Derek Semanie '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is Derek Semanie. I am 17 years old and am a defenseman for Minnechaug Regional Highschool and the Western Mass Vipers. From a young age, I always played up with teams above me. Playing with older kids has allowed me to have a jump on kids that are my age and be more adjusted to the fast play style of Highschool and 18U hockey. This advantage allowed me to make Varsity as a freshman for my highschool. I think of myself as a sound player on offense and defense. I tried out for my highschool as a forward and made it, although I had played defense my entire life, my logic was that if I could make it as a forward, I could very easily move back to defense if needed. And I did. I was moved back to defense my freshman year and played defense for almost the entirety of my sophomore year, starting 10 games. I was moved back to forward for a few games, then back. Currently I am playing for the Western Mass Vipers club team, the team is in Premier Hockey League and I start nearly every game. I have only 4 allowed goals on the season so far and looking to keep that. I lead teams and pick people up when they make mistakes.  I get energy up on the bench, and am a positive influence to those younger than me. I bring great defense and great energy to any hockey team I play on.