Justin Richards, who was a solid forward for the University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team for three years, made his National Hockey League debut earlier today for the New York Rangers, who won 5-4 against the Boston Bruins. He had an assist for one point, was a +1 and had two shots in 10:11 of ice time.
 
Richards, who was 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, he 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. A 2018-19 All-NCHC second team pick and its Defensive Forward of the Year award recipient in his final two seasons, Richards took shifts in all 120 games since joining the Bulldog program and had 66 points (26 goals and 40 assists) and a +40 plus-minus rating to show for it.
 
In all, 63 former Bulldogs have gone on to play in the NHL, with first-round draft pick Larry Wright being the first (Philadelphia in 1970-72). Some 27 of those UMD alums played under current Bulldog head coach Scott Sandelin.

Richards was a part of the NCHC Tournament winning team and NCAA Championship winning team back in 2019 and was also a part of the NCAA Championship team in 2018.