Dionicio, Ducks prospect, hoping to inspire players of Hispanic descent

As midnight approached and the Memorial Cup made its way around the ice, Rodwin Dionicio grinned through the stitches on his upper lip.

His Saginaw Spirit had won their first championship in riveting fashion, conceding a three-goal lead before Josh Bloom, the former captain re-acquired at the trade deadline, willed in the clinching goal with 21.7 seconds to play in regulation.

Dionicio absorbed the joyful, frenetic scene at the Dow Event Center. He spoke of what the achievement meant to his family, as many 20-year-old hockey players have done before.

Only Dionicio did so in Spanish.

"Pienso que es muy grande para nosotros," he said, which translates to, "I think it's very big for us."

He also said: "Tu sabes que todo mi familia esta mirando en la television. Ellos [me escribieron]. Es muy grande para nosotros, muy lindo," which translates to, "You know, all my family is watching on TV. They wrote to me. It's very big for us, very beautiful."

Dionicio was born in Newark, New Jersey, about 700 miles from Saginaw, Michigan, his hockey home for the most important 6 1/2 months of his career. The offensive-minded defenseman arrived in a mid-November trade from Windsor.

But Dionicio's journey was not as simple as Newark to Windsor to Saginaw.

Not even close.

Dionicio's path to a pro contract with the Anaheim Ducks -- and an invitation their training camp later this month -- included transatlantic moves, many trains taken, and multiple languages learned.

Dionicio's parents are from the Dominican Republic. But when Dionicio left the United States at less than 1 year old, his family didn't return to Santo Domingo, the hometown of his mother, Lenny Vogtlin. Instead, his mom moved to Switzerland with Dionicio and his older sister, Diandra. They made their home in Herisau, a town of around 15,000 residents near the Austrian border.

Dionicio has a vivid recollection of the first NHL game he attended. He traveled back to New Jersey when he was 6 years old to visit his father, and they went to a game between the Devils and Washington Capitals.

"That stuck in my head for a long time," Dionicio said. "That was a great moment for me."

Dionicio credits his older brother, Carlos, for helping to introduce him to hockey. Carlos played goalie at the local arena in Switzerland. Rodwin said hockey became the love of his life, even though his relationship with the sport involved complicated logistics. He enrolled in a sports-themed school that allowed him to leave 30 minutes early in order to attend practices at a hockey club in the town of Rapperswil-Jona.

The commute to Rapperswil-Jona was 50 minutes by train. Dionicio made the journey by himself, beginning at the age of 11.

"I knew every time I did this, it was because I loved what I'm doing," Dionicio recalled. "It helped me, knowing that's where I wanted to go, where I wanted to spend my time, with all of my friends -- doing what I love, what they love. I was really motivated every time."

Dionicio speaks four languages: Swiss German, German, English, and Spanish, in descending order of fluency. He began learning English during elementary school in Switzerland. He credits Diandra, the family's foremost linguist, for helping improve his abilities.

He speaks Spanish with his mother, and he appreciates the importance of celebrating his Dominican heritage. Even moments after winning the Memorial Cup, he spoke in Spanish about what he could represent to young hockey players of Hispanic descent.

"Voy a hacer todo lo que pueda para probar algo grande tanto para nosotros como para mí," he said, which translates to, "I'm going to do everything I can to prove something great for us and myself."

During his three seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with Niagara, Windsor, and Saginaw, he always lived with English-speaking billet families and improved his command of the language in at-home settings.
He grew especially close to his billet family in Saginaw: Sarah and Kevin Dodick and their children Blake, Avyn, and Mae.

All of that begins to explain why Dionicio grew up with such an eclectic set of cultural influences. He's a fan of American football -- and also represented Switzerland at each of the past three IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.

The Ducks, who selected Dionicio in the fifth round (No. 129) of the 2023 NHL Draft, tracked his progress closely during the 2023-24 season. Ducks officials saw enough promise that they signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract in May, despite the organization's strong group of prospects on the blue line.

Dionicio is expected to begin the season with San Diego of the American Hockey League. Jim Johnson, the Ducks' director of player development, said the organization is pleased that Dionicio has improved his overall fitness level. Dionicio weighed 220 pounds at the end of rookie camp one year ago and was down to 198 by the end of the season in Saginaw.

"His body had completely changed," Johnson said. "He was strong and able to move well. He's a good skater moving forward and has great offensive instincts. The training aspect is very important -- how you fuel your body, get proper rest, have good nutrition. All of that showed in his play. With his offensively gifted instincts, the sky's the limit."

Johnson said the next step for Dionicio is to show improved defensive awareness and make proper reads in the defensive zone.

"He needs to have the same level of focus and commitment without the puck as he does with the puck," Johnson said.

To that end, Dionicio's choice of offseason work venue is encouraging: He spent the summer working out in Switzerland with forwards Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Philipp Kurashev of the Chicago Blackhawks.

"I'm grateful that I have the opportunity to work out with two great hockey players," Dionicio said. "For me, it's being there as a young guy, executing the workouts really well, developing every single muscle that I have to get to the next level. I know that every detail will make a difference in a game. I want to take a real focus on executing well."

And as Dionicio begins his new chapter in pro hockey, he remembers what it took for him to celebrate a Memorial Cup that was years -- and many miles -- in the making.

"It was such a great tournament," he said. "Since I got traded to this team, it was great how we bonded and built everything up. It was a textbook team. You have so many new players from around the country, and how we handled everything was great. We were one of the teams that had a lot of comebacks, and that wouldn't be happening without the bonds we have to every guy on the team.

"Our coach [Chris Lazary] gave us so much power. The fans gave us power and helped us so much to win this tournament. We worked as a team. It was unreal. It's going to stay with me for the rest of my life."