In the Spotlight

North Dakota's Travis Roche.

March 13, 2001

By P.J. Slinger

Travis Roche grew up near the ocean -- the Arctic Ocean.

"I lived in the Northwest Territories, way at the tip," the University of North Dakota sophomore defenseman said. "It's cold up there."

No doubt.

Roche spent the first six years of his life in Inuvik, a town of about 1,500 people, located about an hour south of the Beaufort Sea, which is basically the southern portion of the Arctic Ocean.

To give you a little perspective, Inuvik is about 2,000 miles north of Grand Forks, Roche's current address. That's about the same distance as Grand Forks is from Mexico City in the other direction. And you thought Grand Forks was cold.

"The nearest town to us was six hours away," Roche said.

Roche started playing when he was 3 years old, and because of the relatively few kids who played hockey in Inuvik, he had to play against kids much older than him.

"That's all there were in the town," he said. "It wasn't really balanced, so we had to play against kids of different calibers."

At age 6, Roche and his family moved to Lloydminster, a relative metropolis of 27,000 people. Lloydminster is on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, east of Edmonton.

"That's the first time I played competitive hockey," he said. "That was when I got my first glimpse of Junior A players, too. By then it was all I ever wanted to do. As long as I had my stick in my hand, I was happy."

But he wasn't done moving. His family packed up and headed west to Whitecourt, Alta. But Roche knew to further his hockey career he needed to get out of Whitecourt. So he played for a team from St. Albert, a suburb of Edmonton, for one season, before playing for two years in the British Columbia Hockey League.

"I made the team as a forward, and they only allowed six players outside of St. Albert to be on a team," he said. "But one of the defensemen got homesick and left, but we used up our (outside players), so we had to find someone else. I volunteered."

So Roche brought his offensive prowess back to the blue line.

"I always liked being the setup guy, I like to dish it off," he said. "But I always wanted to do offense, too. The hardest part (about defense) was 1 on 1s. But I try to turn everything into an offensive situation."

That's obvious, at least by looking at his numbers this season. Roche leads the defensemen in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with 45 points this season, not too shabby considering that still puts him in the top 10 of all scorers in the league.

"I wasn't expecting a banner season this year with the way he's putting up points," North Dakota coach Dean Blais said. "One game he had six assists. He'll always have those great offensive skills, and he's still learning the defensive skills."

Despite his natural tendency to put points on the board, Roche said he likes being a blueliner.

"I'd play defense if I had the choice," he said. "I like to pick up the puck and see everything in front of you.

And Coach Blais gives all the D the opportunity (to go up), but he knows that's my game."

When Roche was playing for the Trail Smoke Eaters of the BCHL, where he was named the league's top defenseman and playoff MVP, Blais said it was apparent this kid was going to be good.

"Just his domination of the game and the way he controls the game," Blais said.

And he was right.

"He doesn't pinch at the wrong time and when he's coming around, when he gets the puck, he can really spring guys with the outlet pass," Blais said. "He's probably as good as anybody in the NHL as making that outlet pass."

And Roche's size doesn't hurt either. He's 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, but Blais says he doesn't play that big because he's on the ice so much, taking care of the specialty teams as well as his usual shifts.

"He has hockey sense and his size makes him a good physical player, but because of all the minutes he plays, he usually doesn't make the big hit," Blais said. "But if we cut down on his ice time, he certainly can let his physical presence be felt."

So for now, Blais and the Sioux are satisfied with his offensive presence, which has the team seeking a second straight NCAA championship and third since 1997.

"My first visit was to North Dakota and I committed right away," he said. "That was the year after they won the championship and I knew Blais had the program going in the right direction. And then we won it again last year. Only one thing can top that, and that's to win another one. It's such a great feeling I wish more people could experience it."

Roche is also undrafted, meaning many NHL teams will want to get their hands on him - and soon.

"The NHL, that's obviously in everybody's mind when they get to this level," he said. "When I was first (draft) eligible, I wasn't very big -- 160 pounds -- and not too many people saw me when I was sitting out that (redshirt) year."

All that has changed. Numbers like he put up this year for a team like North Dakota get heads turning. And Roche said he would consider going pro early if the right opportunity arose.

"The team that gets me, it's going to have to be the right situation for me. I don't want to go to a team that is stacked at defense in the minors. And if that doesn't work, playing at North Dakota isn't too bad of a second option."