NEWS

“Oozes offensive skills.” “Nifty dangles.” “High speed.” “The ultimate good guy.” These are just some of the adjectives that scouts have used to describe Georgetown Raiders forward Evan Rodrigues (photo credit – Izak Westgate/HHOF). The tremendously talented playmaker will join three of his Raiders teammates – Matt Chiarantano, Tyler McCarthy and Scott Wilson as members of Team Canada East at the 2010 World Junior ‘A’ Challenge being held from November 8-14 in Penticton, B.C.

Evan Rodrigues was born on July 28, 1993 and grew up in Etobicoke, Ontario. After starting his minor hockey career with the York Toros, the star-in-waiting would join the prestigious Toronto Marlboros program, playing in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. The “Class of ‘93” Marlies team would finish tops in the GTHL for seven consecutive seasons, basically winning every championship they played from atom to midget, including the OHF Atom ‘AAA’ title and the All-Ontario Peewee and Bantam Championships.

After winning a GTHL championship in 2008-09, the Minor Midget club would be ranked tops in the province and would not disappoint, going undefeated to win the OHL Cup. Rodrigues would score a goal, assisted by Team Canada East teammate Luke Juha (Burlington Cougars), during the Marlies 5-1 victory over Elgin-Middlesex in the championship game.

That summer, an amazing 13 members, including Rodrigues, would be selected in the OHL Priority Draft. He would be picked by the Ottawa 67’s in the 10th round, 196th overall and would agonize over the summer on the direction his hockey career would take. Ultimately, Rodrigues decided to go the Junior ‘A’ route to keep his scholarship options open (currently working on an 87% average) and joined the powerful Georgetown Raiders organization.

The 5’10”, 170 lbs. competitor continued both his scoring prowess and winning ways during his rookie season, recording 20 goals and 51 points in 56 games played as the Raiders finished in 3rd place in the OJAHL, eventually falling to the Central Canadian champion Oakville Blades in the playoffs. Rodrigues would garner lots of attention throughout the season, earning a spot on the South-West All-Star Team, scoring one of the club’s three goals during the 2010 OJAHL All-Star Game.

Rodrigues entered the 2010-11 season with loads of expectations heaped on his shoulders and has helped lead the Raiders to a consistent Top 20 ranking in the CJHL. The 17-year old currently sits fourth on the club and 14th overall in OJHL scoring with 12 goals and 32 points in only 18 games played, while Georgetown fights a three-way battle with Burlington and Hamilton for first place in the West Division.

Just over two months into the season and the 17-year old has already received numerous accolades, including being named by NHL Central Scouting to their annual “Watch List,” as well as being named to the roster of Team Canada East. Rodrigues is listed as one of seven OJHL players to watch this year by NHL Central Scouting for the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft and currently is projected to be picked in the later rounds of the draft. In speaking of the upcoming World Junior ‘A’ Challenge and the chance to play against the world, he stated, “It is an honour to represent Canada East at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge and I am grateful to be given the opportunity to represent my country.”

Stayed tuned over the upcoming days for more features on OJHL Team Canada East members and for more information on the World Junior 'A' Challenge or Team Canada East, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca/wjac.