Ahead of the 2016-17 season, Fort McMurray Oil Barons Head Coach/General Manager Tom Keca was looking for players that could step into his lineup and make an immediate impact. He made several moves bringer in a mixture of young and veteran players. The one trade that may have made the biggest impact was bringing in an offensive defenceman who could control the play each and every time he was on the ice.
Curtis Roach was acquired from the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League just prior to the start of the season and quickly made a name for himself in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. The Saskatoon native played at just under a point per game pace in the AJHL as the defenceman scored 20 goals and 92 points in 96 games over his two seasons with the MOB.
“It was unbelievable, by far the best place to play hockey just a first class organization,” said Roach of his time in Fort McMurray. “Getting traded here after that 10 win season I wasn’t really sure but it was the best thing that ever could’ve happened to me and it brought the love for the game back for sure.”
After two years with the Oil Barons, Roach will begin the next phase of his hockey career as he has committed to attend and play for the NAIT Ooks of the ACAC next season.
The 20 year old will join his two former captains on the Ooks with Brandon Ralph entering his second year at NAIT and Shane Fraser announcing his commitment in April.
“It makes going there a lot easier especially when you know guys and especially when you know guys like Brandon Ralph and Shane Fraser,” said Roach of joining his former MOB teammates. “Two former captains, two of my captains and I know they were pretty excited when they found out I was going to NAIT and I’m pretty excited to know that I’m going to have two character guys like that on my team again and I’m really looking forward to the next season.”
In both his seasons in Fort McMurray, Roach was named to the AJHL’s North Division All-League Team. After putting up 48 points in 58 games his first year, he nearly equaled that number in 20 less games this past season registering 44 points in only 38 games. Roach suffered a fractured wrist in late October which forced him to miss 20 games. Once he returned to the MOB lineup in the new year, he quickly made up for his lost time as he racked up 35 points in his final 23 games.
“Missing 20 games in my final season was pretty tough. We were doing well but then we would have stretches where we weren’t playing very well and having to be up in the stands watching was tough for me,” said Roach who helped the MOB to back to back 40 win seasons. “The boys made me feel welcome when I got back in the lineup but it was a learning curve and it made me respect the game a bit more and it was an eye opener that you have to play every shift like it could be your last because you never know.”
@HeyBarber Curtis Roach is out here playing men’s league in the AJHL.@MOBHockey @TPope91 pic.twitter.com/g5PECB8cLK
— Logan Fossum (@ElFossum) January 13, 2018
Roach plans to study Business Administration while at NAIT as well as upgrading some courses with the hope of moving on and playing USPORTS the following year.
Roach is the seventh Oil Baron to commit to a post secondary institution this year, joining Fraser (NAIT, ACAC), Will Conley (Holy Cross, NCAA), Merritt Oszytko (RIT, NCAA), Eric Szudor (Alaska-Anchorage, NCAA), Coy Prevost (Windsor, USPORTS) and JC Thivierge (UOIT, USPORTS).
