A REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT

If you’ve watched him play, it’s easy to understand how 19-year-old Rory Neill dominates the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League.

This past season, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound defenceman led the St. James Jr. Canucks to their second straight Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League title. He was a First Team All-Star, the league’s Most Valuable Player and the league’s Top Defenceman. He finished the season with 90 points and was the league’s leading goal scorer with 49 (remember, he’s a defenceman). Then, after doing all that, he played for the Portage Terriers in the CJHL’s Centennial Cup championships.

Of course, he did all that one year after he led the Jr. Canucks to their first championship in 24 years, was a First Team All-Star and the league’s Top Defenceman.

“Rory is easily the most dynamic, talented player I have had the opportunity to coach,” said Jr. Canucks head coach Blair Mooney the other day. “His skill level is something our league hasn't seen before. He has the ability to make quick decisions at a high speed and his hockey IQ is off the charts. You combine all of that with the fact that he is a great teammate and a great person and he's a pleasure to be around. Rory is also very open to advice and coaching, something you don't often see with top-end players.

“What makes him great is his ability to step back and analyze a situation and figure out how to use his skills to be successful in that particular scenario.”

Obviously, Mooney is excited to have a player with Neill’s gifts in his lineup. Perhaps, more importantly, he’s thrilled to have a person with Neill’s character in his locker room.

“As a person, Rory is top-notch,” said the coach. “All of his teammates love him, all of the coaches love him and everyone in the organization is glad he chose to play with us. His positive attitude during both practices and games is contagious and he is always trying to help his teammates get better and appreciates the efforts of everyone.”

Neill grew up in the Deer Lodge area in St. James and started playing at Deer Lodge Community Centre. He played age-advanced until he was 10, then played with the AA Canadians and AAA Hawks. In 2018, he was selected by the Portage Terriers in the sixth round (58th overall) of the MJHL Draft and was also selected by the Calgary Hitmen in the third round (62nd overall) in the Western Hockey League Draft.

That same year he played a season with the RINK Hockey Academy and then started the 2019-20 season with the U18 AAA Winnipeg Wild before playing three games in Portage and then three games in Calgary.

He played the COVID season (2020-21) with the Hitmen but in the fall of 2021 enrolled at the University of Manitoba and decided to play with his best friends in St. James.

“After playing a full year in the Dub and then coming back here to the Jr. Canucks, I was pretty confident in my game,” Neill said. “I think playing with confidence is really important at the Junior level.”

He was definitely confident this past season. It’s extremely rare for a defenceman to lead any Junior league in goal scoring.

“It’s kind of cool, I guess,” he said modestly. “My first year in the league, it was weird. I was way more of a pass-first type of player because I had a lot of really good goal-scorers around me. Then in my second year, a couple of guys had aged out and I had a different role on the power-play. I was more in the shooter role and pucks started going in from Day 1. When you get that confidence after you’ve scored a few goals, you just keep shooting because they’re going in. It went that way all season.”

Neill, along with goalie Noah Gilbert who was the league’s Top Goaltender, playoff MVP and Second Team All-Star, led the Jr. Canucks to a record of 40-4-1 during the regular season. They went 12-2 in the postseason, sweeping the very talented St. Vital Victorias in the best-of-seven final.

However, Neill was very close to spending the year with the Hitmen.

“I started the year by going to Calgary again and things were going well but I did it just to see if I liked it,” said Neill, who was speaking from Pilsen, Czechia where he helped Canada’s national U20 ball hockey team win gold at the World Championships. “After a couple of months, I kind of decided I wanted to come home and stay in school and play with my buddies again. In the month or so I was there, I had a great billet family and I liked it, but I decided to come home and finish up my second year at the University of Manitoba.

“Obviously, we had a great squad this year with the Jr. Canucks. Winning another championship with my friends is something I’ll always remember.

“I talked to Blake in Portage throughout the MMJHL season and he asked if I wanted to come out to Portage and play in the Centennial Cup. It was another great group of guys I’ve known growing up and it was a cool experience there, too.”

It was also a “cool experience” in Czechia, where he played alongside four other Manitobans -- Conner Roulette (WHL’s Spokane Chiefs), Evan Friesen (WHL’s Winnipeg ICE), Luke Janus (NAHL’s Maryland Black Bears) and Cole Plowman (MJHL’s Steinbach Pistons) – at the World Ball Hockey Championships.

“I played rec ball hockey when I was younger, then U15 was my first national team experience and then I got together with some of my buddies and we just rode it all the way here. There was always a good group of us and we’ve played Team Manitoba and Team Canada together. It’s really cool.”

Incredibly, Neill has two more seasons of eligibility with the Jr. Canucks and it’s hard to imagine how dominant he’ll be if he decides to play both years.

“Next year, I’m going to stay in the MM and then maybe look at USPORTS but for now, I’ll play at least one more year in the MM,” he said. “Most of my buddies have one more year left and I kind of want to ride it out with them. We only lost two guys after this year (Zach Greenwood and Ethan Robson). We have a large returning contingent for the next couple of years. We should have a good squad again next year.”

Heading into his third year at the U of M, Neill has been taking a heavy load of business courses but says he’s going to change things up and move into computer science. His school responsibilities also play a major role in his decision to play in the locally-focused MMJHL as opposed to the travel-heavy, near-professional atmosphere of the MJHL.

“For me, I’m playing with my best friends that I grew up playing hockey with all my life,” he said. “To win back-to-back championships with those guys, it’s great to celebrate those moments together. That’s what keeps me in the MM and playing for St. James. Hopefully, we’ll have a good squad again next year and be able to win it for the third straight year.”

Meanwhile, Coach Mooney appreciates the fact that he gets to coach a player with the skills that Neill possesses.

“Everybody always asks me what it's like to coach Rory,” said Coach Mooney. “Well, as enjoyable as it is to watch him play, it's been even better to be able to get to know him as a person because he is an all-around fantastic kid.”