Graduating eight seniors from a Western Massachusetts championship team would often spell a down year to follow. 

That’s not the expectation for the Greenfield hockey team, however. 

The program has seemingly reloaded every year, bringing up fresh talent that keeps the Wave competitive on a year-to-year basis. That’s evident by the three consecutive Western Mass. championships, back-to-back appearances in the state tournament and a state tournament victory in 2019-20.

“We put a lot of hard work in,” Greenfield head coach Adam Bouchard said. “The hard work these student-athletes put in shows with those league championships and Western Mass. championships. We’re always looking to create the next group of positive community members. We have a strong veteran presence coming in led by our four captains that have kept that culture. The atmosphere is buzzing going into the year.”

Those four captains — Hunter Smith, Derek Wissmann, Matt Garvin and Porter Hall — will all be key cogs for the Green Wave, which are looking to win an outright Wright Division championship after sharing the trophy with Belchertown last winter following identical 9-1 league seasons by both squads. 

Smith will lead the charge on offense for Greenfield. After being a defenseman his entire playing career, he switched to forward early last winter and has thrived in the role. Expect a big year for the senior. 

“He transitioned from a lifelong defenseman to forward and really started finding his way toward the second half of the year,” Bouchard said. “He was potting big goals for us. He has size, speed and can finish. Everyone has seen the hard work he’s put in and the dedication he has which is where his leadership comes in.” 

Wissmann, a senior, will be a top pair defenseman for the Green Wave, bringing leadership from the blue line. 

“He’s going to be that leader on the defensive end,” Bouchard said. “He’s a stout defender and not someone you want to meet in the corners. He has a cannon of a shot. His teammates can learn from his desire, dedication and heart. He’s a wonderful young man and the defense can learn and grow because of him.” 

Brodie Gagne, Preston LaFleur, Jaxon Lavallee and Brady Booska round out the six-member senior class for the Green Wave. Gagne, Lafleur and Lavallee are returning varsity players who will all have big roles while Booska returns to the ice for his senior year and is a player Bouchard said he’s excited to work with. 

Garvin and Hall are returning players who were named captains in their junior year. Jake Jurek is another returning junior while Jake Knight, Shawn Baumann and Will Petrin will be playing varsity for the first time as juniors. 

“We’re very excited about the veteran leadership we have on this team,” Bouchard said. “We have veteran players who have been playing integral parts for a number of years.” 

Defenseman Jack Laurie had a stellar freshman season last year and was named the PVIAC Western Mass. Rookie of the Year. Look for him to take another step forward as a sophomore. 

Luca Siano is another player who earned playing time as a freshman and looks impressive going into his second varsity season. Anson Prunier is a sophomore who will be playing varsity for the first time. 

The biggest question mark for the Green Wave heading into the season is who will replace Josh Bordeaux, the winner of the Bruce Landon Award for goaltending excellence last season. 

Bordeaux had a career year in net for Greenfield last winter as a senior, finishing with a 16-6 record with a .938 save percentage and a 1.72 goals-against-average. In those 16 wins, six came via shutout. 

Bordeaux was tasked with replacing Riley Drew — the Green Wave’s goalie during their state championship run — and managed to more than live up to the expectations. It’ll be no easy job following the top goalie in Western Mass. but sophomore Cooper Smith is a player Bouchard said is up for the job. 

“Cooper will be getting the tilt as the varsity starter,” Bouchard said. “We’re excited to have him between the pipes. History has shown us with Riley and Josh, and we’re hoping it shows us again, is that those guys really took off their sophomore years. Cooper is a sophomore and has been showing hard work to earn the job. I’m excited to see Cooper come in and handle that responsibility.” 

Forward Evan Galli comes over from Deerfield Academy while Kaleb Betit, a defenseman, is the lone freshman to make the Greenfield roster. Cade Allenby, Logan Caron, Shawn Beckwith, Cam Hopkins, Grayson Loos, Brady Poreda and Loki Rhodes are players who are competing to earn time on varsity this season. 

Bouchard noted that Bill Drake, who is returning as JV coach, has done a great job of developing talent through the years which allows the Green Wave to reload each year. 

Despite having just a handful of practices under their belt, Bouchard said he’s seen a positive energy with the team that he hopes carries into the season. 

“We’ve had a great first week and a half of practice,” Bouchard said. “There’s this positive atmosphere brewing in the arena when you walk in that is great to see. It’s as if the student-athletes see that the season is here, it’s time to work and that we have a veteran team who can score and play defense. 

“I can’t reiterate enough, the rink has a positive vibe during practice,” Bouchard added. “We’re very excited about that. Everybody is here to get the job done and they all know how much hard work we need to put in to accomplish our goals.” 

Greenfield won’t have any time to ease into its season. It will head down to the Mullins Center Community Ice Rink in Amherst to take on Belchertown in both squads’ season openers on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. 

“The great thing about high school hockey in western Mass. is that there’s always great competition,” Bouchard said. “There’s fantastic coaches and our league is very well run. We’re very excited to start the season with our friends from Belchertown. It’s a great way to start off our season with one of our league rivals. We’re really looking forward to Friday to get our campaign started and see what type of team we’re going to be.”