Ducks Prospect Dionicio: Memorial Cup Champion
Rodwin Dionicio and the Saginaw Spirit defeated the London Knights on June 2 to win the Memorial Cup
The Saginaw Spirit and Ducks prospect Rodwin Dionicio defeated the London Knights by a score of 4-3 to claim their first-ever Memorial Cup championship Sunday evening in Saginaw, Michigan.
The Memorial Cup is a tournament featuring the champions of the three CHL (Canadian Hockey League) leagues (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) and the team hosting the tournament. The Moose Jaw Warriors represented the WHL, the London Knights represented the OHL, and the Drummondville Voltigeurs represented the QMJHL.
Rodwin Dionicio (20) finished the 2023-24 regular season with 25 goals and 58 assists in 60 games playing for the Windsor Spitfires and Saginaw Spirit. He added 17 points in 17 OHL playoff games, but the Spirit were eliminated by the eventual champion London Knights in the third round.
In the five games of the Memorial Cup tournament, Dionicio scored a goal and added four assists.
Dionico was traded from the Windsor Spitfires to the Saginaw Spirit on Nov 16. and Saginaw was to be his third OHL team in the last two seasons (Niagara Ice Dogs).
The Anaheim Ducks drafted Dionicio in the fifth round (129th overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, his second year of draft eligibility.
The Ducks signed him to his three-year entry-level contract on May 17. His contract will begin in the 2024-25 season.
Dionicio was born in Newark, New Jersey, but moved to Switzerland during infancy. The Swiss national speaks four languages and was drafted 18th overall by the Niagara Ice Dogs in the 2021 OHL Import Draft.
Dionicio is a product of Bern's U20 program and has represented Switzerland at one U18 World Championship and three World Junior Championship (2022, 2023, 2024) tournaments. At the 2024 World Junior Championship, he scored four points in five games.
Dionicio excels at nearly every aspect of the game. He is endlessly creative and skilled with the puck on his stick. He can manipulate opponents one-on-one or layers of defenders as a whole. In Saginaw, like teammate Zayne Parekh and Ducks prospect Pavel Mintyukov before him, he was able to explore and push the limits of his offensive repertoire.
He will need to continue improving his skating and footwork to fully realize his potential at the highest levels. His stride can be clunky and his footwork can hinder his balance and defensive posture.
Dionicio is a true tactician, can read the development of a play as quickly and efficiently as anyone his age, and calculate the most dangerous play to make in transition or at the offensive blueline.
The speed and ferocity of professional hockey will be an adjustment for Dionicio, so growing pains are to be expected in the next couple of years, but his previous progress from the Swiss U20 league to the OHL and the NHL draft is an endorsement of his dedication and work ethic within the sport.