Player Spotlight: Rohan Kingwell

We’re a day late with this week’s player spotlight because we have all been recovering from a very physical win over Oxford Men’s Blues this Saturday. We’ve also been working on streaming our home games; this Saturday was the first game streamed with alumni Thom Norris and Kalle Uusitalo providing commentary and interviews!  Check it out here!

A note to our readers: we want to send a big thank you and shout out to Thom and Kalle for taking their time and helping us get streaming again.  It’s one of the hardest but most important parts of our team regrowing.  It’s also important to help demystify the level of play in the BUIHA and help players understand what to expect. 

Our articles for this week and next week are also a bit special, the two players we’ll be spotlighting (Rohan and Seamus) have actually been friends since they were 5 years old. And if you can guess based on our other spotlights, that’s also the age they started to play hockey!

This week’s spotlight is on Rohan Kingwell, a new addition to the team this year, but another player who has quickly become a standout player with a veteran-like presence in the locker room.  Rohan has managed a 1.4 ppg average with 3 goals and 4 assists over the last 5 games, and only a small 16 PIM (10 of those from forgetting his neck guard after the flood between periods… Safety first!). Our 6’2 center has been tearing it up on the ice and contributing to team success on the power play and is currently tied for 5^th in points with veteran Michael D’Aprix.  Kingwell plays smart, fast, and with finesse, showing off his silky mitts getting the puck into the offense zone. 

It’s no surprise that Rohan is doing so well on the Dragons considering he’s played hockey for his entire life.  Working back through Kingwell’s hockey CV (before we get to that professional CV which is even more impressive), Rohan played in the LUG, a new league to us but one that we absolutely love.  The LUG is the ‘most professional unprofessional sports league’ for college and university hockey.  It’s similar to the ACHA in skill and structure except they don’t provide stats to Elite Prospects and don’t keep an archive of stats. Sad!

Before the LUG, Rohan played in the Ottawa B Minor Hockey League (OBMHL), a league we see quite a few players from in the BUIHA.  Rohan played for the Ottawa West Golden Knights for two seasons where he was a classic playmaker.  In his 2017 season he had 11 assists and 1 goal and in 2016, he had 13 assists and 3 goals, we love a team player and playmaker on the Dragons!

A note to the reader: the Dragons and the BUIHA always have a wide range of players who join and a common thread we see are players who often played at a high level but chose to either take a few years off, drop down a league, or take it easy for a few years.  Competitive hockey can often take a toll on players, particularly those who are high-performing student athletes. On the Dragons, we make sure players always balance their academic lives, competitive hockey lives, and their social lives. 

Onto Rohan’s impressive CV!  He is currently studying an LLB Senior Status at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) with Seamus Nangle (who we’ll spotlight next week).  This program is a 2-year accelerated degree for students who have already completed an undergraduate degree in another subject. 

Kingwell completed his first undergraduate program with a BSc Life Sciences degree from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.   He studied a range of topics from pharmacology to cellular neuroscience to neurodegeneration, utilizing toxicology and neuroscience in his research and case studies.  During his time at Queen’s, Rohan took part in a year exchange with Lund University, Sweden.  While he was studying there, he authored a paper on a novel and hypothetical method of treating Alzheimer’s using exosomes from bone marrow to reduce inflammation.  The title of the article is Investigating a Treatment Administering miR-146a-packed Exosomes from Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Hinder Neuroinflammatory Pathology in Alzheimer’s Disease and it shows off not only his knowledge and understanding of neuroscience but also his desire to make an impact on a difficult disease.

Rohan has quite the record in healthcare and making an impact on the day-to-day lives of those around him.  Before moving to London, Rohan worked in a few medical and healthcare related roles including overseeing an Electronic Medical Record system for 6 physicians and over 1,200 active patients. He also worked directly in patient care as an observer and attendant, supporting Stage 2-6 dementia patients over 12-hour shifts.  Kingwell is no stranger to high stress environments which require a gentle touch, clear communication, and an ability to manage chaotic scenarios (and the BUIHA can be full of chaotic scenarios).

Coming back to London, Rohan has been involved with the Queen Mary Legal Advice Centre where he’s been working pro-bono delivering workshops for secondary school students across London.  Part of his duties include educating students on the legal and ethical implications of sharing intimate images while also supporting client interviews and additional legal research.  At this point, it should be no surprise that Rohan earned a Global Talent Scholarship from QMUL for his outstanding academic achievement, having graduated with Dean’s Scholar Distinction.

When we asked Rohan what’s next for him his answer was pretty clear.  He intends to return to Canada to pursue law and potentially pivot to become a sports agent.  His dream job would combine his love of sports, ability to manage people and relationships, and the joy he finds in negotiating into a single career path. 

Outside of university and volunteer work, Rohan spends his time exploring London, traveling, exercising, and spending time with his teammates.  He loves the hustle and bustle of the city and the opportunities that can be found throughout the UK’s capital.  Although Rohan came to London with his best friend, he’s also quickly made friends on the team and is looking forward to having friends to visit around the world whether that’s Lithuania, Russia, France, the US, Hong Kong and about a dozen other places.  Rohan has had a great time this year with the team, checking out unique rinks like Alexandra Palace or the historic Oxford Ice Rink (notorious for not having glass) and getting the chance to play against, and beat, some well-established and famous universities.   

Rohan left us with one last quote that not only resonates with so many players on our team but is also good advice for any student thinking about their career and future life.  Kingwell wanted us to share this nugget of wisdom “I think the best thing you can do with your life is to seek opportunities that are different and unexpected.  Things with a degree of uncertainty to them. Personally, that’s where I’ve had the most growth, coming to law school here, doing an exchange semester, changing up my degrees, and joining the Dragons”.

Most guys on our team have taken a big leap when coming to London but joining the Dragons gives players a home, a community, and life long teammates to help with the unexpected.    

If you’d like to get in touch with Rohan Kingwell please connect with him on LinkedIn!

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