Headers Hockey Stars Play Together One Last Time

Four months ago, Chris McLeod, Ryan Dempsey, and Jake Kulevich hoisted the Division III state championship trophy above their heads on the ice of the TD Garden in Boston.

This week, the trio will play together for the last time at the Hockey Night in Boston Major Showcase all this week at the Haverhill Valley Forum in Haverhill.

The HNIB Major Showcase features talent from over 20 states and three Canadian provinces. The trio of Headers will be playing for the North Shore team in the Massachusetts division. McLeod, Kulevich, and Dempsey will be playing against some of the top talent in New England including several who have already committed to Division I schools.

“It’s awesome,” Kulevich said of playing together.

“It’s just another summer and then we all part our ways,” Dempsey said.

Next fall, the trio will all be going to different prep schools for a post-graduate season before college. Dempsey will play at the Tilton School in New Hampshire, McLeod will play at Loomis Chaffee in Connecticut, and Kulevich will play at the Berkshire School in western Massachusetts. For now though, Dempsey, Kulevich, and McLeod want to play well and represent the town of Marblehead in a positive way.

“It means a lot because we’ve had great coaches there,” Kulevich said.

“We had a great time there,” McLeod said.

While Kyle, Chris, and Jake, are content playing together for one last time there is still a bigger goal: win the HNIB title and have their names listed alongside NHL Hall-of-Famer Brian Leetch as tournament champions.

“It would mean a lot,” Kulevich said. “Just because I love playing with this group of kids. We’re all competitive. Any tournament you play in you want to win.”