The skills that brought Rowan Siider to the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League are clearly evident when he steps onto the ice. His talents off the ice and aspirations for the future are not something you see too often at the rink.
A physical style of play and canon of a shot is helping the 17-year-old Ladysmith product carve out a spot in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. Siider has notched a goal and a pair of assists in six games this season with the Nanaimo Buccaneers, where he’s growing into the role of a shutdown defenceman.
“I’d say I’m strongest defensively. I like to skate the puck every once in a while but I play a defensive game,” said Siider, whose favourite aspect is lining up against the opponent’s top line on the penalty kill.
“I’ve got a hard shot, I’ll just say hard because it’s not accurate. Whenever someone’s in front of the net and I’m up there, they’re definitely wary that they might get one up high. I haven’t hit anyone yet, not in the face anyway.”
Siider’s defensive abilities have caught the eye of Buccaneers coach Derek Bachynski.
“He brings just a good presence on the back end. He’s a big body, he has speed, he has tremendous potential to be one of the top D-men in the league.”
Bachynski said like many young defenceman, Siider sometimes tries to do a little too much offensively and can get caught up ice.
“We’re trying to work on him being a defensive defencemen at the moment,” said the first-year Bucs coach. “Once he becomes that, maybe he can venture out into becoming more of an offensive defencemen. But right now he’s one of the top four D-men, a shutdown D-man, so we play him against some of the top lines.”
Siider racked up eight assists in 38 games with the North Island Silvertips in Major Midget hockey last year. Moving up to Junior this year has been a bit of an adjustment for the five-foot-11, 176-pound blueliner.
“It’s a different style of play. It’s just rougher. It’s not necessarily faster, it’s just a different style,” said Siider, who got an introduction to the rougher style of play when he was taken face-first into the boards in a Sept. 11 game against the Kerry Park Islanders.
“That was a welcome to the league,” he said. “Now I just protect myself out there, keep my head up.”
While his teammates may switch on their video games or toss around a ball after practice, Siider has other plans.
“Right now after I’m done here I’m going to the art gallery down in Ladysmith. Me and a friend of mine are working on a big mural.”
Siider says his friends are all artistic, creative people, and he enjoys painting and drawing.
“I’ve always got my sketchbook in my car that I doodle in.”
But it’s Siider’s vision on the ice and not his artistic vision that Bachynski wants to focus his efforts on.
“Eventually he’ll be an even better player once we fine tune his skills. He’s a tremendous asset to our team in regards to his big body down low, his strength in breaking up plays,” said Bachynski, who has noticed steady improvement from Siider from the first day of training camp.
“I can see him being one of the top D in the league at some point as long as he commits himself to working hard and improving each day.”
Siider lists a goal he scored last year with the Bucs as one of the highlights of his young career.
“There was a packed crowd and it was a nice goal,” recalls Siider of the goal he scored in one of two games with the Bucs last year as an affiliated player.
“I got a pass and it was just a one timer straight in. It was one of my better shots. The crowd was roaring and I was pumped up.”
Siider is looking forward to a successful year with the Bucs and hopes to eventually go on to play in Finland, where his family originally came from.
“That’s just where my roots are and it would be cool to be back there,” he said. “Next year I either see myself back here — which is great, I love it here — stepping up to Junior A or going on an adventure and playing in Europe.”
