Ryan Roobroeck has seen the full cycle of a contending team in the Ontario Hockey League.

The 18-year-old winger was drafted second overall by the Niagara IceDogs in 2023 after the team finished with a 12-47-9— their worst record since moving to Niagara.

Roobroeck then had to suffer through another last-place season in his rookie year, with the IceDogs finishing 17-43-8 in 2023-24 as the team continued to develop its young talent.

But the IceDogs took a turn toward contention last season, making the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. Niagara finished with a 29-31-8 record to grab the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and were among the contenders in the Central Division for the first half of the season.

Despite the early struggles, Roobroeck has loved his time in Niagara and appreciates everything the team has done.

“My time in Niagara has been great. I’ve loved every second of it,” Roobroeck told TSN on Wednesday. “From the coaching staff to the players, they’ve always had my back and been by my side.

“Obviously the first year was tougher [when we] didn’t go to the playoffs and not finishing where we would have liked to. But the progression that we’ve had each and every year has been great.”

Watch Roobroeck and Niagara take on Brampton LIVE at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT with a subscription to TSN+

Niagara’s struggles didn’t hinder Roobroeck’s individual success at all. He made an immediate impact, recording 28 goals and 51 points in 63 games finish third among rookie scoring in 2023-24.

Last season, he took his game to another level by registering 41 goals and 87 points in 64 games to finish 13th in league scoring.

This season has brought a changing landscape to the Canadian Hockey League with players now having the option to move to the NCAA. The IceDogs were not exempt from this as last year’s OHL No. 4 overall pick, Braidy Wassilyn, committed to play for Boston University when he’s eligible next year.

Roobroeck also had the opportunity to explore his options for his draft season, but believed Niagara was the best place to continue his hockey development.

“It was just Niagara [for me]”, explained Roobroeck. ”We have good coaching this year and everything’s been great here. All the guys here have always treated me well and I’ve got faith in our group that we can do good things this year. So, I wanted to stay and do good things with them.”

The IceDogs have done good things so far this season, leading their division with a 6-4-1 record with Roobroeck recording five goals and eight points through 11 games.

The 6-foot-4 winger began the season as the highest-rated player in the CHL on TSN’s pre-season rankings at No. 4 and lands at No. 7 on TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button’s first list of the season.

Roobroeck acknowledges that the NHL draft brings added pressure on an individual level but believes that team success will ultimately be the best boost to his draft prospects.

“I’ve obviously got personal goals with the draft in the back of my mind,” said Roobroeck. “But I think the better the team does the more opportunity you’re going to be able to showcase what you can do.”

Growing up in London, Ont., Roobroeck had a close eye on some strong London Knights teams and even played for the London Jr. Knights before he was drafted by the IceDogs.

He grew up watching stars like Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Robert Thomas, and Evan Bouchard go through that team and make it to the NHL.

While he grew up watching the Knights, he also took note of how NHL stars like Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and [former Knight] Patrick Kane make their teammates better.

However, due to his bigger frame, Roobroeck feels his game is more modeled after a different NHL superstar.

“I try to model my game after Kane a little bit [but I think] I’m a little like Leon Draisaitl,” said Roobroeck. “I think of myself more as a power forward who uses his size to his advantage and try to bring anything forward to the table to help his team win.”

Roobroeck will participate in is the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in Calgary and Lethbridge, Alta., on Nov. 25 and 26 and was named one of three players guaranteed a spot on Team CHL, joining Ryan Lin of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants and Xavier Villeneuve of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada.

The CHL USA Prospects Challenge takes the top draft prospects for the 2026 NHL Draft playing in the CHL and pits them against the Under-18 United States National Team Development Program for a two-game series.

“Honestly, it’s an honour [to be selected early],” said Roobroeck. “When you watched those games last year, the compete level out there was insane. I don’t think anything puts a bigger smile on my face just by being selected to the team.

“The CHL is well known for its talent and being a high junior league and it’s really cool and an honour to play against the U.S. team.”

This isn’t the first time he has taken on the United States as he represented Canada at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge in 2023 and the Under-18 World Hockey Championship in 2025.

Roobroeck was a key factor at the Under-18 World Hockey Championship, registering four goals and nine points en route to a gold medal.

He acknowledges the pressure to win while representing his country but says the honour of wearing Canada’s colours outweighs any negatives.

“It’s an honour just being able to represent your country and throw on that jersey every single time you get a chance. You can’t take it for granted,” said Roobroeck. “I use [the pressure] as motivation. Obviously, everyone loves winning and we had a whole country behind us, supporting us, and cheering us on. It just pushes us a little more to come up with the victory.”