A few years ago, Derrick Wruble wasn't thinking about playing hockey. Instead, he was engrossed in playing nearly every other sport from baseball to lacrosse.

But when Wruble went to see his friend Tyler Feist play on the Northampton hockey team, he soon began to have an appreciation for the sport. Now four years later, Wruble is near the top of Northampton's leading scorers and he will likely continue the sport upon her graduation from the school.

"I never really had any interest," recalled Wruble, who is a senior. "Tyler Feist's dad and my dad are good buddies and we started going to the games. Soon after, I signed up for the team.

"At first, it was a lot of work and it was pretty challenging. But then I started playing travel hockey and things really began to work out for me."

Wruble stated that he reached a comfort zone with the sport at the beginning of his junior season. This year, he has paced the team throughout most of the season in scoring and has 13 goals and a eight assists for 21 points, second on the team.

In the process, Wruble also discovered the legacy of the Northampton program in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL).

As a result, he and his teammates have been frustrated with the club's sluggish showing, but realized they had time to turn it around and recently sneaked into the playoffs as the fourth seed.

"This certainly isn't what I expected," said Wruble about the team's start. "I didn't think we would be fighting for a playoff spot. We had a good win against undefeated Phillipsburg and we finally began to realize what we could do.

"This team may not be as good as last year's team that won the championship. We also have the new league with no divisions and knew it would be a challenge. But we still are good enough to get to the playoffs and move on from there."

Head coach Brian Ruff has watched Wruble develop into a consistent contributor.

"Derrick (Wruble) has worked really hard to get to where he is right now," said Ruff. "When he joined us, he didn't have the experience. He gained more confidence every year and now he is one of the leaders on this team."

Wruble also is a member of the school's football and lacrosse teams as well as the BECCA, SADD, and yearbook clubs. He plans to pursue a degree in business management in college in order to eventually take over his father, Don's, business, US Automotive in Allentown.

Along with studying business, Wruble also plans to play hockey and has been contacted by the Junior Flyers about possibly joining them next season. When he isn't concentrating on hockey, Wruble likes to go four-wheeling with his friends, and snowmobiling with his family, a hobby that typically takes them to other states for week trips.

For now, though, Wruble has his sights on the playoffs.