Rochester forward DeRosa makes NCAA commitment

The Rochester Grizzlies of the NA3HL are pleased to announce that forward Matt DeRosa has announced his commitment to play NCAA Division III hockey at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

DeRosa, 20, who was one of the original Grizzlies from the team’s inaugural season, spent three full seasons with the Grizzlies competing in 123 games for the black-and-gold, and leaves Rochester as the teams’ all-time leader in points with 129.

“We are so excited for Matt,” said Grizzlies Head Coach Chris Ratzloff. “He has grown so much as a player and a person in his three years in Rochester.  He’s been instrumental in helping to build the culture of the Grizzlies and we’re grateful for all of his contributions on and off the ice. His hard work and determination have pushed him to be a more productive player and with his upside, we look for him to continue that progression into college.  It is great to see our players from different parts of the country choose colleges close to Rochester, we look forward to watching Matt’s success at St John’s.”

A 40+ point scorer in each of his three seasons with the Grizzlies, DeRosa had his best season with Rochester in 2020-21 notching a total of 33 goals and 22 assists in the regular season and deep playoff run.

DeRosa also took part in the NAHL 18U Top Prospects Tournament in 2019, playing for the NA3HL 18U team during the event, where he had three points in four games played.

“Looking back on my short three years in Rochester, I loved every minute of it,” said DeRosa. “I owe a lot of my success to the amazing coaching I received from [Chris] Ratzloff, Austin Balko, Mike Aikens, and Casey Mignone. They continued to push me out of my comfort zone and strive to be a better player each and every day.”

When asked about St. John’s University, DeRosa went on to say, “I chose St. John’s for two reasons. Firstly, the campus is absolutely amazing with a lot of find things to do around Collegeville, and secondly but mostly, because of culture. After speaking with Head Coach Doug Schueller and Assistant Coach Cory Thorson, the kinds of things they expect out of their players really got me fired up to go there.”

In addition to playing with the Grizzlies, the Alpharetta, GA, native DeRosa played in eight games in the NAHL with the Austin Bruins over two years. DeRosa marks the fifth Rochester player to commit this season behind Joey Fodstad (Concordia), Micah Gernander (Alophus Gustavus), Peyton hart (University of Wisconsin-Stout), and Dylan Schneider (Augsburg).

Click here for an NA3HL college commitment list