Prince George Spruce Kings goaltender Evan DeBrouwer will join his fifth team in five years next season when he heads to the Arizona State Sun Devils for the 2018-19 season.
DeBrouwer has improved in every statistical category in his second BCHL season, posting a record of 26-14-4, a save percentage of .920, a 2.24 goals-against average and three shutouts while backstopping the Spruce Kings to a Mainland Division title.
After playing two years at Ridley College in St. Catherines, Ont., DeBrouwer joined the Smiths Falls Bears of the Central Canada Hockey League for the 2015-16 season. The following year, the native of Blenheim, Ont. jumped to the BCHL and played for the Nanaimo Clippers, then joined Prince George at the start of this season.
DeBrouwer is joining a relatively new program to the NCAA. The Sun Devils started their initiation into NCAA Divison I in 2015-16 by playing a hybrid schedule with games against Division I teams as well as teams from the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). They are currently considered an independent team without a conference, but are looking to join one next year and become a full-time NCAA Division 1 program.
Arizona State currently has two former BCHL players on their roster in Jake Clifford and Nicholas Gushue. The Sun Devils have also recruited several other BCHL players for next season including Chilliwack’s PJ Marrocco and Vernon’s Derek Brown and Jordan Sandhu. Vipers defenceman Jack Judson is also committed to Arizona State for the 2020-21 season.
