Nick Drew doesn't have a style. The former Andover goaltender simply does whatever he needs to do in order to stop the puck.
After spending a post-grad year at Tilton last season, Drew has enrolled at Merrimack College where he'll try out for the Warriors this fall to fill a vacant goaltending position.
The Warriors have scholarship goalies Joe Cannata and Andrew Braithwaite also on the roster.
Drew started his high school career at Central Catholic where his grandfather, Bill DeLuca, is deeply involved with the community (and also owns the DeLuca Family Auto Dealerships throughout the Merrimack Valley). When his younger brother went to Andover High to play hockey for head coach Mario Martiniello, Drew made the switch.
Drew, in his only year as the Andover starter in 2007-08, started 20 of 21 games his senior year, going 13-3-5 while compiling an impressive 1.40 GAA and four shutouts. Over the course of his season at Andover, he allowed more than two goals in a game only twice (a 3-3 tie with Central Catholic and a 3-1 loss to Salem) and held opponents to one goal eight times.
We caught up with Drew to go Around the Horn.
It has to be pretty exciting, as a local boy, to try out for the hometown hockey team that happens to play in Hockey East, where the last two national champions have come from (BC in 2008 and BU this past season).
Yeah, it really is. To think, I skated at Merrimack a lot when I was a kid, I grew up less than a mile away, and to have an opportunity to try out for a team in Hockey East is a privilege, and very exciting.
When did you start playing goalie?
Probably around Squirts (10-11 years old). I played every position my first four years and then really settled into playing in net. I love it.
You started your high school days at Central Catholic and then made the switch to Andover. Was your brother going to Andover a big part of that switch?
It was. The chance to play on a team with my brother was exciting for not only me but my entire family. We have a lot of roots at Central, but it's hard to resist playing on a team with your younger brother.
At Tilton you played against (Phillips Academy's) Chris Kreider, who was drafted 19th overall in the NHL Draft this summer. Could you tell he was a special player?
Absolutely. He was just a level above everyone else. As a goalie, you knew when he was on the ice because he just seemed far and away above everyone else. He's a real special talent.
What other schools were you looking at?
I was down to Merrimack, Quinnipiac and Suffolk.
Where you interested in hockey at those schools as well?
I was always interested in hockey. My decision to come to Merrimack had a lot to do with their business program. That will be my major. Then the opportunity to try out for the team here is unbelievable. I decided my last week at Tilton, right around the end of May, that Merrimack was the place for me.
What made Merrimack stick out?
Well their business program, first and foremost. But Merrimack has always been in my family. My dad went here, all my uncles, and I have a cousin here now that plays football, so Merrimack has been in the mix for me since I was a kid. I think deep down I always knew this is where I'd go to school.
Your family owns the DeLuca family dealerships. Are you a big car guy?
Not really, but my brother is big time. I like cars, I work with my dad as a summer job, but my brother is the big car guy. We all grew up around cars, it's what our family does. I remember going to the dealerships when I was a kid. I have more car T-shirts than anybody I know. I can't open the drawer without a car t-shirt option.
Are you skating this summer?
I skate twice a day in Tewksbury and Hooksett (N.H.) and also work out (at Merrimack).
What's your favorite sport to play besides hockey?
I'd say golf. It's a tough one because everyone always asks me my favorite sport and it's always just hockey. I still play when I can but it gets tougher. I play at Andover Country Club and pretty much anywhere.
What do you shoot?
Somewhere in the 90s. If I cared about my score I wouldn't be a very happy person out there, but golf is fun for me.
Any memories of playing at Lawler Arena as a child?
Well, all of the Andover-Central games there were huge, especially my senior year. Those were some of the biggest hockey games I've played in up until now. When I was little, I had a game there cancelled because it was too warm outside and the building filled with fog. That was funny.
Any aspirations to follow in the family footsteps after graduation?
I would like to do that, follow in my dad's footsteps. It's not just my dad, but my grandfather, really my entire family. ¬
What's your favorite ...
Web site? ESPN.com
TV station? ESPN, same as the Web site.
TV show? I'm a big "Entourage" fan (HBO).
goalie? I'm a big Roberto Luongo fan. He just does anything he can to stop a puck. I try to play the same way — aggressive and just doing whatever I can do to stop that puck.
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