Re: BU Recruiting Update, Part 3
Being a Belmont Hill parent I have been able to watch both Kelly and MacAfee play over the past two years. What to expect from Kelly is a heavy shot (could see him effective on one of the power plays early), kid can finish. Also, MacAfee has exceptional passing ability (every pass seems to be hard, tape-to-tape). Was at Seb's for a few holiday tourney games and over heard coach Parker talking about the defenseman saying that he could have fit into the lineup this year for the terriers. Nonetheless, I would expect the two to fit into the 3rd/4th line and 3rd defensive pairing.
Thanks for the information, Bhillies. In addition to his senior year at Sebs, MacAfee played for one of the top Mass Tier 1 Midget teams, Cape Cod Whalers. USHR's report on his verbal last summer:
A Pure Athlete for the Terriers
6’0”, 180 lb. defenseman Dalton MacAfee, who will be a senior at St. Sebastian’s this season, has committed to Boston University for the fall of ’13.
A year ago at this time, MacAfee, a 7/8/94 birthdate from Needham, Mass., had committed to Notre Dame for lacrosse. A midfielder, he had also been recruited by Maryland and Johns Hopkins.
At St. Seb’s last winter, MacAfee, who has played varsity hockey since his freshman year, posted a 1-15-16 line in 28 games played and was the Arrows’ second-leading scorer among d-men, trailing only BC recruit Noah Hanifin.
To be honest, this typist didn’t really notice MacAfee that much in his freshman and sophomore seasons, but last year felt that he really came on with a rush, a pattern frequently seen among kids who are multi-sport athletes. However, as MacAfee had committed to Notre Dame for lacrosse, we didn’t figure he’d be giving that up for hockey, especially considering that his father, Ken MacAfee, an oral surgeon in the Boston area, was an All-American football player for three consecutive years with the Fighting Irish. A tight end on Notre Dame’s 1977 National Championship team for which Joe Montana was the quarterback, the senior MacAfee – who finished third in the Heisman balloting that year -- went on to become a first round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers, and played two years for them. However, in his third NFL year, MacAfee, who had been going to medical school in the offseason -- to the consternation of 49ers head coach Bill Walsh -- was asked to play guard, a position for which he reportedly felt ill-suited. MacAfee retired from football, went to medical school at Penn, and eventually returned home to the Boston area, where, in the 1970s, he had starred at Brockton High. MacAfee was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
Forgive the digression there. That may have added up to a bit more info on the dad than the situation warrants. After all, though it’s a good story, it’s still the son’s moment in the sun. With that in mind, what BU fans can look in MacAfee is a highly-mobile, puck-moving defenseman who is also very good in his own end. MacAfee played very well at Harvard’s camp a couple of weeks ago, where BU assistant Mike Bavis watched him closely. In short, MacAfee looks like one of those players who, now that his mind is centered on hockey, will just keep improving.
BU moved fast. MacAfee is a good student, and the Ivies were reportedly starting to move on him.
