QUICK START: Hun School boys’ hockey player Anders van Raalte controls the puck in recent action. Last Thursday, senior forward van Raalte tallied one goal and one assist to help Hun defeat the Haverford School (Pa.) 8-3. The Raiders, who improved to 3-1 with the victory, play at Malvern Prep (Pa.) on December 17 before hosting St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) on December 19. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

For NG Welsh, being coached by Ian McNally on the Princeton Youth Hockey Association U-18 team changed the course of his life.

“I played for Ian for three years, went to school, came back out of school and he was the hockey director at Princeton Youth,” said Welsh, a Princeton native who played for St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) in high school and went on to play club hockey at Cornell where he graduated in 2017. “I started coaching at Princeton Youth and then a year or two after I started there he asked me to come be an assistant at Hun. He was the reason I started coaching at Hun.”

This winter, Welsh has taken the helm of the Hun boys’ hockey program, succeeding Eric Szeker.

“I think it was as smooth a transition as it could have been,” said Welsh, who helped guide the Raiders to a 5-16-2 record last winter. “I have been there for six years, I know how the school operates. I know a lot of the players. I think if it was someone brand new coming in it would have been a little bit more difficult.”

In his first message to the squad as head coach, Welsh assured the players that the program’s positive culture would remain intact under his leadership.

“I gave a very short speech,” said Welsh. “The message was that we may change a very small portion of the hockey Xs and Os, but the core ethos and what we try to accomplish as a program stays the same. We are trying to continue the culture.”

The Raiders have played some good hockey in the early going, getting off to an encouraging 3-1 start.

“I think our most telling game was Wednesday for this week against St. Joe’s Prep which was a 2-1 overtime win,” said Welsh, whose team topped Haverford School (Pa.) 8-3 in moving to 3-1.

“That one was a gut check for them. That is a long ride and a tough turnaround with three games in a week. I think this group has a couple of really talented hockey players but we have 20 guys who are willing to work hard 100 percent of the time and that is most important.”

The trio of senior Anders Van Raalte, junior Zach Vallee, and senior Luca Jean have been giving the Raiders some good work at forward this winter.

“Anders has one of the best shots and one of the best releases I have ever seen,” said Welsh. “He can score from anywhere, it is very, very nice. Zach has a very nice set of hands to go along with a nice set of feet he has got from soccer. He is a gifted stickhandler. Luca has an incredible shot. He is very, very quick but also reads the ice well. He is a great passer.”

Senior Nate Trawinski and a pair of sophomores Conor Mulligan and Jimmy Dolan have been giving Hun depth as they have excelled on the team’s two other forward lines.

“Nate is a standout because he has been part of that program for four years,” said Welsh. “We have got the two young guns in Conor and Jimmy, they each play wing on one of those two lines. They are our top two penalty killers. They are on the ice a lot.”

On defense, the pair of senior Andrew Darst and sophomore Devin Espana are spearheading the blue line unit.

“The defense is led by Andrew and Devin,” said Welsh. “Darst is just an overall very, very composed good hockey player. He doesn’t get beat, he walks the line very well. Devin plays great defense and is also good for one, two, or three rushes a game where he picks the puck in our zone and goes end-to-end.”

At goalie, post-graduate Blake Echternacht has been playing very well.

“Blake was a good player for me at Princeton Youth two or three years ago,” said Welsh. “I didn’t even know he was at school until he showed up for tryouts. He went to Hun because he is a very good baseball player and he just showed up. He has been a big pick up. He is a very big goaltender. He is 6’2, 190, and he takes up a lot of net. The kid has an incredible level of focus. Before and during a game, he is off by himself doing what he has to do. He does not let anything distract him.”

With Hun playing at Malvern Prep (Pa.) on December 17 before hosting St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) on December 19, Welsh knows that the Raiders will need to maintain their focus to keep on the winning track.

“St. Joseph’s has been a very strong team, I have a very close relationship with their head coach and one of their assistant coaches was my assistant captain when I was captain there so that is always a good rivalry,” said Welsh, noting that the Raiders will be heading to the Washington, D.C. area over the holidays to compete in the Purple Puck tournament. “Malvern is our second game in the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference (APAC), it would be a great thing to start the APAC 2-0. We don’t fluctuate our schedule good, bad, good, bad.”