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It was one of the happiest days in the life of Rodwin Dionicio (19). The talented defender returned from a goalkeeping camp in Cham on June 29, where he was needed as a shooter. On the train, he continued to update the live NHL draft ticker on his cell phone. In vain his name did not appear. The Appenzeller was already preparing for the fact that, like last year, he would not be called up by an NHL team. «The design was always my dream. But I told myself, if it doesn’t work, it’s not that bad. There are many ways to get there,” he recalls.
But somewhere between Zurich and St. Gallen the call came from his agent: the Anaheim Ducks had secured the rights to the Swiss. With choice number 129. “I was more than satisfied. I was speechless and still am almost speechless when I think about it.”
Shortly after, he flew to development camp in California and got his first taste of the NHL. “There is nothing better. I got to know the club owner, general manager, coach, players, Honda Center and training facilities. I was treated like a professional,” says Dionicio enthusiastically.
Dionicio has some catching up to do on the off-ice front
How realistic is a future in the NHL? “His skills are incredibly good. “I can’t remember seeing a defender with such good hands in the past ten years,” says his agent Sven Helfenstein enthusiastically. Now, statements from consultants about their clients should be treated with caution, but the astute MySports expert and ex-striker does not hesitate to expose Dionicio’s weaknesses: “He still needs to work on himself in the office. He still has a enormous potential. If he understands this, a lot is possible for him. But I think the penny has now dropped.”
A lack of fitness almost cost the defender the U20 World Cup two years ago. During the test in Magglingen it remained below the minimum values. But then coach Marco Bayer gave him another chance. Two months later, Dionicio passed the test after getting into better shape.
The 1.87 meter tall and 97 kilo teenager is fully committed to the sport. He dropped out of school. The goal and dream is the NHL. He hopes to play for the Ducks Farm team in the AHL at the end of the season. He currently plays in the OHL junior league with the Windsor Spitfires. Since being traded from the Niagara IceDogs to the Canadian border city across the river from Detroit in January, he has done well, scoring more than a point per game.
“An older woman insulted me and said the N-word”
“I adapt well and like to get to know new cities,” says Dionicio. He has already come a long way in his life. He was born in New Jersey. When he was a baby, his parents, originally from the Dominican Republic, moved to Switzerland. In Herisau AR, where NHL stars Jonas Hiller and Timo Meier had already started their careers, he started playing ice hockey at the age of five. An exceptional choice for a Latino boy. “My mom has videos of me playing baseball as a kid. I also played football. But at the club they told me that if I wanted to play matches, I had to choose between football and ice hockey. I left quickly.”
He never faced racism in hockey. But as a boy he had a sad experience on his way home from school in Herisau. “I was on the bus when an older woman insulted me and said the N-word. I said nothing and was desperate. I didn’t even understand what was going on. At home I told my mother. She always says to me, ‘You know who you are.'”
For hockey, he soon made the one-hour trip to play for Rapperswil-Jona. As a 15-year-old he moved to SC Bern, where he lived with the family of ex-Langnau captain Martin Stettler. Dionicio has now reached his fourth host family in Canada, after having to leave one because she had a baby.
After three years in the Canadian junior league OHL, in which Dionicio sometimes gets into fights (“I definitely don’t hide”), he wants to try his hand at a men’s league next season. Whether it’s in the AHL or in Switzerland. The ideas of the Anaheim Ducks also play a role. What is clear is that his journey will continue.
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Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
