Center from Ontario will join SCSU this fall

ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Ryan Rosborough's plan was to go back for his third season of junior hockey with the Markham Royals of the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

"I reported to training camp with Markham in the OJHL and we skated for a week and then we had a COVID case and got shut down," he said. "I was sitting at home and was thinking about how am I going to play my last season of junior. A couple connections and me and my advisor teamed up and found a spot in the NCDC with the Boston Jr. Bruins."

The NCDC is the National Collegiate Development Conference and all of its teams are in the Northeastern United States and the conference run by the United States Premier Hockey League, which has teams from squirts (10-and-under) all the way through juniors (20-and-under).

Rosborough played 20 games with Boston, got traded and played 17 games with the South Shore Kings, who are based in Foxborough, Mass.

The college recruiting process picked up steam for Rosborough about three months ago and he said he built a good relationship with St. Cloud State men's associate head coach Dave Shyiak. On Tuesday, July 27, he announced his commitment to the Huskies on Twitter.

Rosborough is from Mount Brydges, Ontario, which is about 30 minutes south and east of London, Ontario, and a little more than two hours north and east of Detroit, Mich. Because of the travel restrictions in Canada, Rosborough has not been on St. Cloud State's campus, but he has been impressed by what he has seen.

"Obviously, the history of St. Cloud — they've been a powerhouse and it's a great school, their facilities are top notch," Rosborough said. "The staff, the players, the culture they've created ... you can just tell it's a special place and people think very highly of the school, the staff and the players."

After Rosborough got to Boston, he played 20 games for the the Jr. Bruins and had nine goals, 18 points and six penalty minutes. Because of restrictions in Massachusetts, the NCDC went to a hub in Tampa, Fla., pretty early on in the season and players lived in a resort.

While in Tampa, Rosborough was traded from Boston to South Shore.

"I packed my bag and I went to a different cluster in Tampa," he said. "We didn't have to worry about traveling, which made it super easy."

The NCDC then went back to the Northeast for the playoffs.

From 2018-20, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Rosborough played 109 OJHL games for Markham and had 23 goals, 68 points and 56 penalty minutes.

"I'm a big, tall centerman who takes pride in being a two-way player," he said. "I'm an all-around team guy. I like to show my leadership in the (locker) room, on the ice. I like to think I can play in all situations, on the penalty kill or standing in front of the net on the power play. I'm a big, versatile center."

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Rosborough will be one of five new players for the Huskies this fall. Forward Mason Salquist (21, Grand Forks, N.D., Fargo Force, USHL) and defensemen Josh Luedtke (20, Minnetonka, Des Moines Buccaneers, USHL ) and Jack Peart (18, Grand Rapids, Minn., Fargo Force, USHL, Grand Rapids High School) will be the freshmen.

Aidan Spellacy, a 23-year-old center from Lakewood, Ohio, will be a graduate transfer after playing the last three seasons for Robert Morris University.

St. Cloud State was 20-11-0 and finished second in the NCHC and second in the NCAA Division I tournament last season.

"They made it to the finals last year and they have a lot of pieces coming back," Rosborough said. "I'm definitely aware of that and nothing is given. I'm going to have to try to earn a spot in their lineup.

"Just getting acclimated to their culture and getting used their systems and how they do things in St. Cloud will be a great learning experience for me, especially with the guys they have coming back. I'm really going to focus on my training with the strength coach and in practices and, hopefully, I can make my way into the lineup."

Rosborough said he plans to major in health and physical education. His sister, Rachel, will be a sophomore midfielder this season for the University of Evansville after being named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.