Natives Land Captain And All State Defenceman
June 1, 2010
The Neepawa Natives are pleased to announce the signing of North Dakota All State defenceman Derek Sand. Sand, a 6 foot 2, 190 pound defenceman out of West Fargo, was also a member of Scott Oliver's prestigious Team Great Plains, which competed in the Upper Midwest Elite All Star League - a league designed to give NHL and NCAA teams a showcase environment for Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota talent.
After an excellent showing at Natives' spring camp, Derek Sand has been offered an opportunity to join the Neepawa squad for the 2010-2011 season.
His decision to commit and to forego opportunities south of the border to join the team has its staff very excited.
Head coach Bryant Perrier was thoroughly impressed at spring camp in April.
"Derek is a big, strong defenceman with excellent feet and a good set of hands," offered the coach. "He has a high level work ethic and comes very highly recommended from some very good hockey people."
Those people include US college coaches as well as Sand's former coaches.
"Once again, this is another player who wore the captain's 'C' for his program," commented Perrier, who says that Sand is a highly intelligent player with a desire to get better. "Today we announced four signings, and three of them are captains. That is what we want coming in here. We want guys of high integrity."
Sand has been described, according to Perrier, as "very coachable, easy to work with, tough as nails, and hard to play against."
"We heard a story about a hit he laid in the state tournament that completely changed the game against a rival his team had never beaten in history," Perrier continued. "That hit is supposed to be legendary. That is the kind of player we love in Neepawa."
And as Natives fans and staff alike may pine for last season's MJHL open ice hitman Tom Frasz, Perrier expects that Sand will be groomed for that role.
"We believe Derek can take Tom's role immediately," he said. "A good offensive guy with poise and savvy who is tough to play against. We believe Derek has a ton of upside."
Leadership potential, size, ability and a mean streak - and a great student as well.
"The total package," Perrier believes. "Derek is another big bodied defenceman who has played against great players and succeeded. He has played against first rounders, NCAA stars in the making, and he has never taken a back seat."
"He has a lead dog mentality and we are glad to be a part of helping him learn how to lead and dominate at the Junior A level."
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