Rowney back home skating with the Storm

With Rowney returning to the ice at Revolution Place for the first time since junior, the now 11-year veteran of professional hockey says it has been a different experience skating with the Junior A kids, but adds that fans should be excited for the team that has been assembled.

“I think they’re a bit more conditioned than I am right now,” Rowney joked. “But you know, Vandy runs a hard skate and the guys, from what I see on this team, look like they’re working hard and I think that’s something Vandy’s always done. He gets the best out of you, so I really respect him for that. Hopefully down the road it will pay off.”

Rowney and Vandekamp go way back together. Vandekamp was the Storm’s Head Coach and General Manager from 2007-11, and coached Rowney for the final two seasons of his junior hockey career.

In his first season under Vandekamp, Rowney put up 31 points in 52 games.

One season later, in 2008-09, Rowney blossomed into one of the top Junior A hockey players in Alberta, where he was able to register 78 points in 61 games. His game grew and scouts noticed.

Rowney was able to continue his stellar play into the playoffs that season where he scored 18 points in 19 playoff games. He helped the Storm win their second AJHL championship in club history and was also named the AJHL playoffs MVP.

His play during that season helped him earn a scholarship to the University of North Dakota.

Nowadays, Rowney has a Stanley Cup ring from his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016-17. Just over a year later in 2018-19, he signed a three-year contract to play for the Anaheim Ducks.

This past season Rowney was on pace for a career year with the Ducks. He had 19 points in 71 games, which was one point below his career-high of 20 from the year before.

However, on March 11, Rowney and the Ducks season came to a pause, and a few months later it would come to an end as the Ducks regular-season record wasn’t good enough for them to enter the NHL bubble.

With the COVID-19 pandemic putting a damper in everyone’s plans, the NHL season was stopped on March 12 and once the NHL’s return to play plan was announced, the Ducks were not one of the final 24 teams that were eligible to enter the league’s bubble.

Rowney says that despite the longer than normal offseason, he has still been able to stay active and keep in shape while spending time in Vernon.

“I was on the ice for a couple months and then I took a couple weeks off and I was able to come up here and ramping it up on the ice again. We have no clue when we’re going be playing again, but I think you just got to be ready.”

He adds that the extended layoff from the dialy NHL grind can have its benefits.

“I think you can take advantage of that and work on certain things that you need to and you can get your body in good shape and if you have any injuries or stuff you can take care of them.”

The 31-year-old says he and the Ducks have remained in close contact throughout the offseason. He adds that the full Ducks team has also gotten together on zoom calls to discuss any future regarding a season and to discuss their expectations for next year.

According to various high-profile hockey reporters, the NHL is hoping that the league can begin its 2020-21 season in January.

by Shane Clausing

Rowney back home skating with the Storm

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