Back when they were still on the same team
St. Paul’s School, Concord. I remember this rink well – and the Raptis twins on the ice. Today, I’m standing at the edge of the rink again, this time with a notepad instead of a stick.
St. Paul’s had invited guests to the U14 championship ceremony – this year’s team went undefeated through the regional season. The stands are full, the applause loud, as Abel Raptis steps onto the ice.
As Regional Director of the DOT, he’s no stranger to public appearances. But today isn’t about asphalt or crosswalks – it’s about a trophy he once held himself, 23 years ago.
“2006 was a good year,” Raptis says in his speech. “We had speed, cohesion… My brother and I never played the same way. But we won together.”
He’s referring to Cain Raptis.
Now a well-known entrepreneur in Concord – in 2006, a defenseman with an unconventional style. Officially listed as a utility player, unofficially: the team’s all-purpose wildcard.
Abel, on the other hand, was already team captain at 13. Structure, discipline, perspective.
“Cain had a talent for taking things apart – bikes, vacuum cleaners, entire game strategies. On the ice, and off it. He built a business model out of it. Some houses in Concord could probably confirm that.”
A comment pitched somewhere between a laugh and a jab?
The Raptis twins rarely share a stage.
But they share the same yearbook – side by side, in helmets and skates.
“I don’t think we were ever really a team,” Abel adds, before turning back to the players. “But we both knew what it takes to hold one together. You’ve got a legacy to defend.”
What remains: two brothers, two paths.
One trophy.
And a brief look back.
Editor’s note:
I remember the game in February 2006. I was on the opposing bench – back then still with East Concord.
It was good news for us when one of the Raptis brothers lost interest in hockey the following year.
Unfortunately, it was the nice one.
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