University of Vermont sophomore John Deroche has announced his intention to transfer to Northeastern. Deroche is a 5’11”, 180 pound left shot skater who has played time at both forward and defense for the Catamounts. Strictly a forward his freshman year, last season he played 4 games as a forward before switching to defense, where he played 24 games for Vermont. He had 7 assists in 28 games last year, and 2 goals with 5 assists in 33 games as a freshman.
John Deroche has announced his intention to transfer from Vermont to Northeastern. Converted forward had seven assists in 28 GP with Catamounts this winter. He sees the ice well and could be a nice piece for the Huskies going forward.
— Jeff Cox (@jeffcox425) April 13, 2020
Deroche arrived to UVM in 2018 after excelling with the Connecticut Jr Rangers of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). In his one season in Connecticut he had 62 points (21 goals) in 50 games. Before playing in the NCDC, he had stops in the United States Hockey League (5 goals, 10 assists in 49 games for Cedar Rapids), the North American Hockey League (5 goals, 14 assists in 22 games for Topeka), the Western States Hockey League (9 goals, 7 assists in 9 games for Idaho), and the United States Premier Hockey League (7 goals, 14 assists in 22 games for Boston). Between 2015 and 2017 he played for five different teams before finding a home with the NCDC.
⬇️ MEET THE FRESHMEN ⬇️
Johnny DeRoche ranked second in the entire NCDC for @CJRHockey last season with 62 points (21 G, 41 A) in 50 games for 1.24 points per contest#ThisIsVermont | #VCats pic.twitter.com/AtEelXZOAV
— UVM Men's Hockey (@UVMmhockey) August 6, 2018
Deroche hails from Lynnfield, Massachusetts, continuing the trend for Northeastern stockpiling local players. Deroche grew up playing for the Boston Jr Bruins U16 and U18 programs. Before committing to UVM he was previously committed to Quinnipiac. When he committed to Vermont, he was touted as “the best player in the NCDC,” who “competes hard and can really skate. He retrieves pucks, keeps pucks moving and has good hands.” The UVM Hockey Blog also touted Deroche as a weapon who could be used on larger ice surfaces thanks to his speed, so we could see him filling that role for a skilled, speedy Northeastern team as well.
Deroche will have to sit out a year due to NCAA Transfer rules, so he will have two years of eligibility starting with the 2021-22 season. We expect he is being recruited as a defenseman, since he played the majority of last season at that position, and Northeastern has a glut of forwards scheduled to enroll in 2021 and 2022.