La Salle's Kevin Mainello Signs with EHL Walpole Express
Who can forget the game winning goal by La Salle stud Kevin Mainello. The rebound goal that gave La Salle the Section 2 Championship. Nobody, and I still remember it to the day. Following the end of Mainello’s high school career, tons of EHL and other leagues took interest. Now, we know the next step in Mainello’s career, the Walpole Express.
Mainello had some offers with a big decision ahead. He had two contract offers from teams in the USPHL, one from the Hartford Junior Wolfpack Premier team and one from the Syracuse Stars Premier team. In the EHL I had contracts from the Walpole Express and New Hampshire Avalanche both contracts were for the top teams. He also had a contract from a team in the Western States Hockey League called the Arizona Hawks. “I remember changing my mind countless times” Mainello said.
Walpole Express is an EHL team based out of Walpole Massachusetts. The EHL is comprised of 16 top-level Junior hockey organizations on the East Coast. The EHL is committed to developing and producing student-athletes with aspirations of advancing to collegiate and/or professional hockey. “In the end I knew the EHL would offer me would give me the best oppertuinty to achieve my number one goal of playing college hockey”.
“Coach Lounsbury showed tremendous interest in me, and he hit it off from day one. He really understands my goals as a player and will get me to the next level”.
It is rare to see someone come right out of high school and play in a top league of the EHL. “I was blessed” Kevin added. “Not many people get to play Juniors mostly because there is so much competition out there”. Mainello proved in high school he proved and showed potential that he could play at the next level. This year he finished with 20 goals, 4th in Section 2 and 28 assists, 3rd in section 2. “It feels great now that I have made a team and can focus on getting in shape and really developing all aspects of my game”.
Mainello holds the skill-set unlike any other player in Section 2. He has the ability to create puck movement and be a versatile defender and goal scorer when needed.
Kevin has been truly been a pleasure to watch at La Salle and we can’t wait to follow his journey. The next step for Mainello.
“As for what happens next I would say just preparing, there are numerous junior leagues out there and thousands of players playing junior hockey all competing for the same thing a spot on an NCAA hockey roster. So I need to do everything I can this offseason to get stronger, faster, and better than everyone else so that I can impress some college coaches and hopefully take my game to the next level. Now that I've made my decision And I know what team I'm playing for I can put all of that in the past and stop worrying about it, now my main focus is adapting to the EHL style of play and getting looks from college coaches”.
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By Jake Martino
Kevin Mainello Interview
Q: It is very rare to see someone come out of high school and play in a top league of the EHL. How does it feel that this could get you to the next step in your career.
A: Yea, I feel pretty blessed like you said not many high school hockey players get to play juniors mostly because there is just so much competition out there. It was especially tough for me because my parents told me from day 1 that if I wanted to play Juniors I would have to make the A team for whatever organization I play for. In the EHL there are two divisions and recently they just renamed them so the top division is called just the "Eastern Hockey League" and the lower division is called the "Eastern Hockey League Premier Division". I tried out for the top team in the Walpole Express organization and was fortunate enough to be playing my best hockey that weekend. At the tryouts I was going up against kids who either already played for the team last year or they played for a prep school or a different Junior team or in some cases played in a different country last year. It feels great now that I have made a team and now I can focus on getting in shape and really developing all aspects of my game.
Q: What made you choose Walpole and the EHL? What does your journey hold? What happens next?
A: What made you choose Walpole and the EHL? Well I had offers from a few other teams, I had two contract offers from teams in the USPHL, one from the Hartford Junior Wolfpack Premier team and one from the Syracuse Stars Premier team. In the EHL I had contracts from the Walpole Express and New Hampshire Avalanche both contracts were for the top teams. I also had a contract from a team in the Western States Hockey League called the Arizona Hawks. It took me weeks of talking to scouts, coaches, and players to figure out which league would be the right fit for me. I remember changing my mind countless times, one day I would have my mind set on a certain team in a certain league and the next day I would change to a different team in a different league. In the end I came to the conclusion that the EHL would give me the best opportunity to achieve my number one goal of playing college hockey. Here is why, 1. The EHL has been the top tier 3 junior league in terms of college placements over the past 5 years (647 NCAA Commitments since 2013) 2. originally I was set on the USPHL until the USPHL announced that they were creating a new division called the NCDC. So in the USPHL there are now three divisions, the elite division, premier division, and NCDC division the elite is the lowest and NCDC is the highest level. I never tried out for any of the NCDC teams because they were usually during the same time as an EHL tryout or a USPHL premier tryout. Basically I was told by coaches that because of the new NCDC division coming into the USPHL, the premier teams were now considered the B teams and the elite teams are considered the C teams. As I said before my parents told me if I wanted to play juniors I could only play for the top division within the league. So that is what finally made me make the decision that the EHL was the best league for me. As for choosing Walpole, I was split between the New Hampshire Avalanche and the Walpole Express because 1. they both are considered the best two teams in the league in terms of college placements. Coach Lounsbury (Head Coach of Walpole) placed 19 of his 25 players on College teams last year. Coach Cerrella (Head Coach of New Hampshire) also placed 19 of his 25 players on college teams last year. So in terms of which team would get me to the best level both of these teams are tied for the league lead in college placements. 2. Both coaches showed interest in me calling and texting me regularly Almost every week. So this was probably the hardest part of my Junior tryout experience, picking between these two teams. Eventually it came down to a few factors, first location, I really like the Walpole area it is a nice town and only about 3 hours away from my house and also because the home rink where I will be playing next year is about 2 minutes away from Gilette Stadium in Foxborough. As for New Hampshire, it is about 3 hours and 40 minutes away from my house and it isn't right next to where Tom Brady plays football. The next factor was I felt like Coach Lonsboury and I really hit it off from day 1 he really understands my goals as a player and he knows how to get players to the next level. Also one thing he told me was he isn't focused on winning the league because that isn't what junior hockey is about, junior hockey is about getting you placed into a good college where you can play hockey. Not to mention he also works for the Florida Panthers in the NHL as a part time job when he isn't in Walpole so he definitely knows a lot about Hockey and the recruiting process. The last factor was just asking myself where do I think is the best fit. After contemplating this question for a couple of days I decided to sign the contract for The Walpole Express in the EHL. As for what happens next I would say just preparing, there are numerous junior leagues out there and thousands of players playing junior hockey all competing for the same thing a spot on an NCAA hockey roster. So I need to do everything I can this offseason to get stronger, faster, and better than everyone else so that I can impress some college coaches and hopefully take my game to the next level. Now that I've made my decision And I know what team I'm playing for I can put all of that in the past and stop worrying about it, now my main focus is adapting to the EHL style of play and getting looks from college coaches.
