Just as it seemed the recruiting season came to an end for ASU hockey, coach Greg Powers pulled another rabbit out of his hat.
"I was honestly done recruiting but really felt like I could have signed another defenseman in this class," Powers said.
After receiving three defensive recruits thus far, Scottsdale native Drew Newmeyer becomes the Sun Devils' fourth this offseason.
"I was sitting around on a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago and my goalie coach, Jeff Tecca, called me about Drew," Powers said. "He's known Drew for quite a while and put some work in with him talking about ASU and recruiting him."
The 5-foot-10, 171-pound defenseman played his last two seasons in the USHL for the Indiana Ice.
"Technically, I had two years left of juniors, but I wanted to move on to college," Newmeyer said. "It's the best fit for me and the best place for me."
In 2012-13, Newmeyer played in a whopping 58 games, accruing five goals, 10 assists and 25 penalty minutes.
"He had a very productive season in the best Jr. A league in North America," Powers said. "I know the guys in Indiana very well and spoke to them about Drew. They were not thrilled about losing him ... but understood he just wanted to get on with school now."
Newmeyer feels his time and work in the USHL will work in his favor, but knows the level of hockey is no joke in the ACHA.
"I plan to bring hard work everyday to the rink," he said. "It's been made clear that a national championship is the goal and I'm in for that 100 percent, and not even just this year. I'm in for four years."
While the offseason looked to be over, Powers feels very fortunate to have Newmeyer fall into his lap the way he did.
"Drew will have a major impact immediately for us, but also has room to grow and improve being so young, which is great timing," Powers said. "What really made me want Drew so badly, aside from him obviously having an immediate impact on the ice, is the fact he is just an incredibly good and respectful kid.
"He is going to fit in immediately and I believe his decision to attend ASU now is one he'll never forget."
The 19-year-old is more than pleased with the opportunity to be a Sun Devil, and more importantly, to come back home.
"Leaving home was tough," Newmeyer said about playing in Indiana for just over a year. "It's definitely nice to be back and you don't really realize how great it is to live in Arizona. So to be able to go to school, play hockey and attend ASU, I can't ask for much more."
Reach the reporter at msterrel@asu.edu and follow on Twitter at @ASUreporter_MT