At 29 years of age, Dan Rohanna is currently the oldest player on the Brooklyn Aces.
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have anything to prove though.
Having been out of professional hockey for nearly three years, Rohanna is eager to get back in the game that at one point, he saw himself making a career out of.
“It’s nice to be back and playing again,” Rohanna said. “I always missed it and it was something that I was always meant to do. Being away from it was tough on me.”
Things changed for Rohanna after his mother, Terrie, passed away in 2005. Forced to pick between the sport he loved and keeping his grief-stricken family above water, Rohanna chose the latter, prematurely ending a career some thought could have ended much differently.
Coming at the high point of his pro hockey career, after a successful three-year stint at SUNY Fredonia, where he scored 37 points in 69 games from the blue line and a year in the UHL with the Kansas City Outlaws, where he set a new career high in goals in 2005, the 6′3, 215 pound Rohanna admits the decision, at the time, was a tough one to make.
“I had to make a choice between being an adult or chasing my dream,” Rohanna, who has played with current Buffalo Sabres stars Thomas Vanec and Ryan Miller over the course of his career, said. “It was really hard on me, but I finished the season. I had a great year that year and the next season, I was in camp at Fresno California [with the Fresno Falcons of the ECHL] and I was tearing it up there and they really wanted me to play, but it was too hard on me mentally and emotionally. I needed to be with my family at that time. They were struggling and I just wanted to help out as much as I could. People were telling me that I could make a career out of this, but I didn’t know how much money I was going to be able to make, so in the end, I had to make a choice.”
The next three years were an odyssey for Rohanna, as he traded in his blue collar and went to work in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite that though, the Waynesburg, PA-native was itching for an opportunity to get back into professional hockey.
Enter the Brooklyn Aces, who gave the defenseman, who now resides in Queens, a golden opportunity to resurrect his career and serve as a leader on a young team.
For Rohanna, it’s a chance to simultaneously prove he still has what it takes to be a professional hockey player, while helping the next generation achieve the stardom that sadly eluded him.
“I’m going to teach these guys what it takes to get a spot on a team at the next level,” he said. “It’s not about being able to shoot, skate and pass anymore, because everyone at this level can do it. It’s about being a member of a team. A lot of these guys are used to the superstar treatment because where they came from, they were the best players. I’m going to help them get accustomed to playing at this level and teach them how to be a part of a team.”
In spite of his ability to be a helping hand to the youngsters on the Aces this season however, Rohanna isn’t quite ready to give up on his dreams either.
“I like to play very physical,” Rohanna, who compares his game to former New Jersey Devils legend Scott Stevens, said. “But I have good offensive ability too. I don’t care about how good I look on the ice either. I’m out there to get things done and be as consistent as I can.”
Photos by the Brooklyn Aces
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