McDowell had a fantastic day matched up against Thomas McAneney Thomas McAneney 6'1" | 165 lbs | A | Left Hand Shawnee | 2026 #20 Nation NJ , who was held to one goal and one assist on the afternoon. The Yale product uses his strength and big body to overpower his matchups and stays disciplined with the checks he throws. He uses good positioning and footwork to guide his opponent down or up the alleys and applies hard pressure checks if met with any resistance. He also made an impact offensively by tallying a goal on a fast-break chance to swing the momentum in the Raiders’ favor late in the first half. He is a player who matches up against the opposing teams’ best player every game and still produces at a high level and I expect him to continue to do so.

Caleb McDowell Caleb McDowell 6'3" | 195 lbs | D | Right Hand Scotch Plains-Fanwood | 2026 #59 Nation NJ became a standout underclassmen during the 2024 Varsity season. Caleb does a remarkable job closing out & playing aggressively. McDowell is disruptive on the defensive end in coverage but also has a knack for picking off passes off the ball. Caleb is extremely agile & effective in finding the right man in the clear & tiring out the riding attackmen. McDowell will push the transition to generate offense for his team. A consensus 4-star prospect with a major upside to be a team’s primary defender. Verbally committed to Yale.

McDowell had a great year for Scotch Plains-Fanwood last spring, going against some tough competition. The 4-star recruit is an athletic defender with quick feet and a physical presence at six foot two. He has good ground ball skills and uses his speed to kickstart transition chances for the offense. When playing on-ball, he is a pest, always keeping his stick active and timing out takeaway checks. He finished his sophomore season with one goal and 52 ground balls and he’ll look to be a big part of the Raiders defense once again this year.

I left Conshohocken wildly impressed with what I saw from McDowell in my first live evaluation of the talented Leading Edge prospect. Long and athletic at 6’2 and 185 pounds, he’s fluid in his movements, man-conscious away from the ball, and disciplined in his defensive fundamentals, imposing his will with his long arms to get underneath attackmen. More than anything, I was blown away by his ability to pick up tough groundballs in scrums time after time, something he does better than any other ’26 defenseman I’ve seen.