In the midst of his junior season at Michigan State University, Drew DeRidder has taken an interesting path to becoming the Mike Richter Award Watch List member, and one of the best goaltenders in the NCAA.

Born in Lake Forest, Illinois, DeRidder and his parents moved to Fenton, Michigan, when he was one. It was his father who got him into hockey.

“I’m not sure exactly how old I was when I first put on skates, but my dad got me into hockey, he played when he was younger and his dad was his coach growing up, too, and he ended up coaching me through my first 10-12 years of hockey. I started out going to open skate and going out on the pond in the winter and growing up, it kind of got more serious every year.” Back in Fenton, the DeRidder family has a lake in their backyard that didn’t freeze often, but when it did, he made sure to get on it.

His move back into the crease came due to some unforeseen circumstances, and at first, he was hesitant about the move.

“I started playing goalie when I was eight years old, my dad was the coach, and their goalie left the team and my dad volunteered me to play. I maybe wasn’t all about it at first but after the first few skates, I learned to like it.”

Growing up, Drew DeRidder was a big Detroit Red Wings fan, but sometimes, he had to wear a Philadelphia Flyers jersey, not because of the team, but because of a certain player.

“My dad grew up with Mike Knuble, they were best friends, so growing up, he kind of make me a Mike Knuble fan, it was really funny. I used to complain because when he got traded to the Flyers, he would get us tickets to all the Red Wings games, and my dad would make me wear the Flyers jersey, and I just hated it. Every second of it, I was a Red Wings fan, there I was in the black and orange. Other than that, it’s hard not to be a Jimmy Howard fan.”

He played for Flint growing up, and as the current teammate he played against the most was Josh Nodler. Nodler’s father coached the Novi team while DeRidder’s father coached his team, and they had played each other since they were five up until about ten years old. When DeRidder then moved to Midland’s team, he played Nodler in back-to-back state championship games After his youth teams, DeRidder played for Belle Tire but began to make his name for himself on the Oakland Jr. Grizzlies.

“I grew up playing Double-A in Flint and then moved to Midland, and then I was about 12 when I started to play Triple-A in Detroit, started out with Belle Tire, played there for two years, and then my first year at Oakland would have been my U-14 year. I had never played on the Honeybaked or the Little Caesars, those are sought to be the best programs in the area, I didn’t want to be on those teams, my parents kept me off of those teams because if you have the best kids in front of you, you don’t get any shots in the games. In Oakland, maybe it wasn’t the most skilled kids, but everyone there is just really good people, really hard workers. I couldn’t have asked for a better place to play.” While playing on Oakland, he became close with a current teammate in defenseman Aiden Gallacher.

After playing for the Jr. Grizzlies, DeRidder headed to the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, where he played in 41 games in his one year there. “I started the year with Oakland, I was going to play U-18, and about five-six games into my season, they called me and asked me to play in the Fall Showcase, so I played a game there and didn’t really think much of it, but I expected to be with Oakland the rest of the year. About a week later, I got a call from the coach and he asked if I wanted to move out there full time, and that’s an opportunity you can’t pass up. I got there and it was great.” His billet family “couldn’t have made it any easier” for him, and he still talks to them to this day. His roommate was St. Louis Blues defenseman Scott Perunovich, who is in his first pro season after coming off a Hobey Baker-winning season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

Following his time with Cedar Rapids, DeRidder headed to the USDP.

“They had issues with their previous goalies and I was in the tryout process for the NTDP program, the 17 year. Unfortunately, they cut me there and I had to go back to the USHL, and I got the chance the year after and that was great. It’s a real special place to play, the best place you could be at that age, the experiences I got through that, I’ll remember forever. Any time you get the chance to wear the red white and blue and represent your country, it’s a feeling like no other.” He served as the back-up goaltender for Spencer Knight at the 2017-18 U-18 World Juniors.

At the USDP, Drew DeRidder played with Jon Mor, now a current teammate in goal on the Spartans, and a future Spartan in Erik Middendorf.

“Like most of the kids, I didn’t really know him too well going into USA, but I got to be pretty close with him at USA. He’s such a hard worker, you’ll never have an issue with his work ethic, and he’ll be a great addition to our team. I texted him after I saw he committed, that’ll be another really good kid to have here, another good friend, and another good hard-worker.”

DeRidder chose Michigan State for one main reason.

“It felt like home. Growing up in Fenton, it’s about 55 minutes from East Lansing door-to-door. I grew up a Michigan State fan, I can’t even count the number of Michigan State sweatshirts, shirts, hats, I have in my house from growing up, watching whether it’d be hockey, basketball, football, anything, I’d always root for Michigan State. When I was starting to work for schools, primarily in the Big Ten, it’s tough not to choose this place. Just coming on campus, it felt like home. I really felt like I could be a big part of this program, turning this program around, bringing it back to the culture, that winning attitude it once was.”

Two of DeRidder’s biggest role models are former Spartan goaltenders in 2001 Hobey Baker winner Ryan Miller, and Jeff Lerg, who runs a goalie school in Michigan that he helps out at.

As a true freshman, DeRidder played 17 games and was on the Big Ten’s All-Rookie Team.

“At that point, I was pretty set on coming here, there was a little bit of debate between here and the OHL (he was drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds), but not very much. I wanted to play college hockey, my parents wanted me to get an education and this was a great place to do it. I don’t really know about coming in when I did, I remember when I committed under (former Head Coach) Tom Anastos, we had the conversation of what if you don’t feel like I’m ready or what if I don’t feel like I’m ready to come in as a true freshman, and they said if you don’t feel comfortable, then Spencer Wright would have been able to step in and play, but I was always slotted to come in at that time.”

For two years, DeRidder shared the crease with John Lethemon, and the competition they brought helped each other get better.

“The biggest thing that we did for each other was competing every day. My freshman year we were competing for the net and it’s not like that comes between your friendship, we were still great friends, but you’re basically fighting the other goalie and that helped us both, just coming to the rink every day, knowing that you need to outwork the guy at the other end to earn your spot in the net.”

As the junior in net, Drew DeRidder feels that he has grown as a leader over the past three years. “It’s funny, kids like Jagger Joshua and Nico Muller who are a year older than me, I kind of see them as younger even though they’re not, it just comes down to everybody on the team.”

He said that last season, he got down on himself as he only played four games due to Lethemon’s takeover in net, but his confidence has grown this year, and it has helped him on, and off, the ice.

As Drew DeRidder has progressed through his hockey journey, now to Michigan State, there is one piece of advice that he’s received that sticks out to him.

“Just keep working. I’d say that’s the biggest thing. That’s what got me here, my work ethic, my compete level, just always wanted to be on the ice. I was known as the kid growing up that you’d have to pull off the ice. During the summer skates, I’d be out there for three, four, hours at a time. I could never find enough ice. I’d make my parents drive me to every ice session I could find, and I’d say that’s the biggest thing, just that desire to be the best.”

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