In a break from the monotony of summer, Northeastern picked up a commitment from Jack Williams, a 2002-birth year forward from Biddeford, Maine. He is 5-foot-10, 150 lbs, a right handed winger, and last played for Berwick Academy, though he is transferring to Selects Academy at the South Kent School.
Congrats to former Bulldog Jack Williams on his commitment to @GoNUmhockey🐾. Well deserved. 👏👏👏#gohuskies #GoNU #berwickhockey pic.twitter.com/1MvRg4pPht
— Berwick Boys Hockey (@BerwickBHKY) July 21, 2017
Williams is the second ’02 that has pledged to the NU program, following Chase Bradley. Both players are present at the USA Hockey U15 camp, and each have three points in three games. Being so young, there is not a lot of information on him out there, but there have been some viewings. He participated in the Beantown NAPS in late June, and Jeff Cox reported ” He scored an absolute snipe right under the bar for the first goal of the game against LRHC in the finals. He plays hard and bigger than he is. He skates with authority and can control the puck.” Cox also saw him at the World Selects Invite in May, and said “He didn’t find the score sheet as often as he could have, but he had god hands for a player his size. His skating could use some work, but he created some chances from winning battles along the wall and down low.” When approached via direct message, Cox said that Williams projects as a third-liner.
Mark Bilotta of Neutral Zone Scouting was also complimentary of Williams as a player.
4 star prospect commits to @GoNUmhockey. High compete, gritty, goal scoring fwd who is tough to play against. Great showing at #Select15s https://t.co/QKAiNw80uA
— Neutral Zone (@_Neutral_Zone) July 21, 2017
02 F Jack Williams (NU) is a great possession player who makes smart decisions. Plays physical, active stick: well-rounded. Biddeford native https://t.co/4PMBhaY9w3
— Mark Bilotta (@mbilotta) July 21, 2017
USHL amateur scout Matt Grainda also had this to say:
Jack Williams (02) commits to Northeastern. Berwick Academy, USA Select 15s. Competitive, talented scorer, good hands. #WhosNext #NTDPwatch
— Matt Grainda (@graindaiv) July 21, 2017
A talented player who can score, is tough to play against, plays physical and controls possession, and does well along the boards sounds to check nearly every box of a prototypical Jim Madigan/Jerry Keefe player. Williams seems to project as exactly the type of player successful teams need in their lineup to compete year in, year out. Not everyone can score 50 points, and Williams seems to project as a fantastic complimentary player. Given he’s a 2002 birth-year, he could arrive at NU as early as 2020. We put him in the 2021 class for now, but will move him accordingly if more information presents itself. Check out the pipeline for the future of NU hockey here.