For the second season in a row, University of Minnesota Duluth junior center Justin Richards has been chosen the National Collegiate Hockey Conference's Defensive Forward of the Year.

Richards, an assistant team captain out of Columbus, Ohio, concluded the 2019-20 season with a career-high 14 goals (to rank second among Bulldogs) and 11 assists for 25 points while going a +14. A fixture on UMD special teams, Richards tied for the NCAA lead in shorthanded goals with three (the most by a Bulldog in eight years and two shorties shy of the program single-season record) and also struck three times on the power play. He paced the NCHC with 307 faceoff wins in league play while his .580 faceoff winning percentage was the sixth best among all league combatants. A 2018-19 All-NCHC second team pick, Richards  blocked 19 shots on the year and was assessed just seven penalties (all minors) in 34 outings.

Since joining the Bulldog program in 2017-18, Richards has taken shifts in all 120 games and has 66 points (26 goals and 40 assists) and a +40 plus-minus rating to show for it.

UMD has had more Defensive Forward of the Year Award recipients than any other school with three as center Dominic Toninato collared the honor in 2016-17. Richards is the award's only two-time recipient.