By Peter Watts

Sept. 09/2009

There’s nothing quite like a summer working on the family farm to make a guy happy to get back on the ice. Farm labor is good, honest, solid work, which come to think about it, describes Derek Rodwell’s resume as a hockey player. And it certainly keeps a guy in shape.

 “I’m in good shape,” he told me during a recent chat. “The shoulder problem I had last fall that kept me out of the World Junior A Challenge in Camrose, has completely healed. I’ve been lifting hay bales all summer so it’s been good rehab for me. And I’m looking forward to this season because I think we have the tools to go a little deeper in the playoffs than we did last spring.”

 The disappointment of not being able to play in the WJAC and the second round playoff loss to the Olds Grizzlys, was offset by Rodwell’s decision to attend the University of North Dakota starting next fall, and by his selection in the fifth round of the NHL draft in June by the New Jersey Devils. “I was on the golf course when the phone rang on draft day,” Rodwell recalled with a smile. “It was my family advisor telling me the news. I had to call my parents and let them know. And then, the rest of the day my phone was ringing constantly with friends calling to congratulate me.” “I’m really pleased to be going to the Devils.

  I went to their mini-camp for all the rookies in July. Scott Stevens and Sergei Brylin ran the drills. Fortunately, Stevens wasn’t throwing body checks. Brylin, I think, is hoping to make the Russian Olympic team going to the Games in Vancouver. It was a good week.”

 The connection to the Devils is further cemented by Rodwell’s decision to go to school at North Dakota starting next fall. There he’ll find a couple of former Okotoks teammates. Netminder Brad Eidsness starts his third season with the Fighting Sioux this fall. And Corbin Knight, who played in Okotoks last season and who thought he would be back with the Oilers this fall, instead is trying to make the college team as a freshman.

 “I played with Brad during his final season and my rookie season in Okotoks,” said Rodwell. “And Corbin and I played together last season here with the Oilers. We’ll miss him here this year but this is a great opportunity for him. I’m looking forward to joining him in Grand Forks next fall. And it’s nice to know that among North Dakota’s alumni are Zac Parise and Travis Zajac, both of whom are now playing regular minutes with the Devils. That was certainly a factor in my decision to go to school there.”

 Having finished high school, Rodwell’s sole focus this fall will be on the development of his hockey career and on leading a young group of Oilers into action every night.

“He’s experienced, confident, bigger, and stronger,” says his coach, Dan Mcdonald. “We’ve lost a couple of guys to graduation and a couple of our American players who’ve gone back to play in the US. We picked up a couple of American junior defensemen, Steve Ginand and Mike Malady, who I saw at a tryout camp in Toronto. We convinced them to come and join our program and Derek’s going to be a big help in integrating them into our lineup and our community.”

 “Derek is a quiet leader. He’s not flashy. He just goes out and plays hard every shift. That’s the kind of example you want your senior players to set every night. He’ll be a good influence on our younger players. And it’s nice to see that all the work he’s put in over the past few seasons has paid off in a college scholarship, and, perhaps, in a chance to play the game professionally.”