Draper,
despite his 5-foot-8, 180-pound vitals, should have an
impact in RIT's first Division I season.
Key
Statistics: Recorded six goals and 15 points in
20 games during his freshman campaign, but that's not why
he's a valuable part of RIT's maiden voyage into Division
I hockey.
What
He Does: The RIT coaching staff admires Draper's
consistency and willingness to do the little things that help
teams win games. The sophomore forward excels at tasks such
as getting a puck off of the boards to start a breakout or
being the first one in the zone on a forecheck. He's also
a strong penalty-killer.
The
Bigger Picture: One thing that the RIT program will
learn very quickly is that there aren't any "easy"
games in a Division I schedule. That's where Draper's consistency
and work ethic will come into play. Despite being relatively
undersized (5-foot-8, 180 pounds), he competed and performed
at a high level in every game. Other Tiger players will be
well-served to follow his lead.
RIT
head coach Wayne Wilson on Draper: “Every coach
wants a player that can play at a high level and maintain
that level every night. You don't want to have to hope for
a player to have a good game on a given night. The best thing
that I can say about Darrell is that he's reliable."
