(Release courtesy Dylan Fiessel/DiscoverWeyburn)
In a recent Facebook post, the Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings are proud to announce that goaltender Joey Rocha has committed to playing for the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves for the 2026-2027 year. Rocha will be the third former Red Wing in the last two seasons to commit to a Division 1 college program after defenseman Max Chakrabarti and goaltender Angelo Zol both committed to Augustana University.
Rocha joined the Red Wings in the back half of his 20-year-old season after spending his junior career with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL. Rocha would take over the crease for the Red Wings, with a 9-7-1 record in 18 regular-season games with a 2.95 GAA and a .910 sv%. He only got better as the season progressed, posting a 7-5-1 record in 13 playoff games with a 2.31 GAA and a .930 sv%.
“We are so proud to announce this news.” Head Coach and GM Cody Mapes said, “Joey has worked incredibly hard on and off the ice to get to this point. His work in Weyburn with our staff, specifically goalie coach Daniel Wapple and mental performance coach Kyle McDonald, was great to watch. When he showed up in Weyburn, he was driven to put in the work necessary to achieve this goal, and we couldn’t be more excited for him!”
Rocha came to the Red Wings with a wealth of junior hockey experience, logging almost 100 games with the Swift Current Broncos, but after a rough final year for the team, they put Rocha on waivers, and the Red Wings claimed him. He also had a great season with the Notre Dame Hounds U18AAA Prep team, reaching the Telus Cup semi-finals.
With the Red Wings’ third D1 commit in the last two years, it leads the SJHL for major commitments over that timeframe. Rocha hopes to help a struggling Seawolves team that went 5-27-1 last season, bringing in a new head coach (Eric Rud) and 15 new additions, including Rocha.
