Rockets rookie ready to play at Rogers Place

“Yep, this is the closest WHL team to Lac la Biche”, a certain sparkle in his eye when he spoke to RocketFAN this week. “I will have a lot of friends and family there. It is my home rink basically, so it should be fun.”

It is uncertain how many from the community will be there, but the support for the rookie defender and his teammates should be strong.

“I’ve been to a couple of Oilers games and some Oil Kings games, so I’ve been around there [Rogers Place]. My brother has had a tournament there, so I know the rink well.”

That said, Abougouche has never skated on the sheet of ice, which is home to Connor McDavid, and getting used to the surroundings of an NHL size building, which came with a price tag of $483 million can be eye-popping.

“We are ready for this trip”, Abougouche said with certainty. “The boys are sacrificing more and we are putting our bodies on the line day in and day out. It shows that when we play together, we can do a lot of good things and it is turning into a lot of good results.”

Abougouche isn’t whistling dixie.

The team has three straight wins, after beating high-powered U.S. Division opponents in Everett, Portland, and Tri-City.

With forward Max Graham back (missed nine games) from injury and d-man Ethan Mittelsteadt back after a three-game absence, things are indeed looking up.

“Those wins prove to us that we can play with the big dogs”, Abougouche continued. “If we put our heads down and get to work every day, we can surprise a lot of teams.”

The Rockets enter the weekend seven points up on the Victoria Royals for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with four games in hand.

Abougouche says that the gap needs to be widened further.

“For sure we are looking ahead at Vancouver”, who sit only five points ahead of the Rockets for 7^th in the Western Conference. “We want to finish as high as possible, so we don’t have to play a powerhouse in the opening round.”

Right now, if the standings stayed status quo, the Rockets would have Seattle in round one.

“We just want to win as many games as we can”, Abougouche added.

Yet to score his first goal in the WHL, maybe tonight in Edmonton in front of family and friends will be what’s needed to accomplish the feat.

“I told you before, I wasn’t supposed to make this team. It has been a great year. I’ve been learning a lot and the coaches and players have been pushing me to become better, so I think I’ve been improving every single day and that’s all I can ask for.”

It isn’t often that a 16-year-old rookie leads the Rockets in fighting majors, but that may be the case this season.

Not going out of his way to look for it, with six tilts to his credit, the 6’2 188-pound defender isn’t scared to get his nose dirty.

” That’s my game”, Abougouche spoke confidently and maturely which shows his leadership acumen. “I am a tough, rough defenseman, so when I see something I don’t like, I will show the other team that we won’t take it.

“I play a physical presence on the ice. It is good for the team to know we have a few guys that will answer the bell, drop the mitts and give some hits.”

Speaking of potential leadership qualities, what type of rookie speaks like this when wanting to play hard for the older players down the stretch, with Adam Kydd, Carson Golder and Talyn Boyko’s junior careers coming to an end?

“Those guys are all role models for me”, Abougouche says without hesitation. “You don’t want them to have a junk year, you want them to have the best year possible.

“Everyone is pushing and pushing and working harder, not just for those three guys but for the 19-year-olds too.”

by Regan Bartel

Rockets rookie ready to play at Rogers Place

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