This Aurora school has quietly churned out several NHL prospects. The hockey world is taking notice

Not long after he turned 18 in April, one of the first things Jonathan Castagna did was set up his own tax-free savings account, which allows him to manage his investment portfolio without having to consult his parents. “I have about 25 equities in there,” he said. “It’s something that’s a little passion of mine, just to make some passive income.”

There may be a day when Castagna’s hockey income could be much more than passive and his portfolio gets too large for him to manage by himself. At least that’s the plan. And the next step in that process happened on the second day of the NHL draft this week in Nashville, when the star centre for the St. Andrew’s College Saints was chosen in the third round, 70th overall, by the Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes chose Castagna with the first of their four picks in the third round, much earlier than most of the independent scouting services, which had him ranked somewhere from 100th to 150th.

“Our scouts raved about how hard he played,” Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong said of Castagna. “That was the biggest thing. And then he tested and interviewed really well at the (NHL scouting) combine. For us, he was the full package. He’s a pretty intelligent, driven kid.”

But that wasn’t the only place St. Andrew’s made its mark on this year’s proceedings. Other former Saints players selected this week: centre Brad Gardiner of the Ottawa 67’s, who went 79th overall to the Dallas Stars; Aydar Suniev, a left-winger for the Penticton Vees who was chosen 80th by the Calgary Flames; and left-winger Cole Brown of the Hamilton/Brantford Bulldogs, who went 164th to the New Jersey Devils.

That marks the sixth time in the past seven years that the 124-year-old private school in Aurora has had at least one player drafted directly off its roster. Saints teammate and defenceman Francesco Dell’Elce, who has played with Castagna since they were eight, was not selected despite being ranked 90th by Central Scouting. He did, however, receive an invite to the Montreal Canadiens summer development camp following the draft.

Since 2017, the Saints have had a total of eight players drafted directly from the varsity hockey team, with a handful of others taken from other leagues after they had moved on from the Saints. By comparison, the entire 21-team Ontario Jr. A Hockey League has had a total of 11 players drafted since 2017, with the Toronto Jr. Canadiens leading the way with three.

Current NHL players Warren Foegele, Robert Thomas, Alex Newhook and Morgan Barron all played at St. Andrew’s.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have a lot of great kids to make us look good,” said Saints coach David Manning. “We’ve kind of become this destination, mostly for NCAA kids, but we have the odd kid who decides to go on to the OHL afterward. We’ve built this environment and we’ve got a lot of momentum. We’ve become a place where players think they can come and be NHL drafted.”

Eight players from this past season’s roster have already committed to Division I programs in the United States, including Castagna, who will attend Cornell University and study business next season, and Dell’Elce, who is off to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst after a season in the B.C. Jr. League. Another member of the team, six-foot-six defenceman Braydon Bruce, has signed with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves.

The Saints’ proliferation of possible future NHL talent has scouts for that league calling it “the Shattuck-St. Mary’s of Canada,” referencing the Minnesota hockey factory that has churned out the likes of Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Nathan MacKinnon and Zach Parise.

“I think it’s a great program,” said one NHL scout. “It’s well-supported, they’ve had good coaching and they’ve been very successful. They haven’t produced the high-end players Shattuck has, but they’re trying to move themselves into that conversation.”

After completing their minor-hockey careers with the Toronto Marlies under-16 team two years ago, Castagna was taken in the OHL draft by the London Knights and Dell’Elce by the Windsor Spitfires. But instead of playing major junior or going to the OJHL, both opted for St. Andrew’s, which has played the past two seasons in the Prep Hockey Conference, a six-team league that includes Shattuck-St. Mary’s and four other U.S.-based prep schools. Two seasons ago, the Saints lost to Shattuck in three-on-three overtime in the championship game. This past season they lost to Shattuck in the semifinal.

Getting players to eschew the traditional route is becoming easier for St. Andrew’s as the program becomes more successful. Yearly tuition runs at over $41,000 for day students and $70,000 for those who live on campus, along with other fees that can reach almost $12,000, so it is pretty exclusive. (There is financial aid available based on need, not athletic prowess.)

In return, student hockey players who go there have access to the on-campus La Brier Family Arena (which was built for $15 million in 2014), state-of-the-art off-ice facilities, a private school education and the opportunity to showcase themselves in front of both NHL and NCAA recruiters.

“Right after school, we head to the rink, where we practise for an hour and a bit and then we’ll work out as well,” Dell’Elce said. “And let’s say I have a spare in second period. I can walk to the rink and get a quick session in with our skills coach (former Saints player Leland de Langley) and go back to class.”

Castagna and Dell’Elce have played together since their select hockey days with the Duffield Devils in North York. Dell’Elce has attended St. Andrew’s since Grade 9 and convinced Castagna to join him for the final two years of high school.

“Once I stepped on the campus with my parents, it was kind of game over,” Castagna said. “It’s a surreal looking and feeling experience. It’s like you’re walking around a university when you’re just in high school.”

Castagna was one of 100 players invited to the NHL’s pre-draft combine and, aside from being interviewed by nine teams, he distinguished himself in the off-ice fitness testing — finishing among the top 10 in six of the 10 categories, including a tie for first in functional movement and second in pro agility.Castagna attributes much of that to the off-ice work he was able to do during this season.

Castagna invited the entire St. Andrew’s coaching staff to Nashville to share the moment with him and his family. That’s how much the program has meant to him. After a quick weekend trip to New York, Castagna is headed to Arizona next week for the Coyotes summer development camp.

“I’m really excited that I went where I went in the draft and to Arizona,” Castagna said in a telephone interview after his selection. “I wish I could tell you exactly what was said at their draft table, but in the moment I was just trying to get my head back on my shoulders.”

THE PIPELINE

St. Andrew’s College has produced a bevy of NHL draft picks over the past decade. Others have been taken after playing at the school, but here are the players who have been drafted directly off the roster:

2014

Warren Foegele, LW, 63rd overall to Carolina Hurricanes. Has played 349 career NHL games, most recently with the Edmonton Oilers.

2017

Morgan Barron, C, 174th overall by New York Rangers. Just finished his first full season in the NHL, with the Winnipeg Jets.

Ryan O’Connell, D, 203rd overall by Toronto Maple Leafs. Turning pro after finishing his collegiate career at Michigan Tech University.

2019

Matthew Steinburg, C, 63rd overall by Colorado Avalanche. Turned pro and played four games in the AHL this season after three seasons at Cornell University.

2020

Kienan Draper, RW, 187th overall by Detroit Red Wings. Son of former NHLer Kris just finished his freshman season at the University of Michigan.

2021

Justin Ertel, LW, 79th overall by Dallas Stars. Played at Cornell University for one season before moving to the North Bay Battalion.

2022

Matthew Morden, D, 131st overall by Arizona Coyotes. Played this past season for Muskegon Lumberjacks of USHL, off to Harvard University next season.

Luke Devlin, C, 182nd overall by Pittsburgh Penguins. Son of Raptors play-by-play announcer Matt played this past season in BCHL and will play at Cornell University in 2023-24.

2023

Jonathan Castagna, C, 70th overall by Arizona Coyotes. Will become the fourth of the past five Saints’ captains to attend Cornell University next season.

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