nivek_wahs
09-20-2007, 08:18 AM
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/sports/story.html?id=61e4f79c-fcfd-4b83-9575-f9f88e94c793
Rowat knows his role
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, September 20, 2007
Linden Rowat's coronation is complete.
After two seasons in the WHL -- including one as a starter -- the 18-year-old goaltender has gone from a promising heir apparent to the rightful king of the crease for the Regina Pats.
His reign resumes Friday night in the Pats' regular-season opener against the host Prince Albert Raiders.
"Last year I played a lot of minutes and got a lot of shots," offered the L.A. Kings' prospect. "Now, coming in, I know my role as a starter. The guys have some confidence in me. If I do my job and they do theirs, we should be successful."
Rowat was labelled the Pats' goalie of the future when he was selected in the third round of the 2004 WHL bantam draft. After a year with the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, he won the Pats' backup job in 2005-06 as a 16-year-old, playing 26 games. That number ballooned to 52 last season, when he supplanted David Reekie as Regina's go-to goalie.
Like any first-year starter, Rowat had some ups and downs, but he was a key performer down the stretch, finishing with a respectable 2.87 goals-against average and four shutouts.
With that experience under his belt, the Pats believe Rowat is prepared to take the next step in his development.
"He has matured," said GM Brent Parker. "He's a very confident guy right now with the experience of getting drafted and being at L.A.'s camp. That will allow him to better deal with the adversity that every goaltender has to deal with."
Including the playoffs.
Rowat is ahead of the game in that regard, having backstopped Regina to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
"Everyone talked going into the series against Swift Current last year that Swift had the edge in goaltending because Kyle Moir was more experienced and had played playoff games," noted Parker. "Well, there's only one way to get that experience and that's to go through it. For (Rowat) to have the opportunity to play 10 playoff games and get a taste for (success), you're that much more mature both as a person and as a player. It can't do anything but help you."
Rowat added another notch to his belt this month by taking part in the Kings' training camp. He was with the NHL club for over a week before returning on Saturday.
"It was a really good experience playing against guys who are above you," said Rowat, a fifth-round pick of the Kings. "It's a higher pace so you have to adjust. It took me a few days to get into it but once I did I felt I improved every day. I got a lot of positive feedback from (goalie coach) Bill Ranford and (assistant GM) Ron Hextall, so overall it was a good experience."
Being tutored by Ranford and Hextall -- two former all-star NHL goalies -- helped Rowat prepare mentally and physically for the upcoming season. He believes his own personal success will translate into success for the team -- and vice-versa.
"Stats are always good because they help your team but the most important stat is the win column," he noted. "I want to have as many of those as I can, take our team to the playoffs and all the way to the Memorial Cup."
Rowat's goals are ambitious, but the Pats believe they have at least some of the elements typically associated with a championship team.
Naturally, it all starts between the pipes.
"We're very comfortable with our goaltending," added Parker. "(Rowat) proved himself through last year and he knows he has a very competent backup in Jeff Bosch. You have to have that. Any championship team is strong on defence and strong in goal. We believe we're a team that's going to have to win on work ethic and playing well defensively. He's going to be a big part of that."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007
Rowat knows his role
Greg Harder, Leader-Post
Published: Thursday, September 20, 2007
Linden Rowat's coronation is complete.
After two seasons in the WHL -- including one as a starter -- the 18-year-old goaltender has gone from a promising heir apparent to the rightful king of the crease for the Regina Pats.
His reign resumes Friday night in the Pats' regular-season opener against the host Prince Albert Raiders.
"Last year I played a lot of minutes and got a lot of shots," offered the L.A. Kings' prospect. "Now, coming in, I know my role as a starter. The guys have some confidence in me. If I do my job and they do theirs, we should be successful."
Rowat was labelled the Pats' goalie of the future when he was selected in the third round of the 2004 WHL bantam draft. After a year with the midget AAA Notre Dame Hounds, he won the Pats' backup job in 2005-06 as a 16-year-old, playing 26 games. That number ballooned to 52 last season, when he supplanted David Reekie as Regina's go-to goalie.
Like any first-year starter, Rowat had some ups and downs, but he was a key performer down the stretch, finishing with a respectable 2.87 goals-against average and four shutouts.
With that experience under his belt, the Pats believe Rowat is prepared to take the next step in his development.
"He has matured," said GM Brent Parker. "He's a very confident guy right now with the experience of getting drafted and being at L.A.'s camp. That will allow him to better deal with the adversity that every goaltender has to deal with."
Including the playoffs.
Rowat is ahead of the game in that regard, having backstopped Regina to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
"Everyone talked going into the series against Swift Current last year that Swift had the edge in goaltending because Kyle Moir was more experienced and had played playoff games," noted Parker. "Well, there's only one way to get that experience and that's to go through it. For (Rowat) to have the opportunity to play 10 playoff games and get a taste for (success), you're that much more mature both as a person and as a player. It can't do anything but help you."
Rowat added another notch to his belt this month by taking part in the Kings' training camp. He was with the NHL club for over a week before returning on Saturday.
"It was a really good experience playing against guys who are above you," said Rowat, a fifth-round pick of the Kings. "It's a higher pace so you have to adjust. It took me a few days to get into it but once I did I felt I improved every day. I got a lot of positive feedback from (goalie coach) Bill Ranford and (assistant GM) Ron Hextall, so overall it was a good experience."
Being tutored by Ranford and Hextall -- two former all-star NHL goalies -- helped Rowat prepare mentally and physically for the upcoming season. He believes his own personal success will translate into success for the team -- and vice-versa.
"Stats are always good because they help your team but the most important stat is the win column," he noted. "I want to have as many of those as I can, take our team to the playoffs and all the way to the Memorial Cup."
Rowat's goals are ambitious, but the Pats believe they have at least some of the elements typically associated with a championship team.
Naturally, it all starts between the pipes.
"We're very comfortable with our goaltending," added Parker. "(Rowat) proved himself through last year and he knows he has a very competent backup in Jeff Bosch. You have to have that. Any championship team is strong on defence and strong in goal. We believe we're a team that's going to have to win on work ethic and playing well defensively. He's going to be a big part of that."
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007