Rowan Guest: Committed to Kelowna
By Paige Bednorz/Kelowna Rockets
The Kelowna Rockets bolstered their blue line when Rowan Guest signed a WHL Scholarship and Development Agreement with the club on April 24, 2024.
Already 18, the 2006-born defenceman will be a welcome addition to the Rockets defence corps.
Drafted in the 11th round (237rd-overall) at the 2021 WHL Prospects Draft, Guest has spent the last two seasons playing in Victoria at Pacific Coast Hockey Academy U18 Prep of the CSSHL. The Saskatchewan, Sask. product found his way to the island through a mutual connection.
During the 2022-23 season, his first year at PCHA, he appeared in 33 games, recording 21 points (6G, 15A) and 34 penalty minutes.
Over the summer Guest unfortunately suffered a broken leg. Despite the setback, he continued to train throughout the summer and attended his second Rockets camp in the fall. While he had resumed skating by camp, he was unable to participate in contact drills at camp.
“The big thing for me coming back from the injury was just working as hard as I could to get back to playing form. I worked all summer on shooting and working out, just building up my shot and my offensive capabilities.”
This past season he was named the captain of PCHA’s U18 Prep team. Once he got back on the ice, the hard work paid off. In 27 games, he nearly doubled his goal production, recording 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points while adding 22 penalty minutes.
For his efforts, he was named to the Canadian Sport School Hockey League’s U18 Prep BC Division 1st Team All-Star Team after finishing fourth among defencemen in league scoring.
At the start of the 2023 season, Guest had committed to the NCAA’s University of Massachusetts Lowell and was set to play in the BCHL for the 2024-25 season, but by the end of the campaign he decommitted and signed with the Rockets.
“Watching the Blades growing up in Saskatoon, it’s always been the dream of mine to play in the Western Hockey League. Coming to Kelowna for the training camps and when I visited during the season, everyone was great to me from the hockey operations to the guys themselves. Honestly it made me feel welcome.
“For me, I spoke with everyone I knew and everyone who had experienced it both ways. Of course there’s good sides to both ends, but the biggest thing for me is that I am a bigger guy and I’m already at the point where I’d be able to play in the WHL with being a bigger defenceman. It being Kelowna as well, it’s one of the most professionally run organizations in the CHL. They’ve developed guys like Duncan Keith and Shea Weber, those are big names to be part of and hopefully I can be one of those big names as well.”
Standing at 6’4”, 201-pounds, the left shot defenceman can play a variety of situations. Watching the game tape on his with PCHA, it’s evident that he isn’t afraid to get in front of a shot to block it or take off on the rush with the offence.
“I’d say for me, I’m a big two-way defenceman. I like to jump up in the play and take shots from the point to find seams, but also my defensive side I’ve got a big body and a big stick, I’ll put my body on the line to win as well by blocking shots and killing penalty kills, whatever the team needs.”
Here’s what we know, the 6’4″, 201-pound defender isn’t afraid to block a shot, has a cannon of a slapper and loves to jump up into the rush. pic.twitter.com/52QGqRq74V
— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) April 24, 2024
For Guest, his focus has now shifted to preparing to make the jump to the WHL to suit up for the Rockets next season.
“When I got on the ice with the guys during my visit, obviously it was a step up; the speed, the quickness of the plays, everything. My physicality, I need to get bigger and make quicker plays. But I feel that there’s always stuff to be working on, I feel that I’m ready to play at the level of the WHL and will be ready to go when camp comes around.
“Of course, it’s about competing for a spot. All of the Rockets d-men can play in the league and it’s not going to be easy getting into the lineup, but it’s a challenge I’m willing to take on.”