Could an ‘IMG of the North’ break into the New England hockey market? (Getty Images)
The landscape of New England hockey might soon be making room for a new addition.
Masters Academy International, or MAI, is attempting to bring a sports-centric academy to Massachusetts. In a story from the Boston Globe, the school revealed its plans to break ground on an 82-acre campus in Stow and open in fall 2026. MAI is clear with its goals: to create a multi-sport powerhouse in the vein of Florida’s IMG Academy, with an athletic focus that supercedes any other school in New England.
“We’re trying to create the IMG Academy of the North,” Peter Masters, the founder of MAI, told the Globe. “New England has the best private school market in the world and so many students that are heading to private schools are just looking for better athletics than their public schools can offer, but all the schools are still doing the same training that they’ve been doing for the last 80 years — three sports, three-month seasons, shorter schedules, history teachers and admissions directors as coaches and they don’t have full-time professional people.”
There’s still a lot to unpack and learn about as MAI establishes itself. But the school’s presence could have a ripple effect on the region’s hockey hierarchy. We got Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly’s reactions to the news.