Derek Humphreys had a lot of long days over the summer. He worked in a warehouse and then spent his free time shooting pucks.
Humphreys has seen that hard work pay off, establishing himself as one of the top scoring threats in the NCHA while helping the Concordia Falcons put together a turnaround season.
“The offseason for me wasn’t anything pretty,” Humphreys said. “I had a lot of long days working in a warehouse, filling out grocery orders, stacking boxes. After those long days, I’d head back home and hit the weight room and shoot pucks. It was definitely a grind, but it was something I enjoyed.”
The grind has no doubt been worth it.
Humphreys has scored 14 goals and tallied six assists in 21 games for the Falcons, who are 11-10, beating last year’s win total by three games and sit on the brink of their first winning campaign since the 2019-20 season.
“The coaching staff has done a great job of turning the program around and getting us going in the right direction” Humphreys said.
As for his personal success, he points to his teammates.
“It goes back to the team effort,” Humphreys said. “The guys around me have been awesome and are playing well. We are all working hard on and off the ice and I’m doing whatever I can to help the team.”
Humphreys started out playing baseball. He then got into hockey at the age of seven.
“There’s a WHL team called the Spokane Chiefs and I went to a game and came away feeling like maybe Ill give this a shot. I came home and asked my dad if I could try out,” Humphreys said.
What is interesting is that he had no idea his dad used to play hockey.
“The funny thing is he played growing up in Green Bay and played at Notre Dame and in Europe for a bit. I had (hockey) in my blood I guess. I started playing and never looked back.”
As for how Humphreys ended up in Wisconsin after growing up in the state of Washington, he just happened to get noticed while playing junior hockey.
“I finished up juniors in Mason City, Iowa, and had sent an email out to them. But they hadn’t seen it until they came to watch a different team that was playing us in the playoffs,” Humphreys said. “I had a good night and they added me to their list.”
Humphreys managed two goals and six assists his freshman year before scoring 10 goals and five assists last year.
He’s stepped up his game this year, playing a key role in Concordia being able to nearly match its win total (12) from the last two years combined.
Humphreys said the mindset has definitely changed and he’s having a blast.
“It’s been awesome,” Humphreys said. I have no complaints. It’s a great environment all the way around.”
Concordia is currently sixth in the NCHA standings. The Falcons have two weeks to go in the regular season and have a shot at making the league playoffs.
“We just have to keep our nose to the grindstone and not get too comfortable,” Humphreys said. “We have to put our heads down and get back to work, and keep working to get better. We’ll play our hearts out and see what happens.”
