Varsity Hockey

THE PROGRAM 

The St. Sebastian’s Hockey Program has a rich tradition dating back to the opening of the school in 1941. The program consists of five teams, with practices taking place for all teams in our campus rink, the Henry T. Lane Rink, named in honor of Henry Lane ’49, who served St. Sebastian’s for over 40 years – starting as the Varsity Hockey coach before adding the duty of Athletic Director. There are locker rooms for each team as well as shower facilities. The Varsity team is coached by Sean McCann, Jed Doherty ’86, and Corey Ronan ’14. At the sub-varsity levels, there are no cuts, and all who would like to play are encouraged to do so.  

THE VARSITY TEAM 

Our Varsity team plays in the Keller Division of the Independent School League (ISL), which includes Belmont Hill, Governor’s Academy, Lawrence Academy, Milton Academy, Nobles, Thayer, and Tabor Academy. Since entering the league in 1976, the Arrows have won league championships five times, with the most recent being a three-year stretch from 2001-2003. During that span, two New England Division One championships were also won, and in the third year the team went to overtime in the final, just missing out on an unprecedented three straight New England championships. The league schedule consists of 14 games. There are additional non-Keller League games against the likes of St. Mark’s, Rivers, Brooks, Philips Andover, and Phillips Exeter.  

In addition, the Arrows host an annual Christmas tournament, named the Kevin T. Mutch Tournament. Kevin Mutch was a 1980 graduate of St. Sebastian’s who captained the Murphy Cup Championship Team in 1980 and went on to star at Boston University. Kevin returned to St. Sebastian’s to help fellow alumni Dan Williams ’64 and Jack Doherty ’62 coach the Varsity team during their ISL title run in 1991–92. He was tragically killed in September 1992 and a scholarship was established in his name to honor all that he meant to St. Sebastian’s.  The Christmas Tournament was named in his honor in 2022.  

The Arrows also co-host a New Year’s Showcase with Nobles and have an annual game against Tabor Academy for the Travis Roy Cup, started by St. Sebastian’s to benefit the Travis Roy Fund.  

In the thirteen seasons of the current New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) postseason format, the Arrows have qualified eleven times, including two Elite 8 appearances in the last four postseasons. 

AFTER ST. SEBASTIAN'S 

For years, our former players have gone on to enjoy tremendous success at the collegiate level and beyond. In recent years, players have gone on to play at Boston College, Yale, Williams, Boston University, Princeton, UConn, Harvard, Northeastern, Holy Cross, Stonehill, West Point, Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Colby, Babson, Middlebury, Trinity, and Tufts. Several former Arrows have gone on to be named captains and many have earned All-America and All-Conference honors in college.   

At the professional level, former Arrow Noah Hanifin ’15 is playing with the Calgary Flames and just finished his eighth season in the NHL. Brian Boyle ’03 retired in the 2022-23 season after playing a combined 995 regular season and playoff games and now can be seen on the NHL Network. Hanifin and Boyle played in the 2018 NHL All Star Game together for the Eastern Conference. In addition, Danny O’Regan ’12 played last season in the American Hockey League with the Grand Rapids Griffins, while Jayden Struble and Drew Commesso signed professional contracts with the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks organizations. Former Arrow player and coach Mike Grier, who played a total of 1,162 games in the NHL is now the General Manager of the San Jose Sharks. Chris Kelleher ’94 is the Director of Player Personnel for the Minnesota Wild.   

NHL scouts are no strangers to St. Sebastian’s, as thirty former Arrows have been selected in the Entry Draft. In the 2023 NHL Draft, Will Smith was the 1st round and 4th overall selection of the San Jose Sharks, with GM Mike Grier making the pick. Other recent Arrow draft picks were Jack Hughes taken in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft by the Los Angeles Kings and Michael Callow ’22 chosen in the 5th round by the Anaheim Ducks in the same draft. The 2003 Draft saw the Arrows tie a record at the time for most picks from one high school or prep school, with four players selected. Brian Boyle ’03 was selected in the first round by the L.A. Kings, which also marked the first time a school has produced first round picks in consecutive years, with Mike Morris having been selected by the San Jose Sharks in the 2002 Draft. Kenny Roche (Rangers), Kevin Regan (Bruins), and Sean Sullivan (Coyotes) were the other players chosen in 2003. The Arrows have had three additional players taken in the first round with Joe Hulbig (Edmonton 1992 – 13th overall), Rick DiPietro (Islanders 2000 – 1st overall), and Noah Hanifin (Carolina 2015 – 5th overall).