Trading Gold and Blue for the Red, White, and Blue

It is not unheard of for a Fenn alumnus to dawn the red, white and blue of a United States hockey jersey, with Ian Moore ‘17 most recently representing his country in the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament. It is, however, fairly unprecedented to have three alumni from the same middle school represent the United States at the same time. This happens to be the case for the Fenn School this year.

Will Belle ’21, Teddy Stiga ’21, and Richard Gallant ’22 are all currently participating in the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP). Stiga is in his second year of the program and playing on the U18 Team. He has racked up 37 goals and 34 assists in 91 total games played over his two seasons. Belle and Gallant are both in their first year and playing on the U17 Team. Belle has tallied 7 goals and 6 assists in 40 games, while Gallant has added 3 goals and 10 assists in 28 games played. (Stats were last collected on February 26, 2024).

Belle and Stiga were linemates during the 2019-20 season, in which the team finished with an undefeated record. Coach Jeff LaPlante isn’t surprised to see how far they’ve come as they play for the NTDP. “Teddy played winger and scored a lot of goals during his two years of Fenn hockey, while Will was a play-maker and a huge defensive asset, playing center and logging a lot of minutes each game,” LaPlante fondly remembered. “It’s very rewarding to see them both take their game to the next level for USA Hockey.”

Gallant missed out on the opportunity to play for Fenn due to the pandemic and the eventual cancellation of the 2021-22 season. “I know how skilled Richard was as a skater and play-maker, and I would have loved to have coached him at Fenn,” said LaPlante. “His achievement in making the NTDP is truly great to see.”

Fenn participates in a very competitive junior prep school league, giving hockey players the opportunity to play with their classmates and for their school. Many of Fenn’s players, like Belle (Shattuck St. Mary’s), Stiga (Belmont Hill), and Gallant (St. Mark’s), go on to play in outstanding public and private high school hockey programs. All three of the young men are also committed to play D1 college hockey following their time in the development program (Belle - Notre Dame, Stiga - Boston College, Gallant - Harvard), like so many Fenn alumni before them.

“We are proud of Teddy, Will, and Richard as Fenn alumni and of what they are accomplishing as athletes in the NTDP,” remarked Head of School Derek Boonisar. “They are playing at arguably the highest level of hockey in the country for boys their age. They bought into our mission and philosophy when they were enrolled at Fenn and surely still carry with them the valuable life lessons and habits of mind and body that we emphasize as they compete for the country, take their game to an even higher level, and develop into men.” 

We look forward to following their progress with pride and anticipation in the coming years and wish them “luck in the halls” as they move on to the next level of their hockey career.