fantastic freshman.

Want to feel old? Four former Flyers will have sons playing in this year’s tournament, as Rod Brind A’mour’s son Skyler is a senior forward at Quinnipiac, Jim Dowd’s son Jimmy is a defenseman at Penn State, Tony Amonte’s son Tristan is a forward for Boston University, and finally, Mike Knuble’s son Cam plays at Western Michigan.

Those are not the only familiar names in the field, as John Tortorella’s brother Jim is an assistant coach at Harvard, while former Flyers defenseman Matt Carle’s brother David is the head coach at the University of Denver. Last season, David Carle and the Pioneers won the national title led by Flyers prospect Bobby Brink, who is currently with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Speaking of the Phantoms, defenseman Louie Belpedio will have to share the PPL ice this weekend with his younger brother Nic, who will play there Friday night with Colgate against Michigan.

While local fans don’t have a City 6 school to root for in Division I ice hockey, they could do worse than adopting Penn State. The Nittany Lions, who are a No. 2 seed, will serve as the host of the Allentown regional and will play Michigan Tech there Friday afternoon.

In just its 11th season in Division I, Penn State is competing in its third NCAA Tournament and is seeking its first-ever Frozen Four appearance. The Nittany Lions have plenty of Philly ties as well, as Dowd (four goals, 17 points) grew up in Point Pleasant Beach, while forwards Connor McMenamin (eight goals, 23 points) and Tyler Paquette (six goals, 14 points) are from Collegeville.

Philadelphia has a long history of churning out high-end basketball and football players, but there are some hockey players coming through these days. This year’s NCAA Tournament is proof of that, as locals are sprinkled throughout the 16 schools.

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Ronnie Attard playing his ‘best hockey’ as the Phantoms push for the playoffs

Outside of the trio at Penn State, Canisius leads the way with a pair of locals in David Melaragni (Philadelphia) and Max Kouznetsov (Voorhees), the son of former Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. Former La Salle College High star Sam Lipkin is Quinnipiac’s third-leading scorer (12 goals, 35 points) as a freshman, while Cornell’s Nick DeSantis (Collegeville) played a season at Malvern Prep. Rounding out the group, are Boston University defenseman Jack Page (West Chester) and Ohio State’s Matt Cassidy, who landed in Columbus via Medford.