MAKING STRIDES: Hun School boys’ hockey player Andrew Darst, right, chases down the puck in a game this winter. Senior defenseman and team captain Darst helped Hun go 12-11 this winter as it more than doubled its win total from the the 2024-25 campaign when it went 5-15-1. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)

By Bill Alden

As NG Welsh took the helm of the Hun School boys’ hockey team, he helped the program enjoy a positive reversal of fortune.

Under Welsh’s guidance, Hun went 12-11 this season, more than doubling its win total from the 2024-25 campaign when it went 5-15-1.

Welsh raised his game as he looked to help get Hun on the winning track.

“For me, everything is just turned up more than a few notches in terms of how you prepare, the responsibility you feel, the work that goes in but also the pride and joy are bigger too,” said Welsh, whose team fell 4-2 to St. Joe’s Prep (Pa.) in the semifinal of the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference (APAC) tournament to end the season. “This is something all of these kids earned and deserved and I got to be a part of it. We are just happy.”

In Welsh’s view, a core of veterans and a trio of goaltenders helped key the squad’s progress.

“We had a good group of returners,” said Welsh. “We had stellar goaltending all year from three different goalies (Blake Echternacht, Elliott Trottier, and Chase Kishler), which was great.”

While Hun did regain its winning ways, it wasn’t always a smooth ride.

“We had a great start to the season and a great end,” said Welsh. “We had a little bit of a lull in the middle which is something we will look to address next year.”

The team’s senior stalwarts ended their careers on a high note.

“That group of seniors was phenomenal,” said Welsh, whose Class of 2026 included Andrew Darst, Nate Trawinski, Anders van Raalte, Luca Jean, Jacob Kelly-Lepage, Ezra Broomer, Evans Koserowski, Justin Tong, James Stelmak, and Echternacht. “We graduate 10 and the majority of them have been here since freshman year. We are going to miss them. They are a big part of the core group and a big part of the production.”

Star defenseman and team captain Darst and goalie Echternacht spearheaded the team’s blue line unit.

“Andrew played 50 percent of every single game this year,” said Welsh. “He was the captain, he was the guy who was always looked to for every situation — power play, even strength and penalty kill. Blake was the MVP of our team this year. He was a standout, day in, day out. In every big game, he kept us in it.”

The quartet of van Raalte, Trawinski, Jean, and Kelly-Lepage helped spark the Hun offense.

“Anders is a pure goal scorer and we are going to miss him,” said Welsh. “I have known Nate for a very long time. He is a great kid, we call him blue collar. He is very hardworking when he is not too busy smiling. For Luca and Jacob, this was their second year here. They are guys from Canada and both are just awesome individuals. They both wore As (as assistant captains) this year, They were great guys to have all around.”

The Raiders are returning some great guys in junior Zach Vallee, junior Justin Bibeau, sophomore Devin Espana, sophomore Conor Mulligan, sophomore Jimmy Dolan, and junior Elliott Trottier, who should keep the program on the winning track.

“They are the core six coming back,” said Welsh. “We are very excited to have all of them. Those guys are more than capable of carrying a team.”

Looking ahead, Welsh is excited about the program’s future.

“I think overall we are in a really good spot,” said Welsh. “We have a good team. We have a good group of returners. We have a good outlook next year with kids that are JV this year, they beat PDS in the final of the JV tournament.”